Boy, 5, Dies of Sepsis After Catching Covid and Strep A

Mar. 15, 2025

Jean Carlos Martinez Rivero.Photo:Gofundme

Gofundme

A five-year-old boy who died in December at a Chicago migrant shelter had developed sepsis after catchingCovidandStrep A, a recently released coroner’s report determined.

Jean Carlos Martinez Rivero was found unresponsive at the Pilsen migrant center in Chicago’s Lower West Side, after days of being sick, according toan NBC News Chicago report. He was rushed to the hospital, where he later died.

Martinez was one of several children who were sick at the shelter, the outlet reports, adding that residents as young as age 1 were hospitalized with high fevers.

However, in a press conference, Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson said the people were “showing up sick.”

Jean Carlos Martinez Rivero.Gofundme

Johnson also blamed southern states for their policies ofbussing migrantsto northern states, saying, “They are dropping people off anywhere. Do you understand how raggedy and how evil that is?”

The boy’s family arrived in Chicago from Venezuela, and they have another son, 2-year-old Isaías. According to aGoFundMe, Jean Carlos died just two weeks after they arrived at the shelter when, on December 17, he collapsed and according to the 911 call, went into cardiac arrest.

“Jean Carlos survived the treacherous journey from South America to Chicago only to lose his life days later,” the GoFundMe said.

“It’s too much for a little body. It really is sad,” Dr. Juanita Mora, an allergist and immunologist, told NBC Chicago, according toToday.

“We have to remember that a 5-year-old has a very small amount of volume when it comes to bodily fluids. So, when an overwhelming infection like Covid-19 hits his body, and at the same time he gets strep throat, it starts going into the blood stream, it starts affecting the rest of the organs.”

The statement continued, “The City has prioritized the health and well-being of asylum seekers throughout the New Arrivals Mission in partnership with community healthcare providers and Cook County Health, and the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) will continue to monitor and respond to all reportable cases of infectious disease across the City’s temporary shelter system.”

source: people.com