Florida mother loses two children to coronavirus within days

A Florida mother saw two of her adult children die days apart after they contracted coronavirus amid a spike in Covid-19 cases in the state.

Monete Hicks, of Lauderdale Lakes, Florida, told CNN that two of her six children, Byron and Mychaela, contracted coronavirus days apart in late June.

They both had underlying health issues, but were in their 20s and had mainly stayed inside since the pandemic began.

Ms Hicks said that her son woke up struggling to breathe on 27 June, but despite being rushed to hospital, died later that day.

Her daughter started feeling ill three days later on 30 June and insisted that she be taken to the hospital. She told Ms Hicks: “’Mama, just crank up the car, let’s go.’”

Despite only having a fever and a headache when she arrived at the hospital, Mychaela quickly “lost a kidney, her liver began to fail. And it just went one after another, one after another,” Ms Hicks said.

She died a week later and her mother told CNN host Brianna Keilar that her children “are my heart and will always be my heart”.

Florida is currently struggling with the coronavirus pandemic, and the state saw its daily case total rise above 10,000 for the sixth day in a row on Monday.

The state recorded the highest daily coronavirus total of anywhere in the US last week with 15,229 cases, and although Florida governor Ron DeSantis has attempted to downplay the seriousness of the issue, he did acknowledge last week that the state still has a lot to do to successfully tackle the pandemic.

“We have to address the virus with steady resolve. We can’t get swept away in fear, we have to understand what is going on, understand that we have a long road ahead but we also have to understand that within the context of the moment.”

Ms Hicks and her niece, Darisha Scott, told CNN that people need to take the virus seriously, especially in Florida.

“All I can say is, take this, take this very seriously, because it’s real, it’s out there,” Ms Hicks said, and her niece added: “It’s not a joke. It’s not a game, it’s not something that the government ... made up.

“Wear a mask, wash your hands, keep your distance and don’t come out unless you really, really got to, especially here in Florida.”

According to a tracking project hosted by Johns Hopkins University, Florida has upwards of 360,394 confirmed coronavirus cases and at least 5,183 deaths.

In the US as a whole, some 3.8 million people have tested positive for coronavirus. The death toll has reached at least 140,937.

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