Girl with COVID-19 dies in Wellington County, public health reports

A girl from Wellington County died after testing positive for COVID-19, Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health says.

The girl died on Monday. Public health did not give her agebut said she was aged 10 or younger.

While she was positive for the virus at the time of her death, "no further information on cause of death is available at this time," the health unit said in a release.

Dr. Nicola Mercer, medical officer of health and CEO of Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health, offered her condolences to the girl's family and said "no words are sufficient to comfort those grieving this terrible loss."

"Since the pandemic began, more than 100 people in Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph have died from COVID-19, each one of them a profound and permanent loss to those who loved them and to the fabric of our community," Mercer said in the statement.

The health unit has reported 129 COVID-related deaths since March 2020.

Also on Thursday, Toronto Public Health confirmed a child under the age of four had died after testing positive for the virus.

The deaths come as public health officials across the country are warning teens, childrenand even newborns areamong the rising number of Canadians being hospitalized with COVID-19 as Omicron infections keep surging across the country to unprecedented levels.

Medical experts still stress that COVID-19 remains a relatively mild illness for the vast majority of children.

In September 2021, a child aged 10 or younger died in Waterloo region after testing positive for COVID-19.

At the time, Region of Waterloo medical officer of healthDr. Hsiu-Li Wang said the child's death was "a rare but tragic circumstance and a devastating reminder of the serious nature of this virus."

Public health officials for both Waterloo region and Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph have said vaccinations of children in the five to 11 year old age group have stalled and they want toreach parents to let them know there are many open appointments for children to get their first dose. In Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph, children can walk into any clinic run by public health to get their first dose.