A Chicago teenager with no underlying condition died of COVID-19 just a week after he was diagnosed with the virus, his family says.
Arnold Herrera was recovering at home and played the new year with his family, but his condition worsened and he was admitted to a local Chicago hospital, WLS reported.
Herrera died Sunday, becoming the eleventh person to die of COVID-19 under the age of 20 in Illinois.
His family was shocked at how quickly it deteriorated, saying being young does not grant immunity to the virus.
“It simply came to our notice then. It just happens. And we should all be careful, “Herrera’s brother Pablo Portilla told WLS.” We shouldn’t think, “Oh, yes, because I’m young, it won’t happen to me ‘of course.’
Herrera loved playing guitar in his church and recently graduated from Benito Juarez High School in Chicago, where he was a member of the JROTC program, according to the media.