San Antonio Girl Dies Days After Testing Positive For COVID-19

SAN ANTONIO, TX — A San Antonio family wants to raise awareness that COVID-19 can be just as deadly in children as it is in adults after their 9-year-old daughter passed away days after testing positive for the virus.

Makenzie Gongora was enrolled in an after-school program when the fourth-grader began feeling sick in late January. Victoria Southworth, her aunt, told the San Antonio Express-News the girl began complaining of a bad headache.

Gongora’s parents took her to Brooke Army Medical Center after finding out she had a fever. A coronavirus test conducted by the hospital came back positive.

Southworth said Gongora started feeling better after the diagnosis and wasn't experiencing any breathing issues. She told the paper that the girl even “sounded like her normal, chipper self” during a phone call with her on Feb. 1.

But during the night Gongora began to feel very tired and complained of stomach pains, according to Southworth. She died in her sleep early the next day.

While an official cause of death hasn't been determined the family believes it was because of the virus.

"We suspect this is COVID related as we can't figure out what else could have caused this, but will not know until we receive the report from the medical examiner," Southworth wrote in an online post.

Since then her father and younger sister have both tested positive for the virus while her mother tested negative.

Southwest has started a GoFundMe campaign in order to pay for girl's funeral and memorial. It has blown past its goal of $30,000 with nearly $75,000 in contributions.

She also started a meal train for the family where people have coordinated with each other to provide food for them while they grieve and remain in quarantine.