Lancaster teen dies from coronavirus: health officials

LANCASTER, Calif. - On Tuesday, Los Angeles County Public Health Officials announced a 17-year-old teen may be the first minor in the country to die from complications of coronavirus.

UPDATE: L.A. County health officials backtrack on announcement teen died from COVID-19

“Our children are dying! We have a 17-year-old boy, the first boy in the nation to die from this disease, I’m alarmed,” said Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris. 

The 17-year-old had been sick for five days before he died of septic shock at the Antelope Valley Hospital. Mayor Parris says County has been doing a horrible job of keeping the public safe. He claims the 17-year-old was tested only after he passed away. Mainly because of lack of kits. 

“We had a 17-year-old boy die from this disease but he did not meet the criteria for public health to OK a test and the only time he was tested was after he died. That doesn’t tell us something,” said Parris. 

Meanwhile, during a news conference in Los Angeles, Mayor Eric Garcetti warned people of all ages to take this virus seriously.

“I was informed by the county that this individual did not have pre-existing conditions. It’s a sober reminder that anybody can die from this disease,” said Garcetti.

How the Lancaster teenager contracted the virus has not been explained but Mayor Parris says the teen’s father has also been infected with coronavirus and he had close contact with the public every day.

“I know his father is an Uber driver and he also tested positive. The assumption is he brought it home,” said Parris. 

We contacted Uber but the company would not confirm if a Lancaster employee had been exposed to coronavirus.