Young child in Charlotte dies after battle with COVID
An elementary-aged child has died after a battle with COVID-19, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools confirmed to The Charlotte Observer on Thursday. CMS officials also confirmed the student attended Stoney Creek Elementary.
Mecklenburg County Public Health told WBTV the death was reported to the department last week.
The child, age 7, was a first-grader, a CMS official told the Observer.
County health officials said there have been two pediatric deaths in 2021. More than 1,150 residents in Mecklenburg have died from COVID since last March. The majority were adults over age 60.
As the Observer reported Monday, recent reports from CMS and other area public school systems have shown a modest improvement in COVID infections affecting students and staff recently. That comes after an initial and expected increase of positive cases coinciding with the return of school in August.
At Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, the number of new cases among students and staff jumped in mid-September but fell slightly this past week, district data show.
At Stoney Creek Elementary, just three confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been reported at the school since the return of in-person class Aug. 25. Those cases were reported in early September, with no additional cases reported at that school in close to 4 weeks.
Just this week, the school board voted to add a virtual learning option for some kindergarten through second grade students whose doctors sign off based on medical need. The district also requires everyone entering any CMS school to wear a mask.
This story was originally published September 30, 2021 at 4:51 PM.
