A Texas preschool family died of COVID-19 this week within hours of the fever, according to his family. Kali Cook, 4, died in her sleep on Tuesday morning, about five hours after she was found to have a fever, her mother Karra Harwood told the Houston Chronicle.
“Kali was perfectly fine and then she was gone,” her mother said. “It took her so fast.”
Bacliff Kenneth E. Little Elementary School preschooler had enjoyed a pleasant night with his family less than 12 hours before becoming the youngest child to die of the virus in Galveston County.
Kali had just started kindergarten last month — and she loved it, telling her mother that “she can’t wait to go to school.”
The 4-year-old kid died just a day after her mother, brother and 5-month-old sister learned they were infected. The family is currently in quarantine at home.
The Galveston County Health Department confirmed that a young woman who died of COVID-19 died Tuesday morning, and called her “the first in someone 10 and under” in the county.
Both Harwood and Galveston County health officials do not know where Kali contracted the virus. Health officials have expressed doubt about the possibility of Kali hiring her in her classroom.
As families move into their homes, financial realities have begun to seep through. Harwood started a GoFundMe page to help pay for Kali’s medical and funeral expenses. So far they have raised $ 16,568 from their $ 20,000 goal. In the page description box, Harwood writes that “Kali’s heart was too pure for this cruel world” and describes how the family is “broken and lost” collectively as she tries to navigate her pain.
The donation page is filled with comments that send everything possible to the family. “Pro-Vax or Anti-Vax, no one should lose their child at such a young age. I deeply regret your loss, “wrote Rene Ureta.
The tragic death of Kali occurs amid a massive increase in the delta variant, which has affected young children at much higher rates than expected. According to the Texas State Department of Health Services, as of Sept. 10, at least 2,384 children have contracted COVID-19 in the state.