California child dies of coronavirus: health official

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A child in California with "severe underlying medical conditions" has died after contracting the novel coronavirus, a health official in the state said this week. 

Dr. Julie Vaishampayan, the Stanislaus County health officer, announced the fatality when giving an update on the coronavirus epidemic to the county Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, the Modesto Bee, a local outlet, reported. 

Vaishampayan did not reveal the child’s gender or age, saying only that he or she suffered from "severe underlying medical conditions" that may have contributed to their death. 

No other details on the death will be provided for privacy reasons, Kamlesh Kaur, a spokesperson for the Stanislaus County health services, told the Modesto Bee. 

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The death marks the first COVID-19 pediatric fatality in the county, per the outlet. 

As of Jan. 6, COVID-19 has claimed the lives of six people 17 years of age or younger in the state, according to the California Department of Public Health’s COVID-19 dashboard. 

The news comes as the Golden State continues to grapple to contain the virus, with California surpassing 2 million total cases of COVID-19 just before Christmas. The state rounded out the first weekend of the new year with 45,000 new virus cases reported on Sunday alone. 

Hospitals in California continue to be overwhelmed, with more than 22,000 people hospitalized as of Wednesday.

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Health experts have expressed concerns over the impact a post-holiday surge could have on cases and hospitalizations, as California is still reeling from such effects linked to Thanksgiving gatherings. 

South of Stanislaus County, in Los Angeles County, a person is dying every eight minutes from COVID-19, officials warned on Thursday as the region again faced a double-digit rise in new daily cases.

Fox News' Alexandria Hein contributed to this report. 

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