‘Tragic’: Sydney teen, 15, dies with Covid in hospital
A 15-year-old boy from the epicentre of Sydney’s Covid-19 outbreak has died in hospital from meningitis while also infectious with the virus.
Osama Suduh is the youngest Australian with Covid-19 to die, however the virus was not the cause of this death.
His death comes a day after Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant confirmed the South West Sydney teenager was among the 381 people being treated for Covid-19 in hospital.
“This has been cleared by his family. I can confirm that there is someone admitted to hospital that is 15 and the cause of their admission, while they are covid positive, is related to another health condition,” Dr Chant said.
It is unclear whether Osama caught Covid-19 before or after he fell ill with meningitis.
He was placed on life support at Sydney Children’s Hospital as his condition rapidly deteriorated.
A spokesperson for the hospital told the ABC that "Covid-19 was not the reason for his admission and was not his cause of death."
NSW is yet to open the vaccine program to those under 16 years, meaning the Kingsgrove North High School student was ineligible for the jab.
Teen's death a 'tragedy', deputy PM says
Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce has described his death as a "tragedy."
“What an incredible tragedy it was for that young man to die last night,” he told Sunrise on Monday.
Prior to Osama's death, hundreds of messages of support flooded social media as people prayed for his recovery.
“Please I’m urging you all to make sincere Dua for our young brother Osama 15 years old who’s currently on life support,” one person posted on the Facebook page Request Dua.
“This is every parents worst nightmare Ya Allah help this family and all who know and love Osama. Remove this anguish and pain with calmness and ease,” the post reads.
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