Florida mother loses two children in less than two weeks to coronavirus

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A daughter and a son of a Florida mother died only 11 days apart after each of them contracted coronavirus.

Monete Hicks’ 20-year-old son, Byron Francis was having problems breathing and was rushed to a hospital in late June.

“We called the paramedics and the paramedics came by. They rushed him down. They said it was just a matter of time because he was losing so much oxygen,” Hicks told WPLG.

Francis died shortly after at the Florida Medical Center.

Less than a week later, Hicks’ daughter, Mychaela was hospitalized after complaining of headaches and running a fever. Her kidneys failed and Mychaela died on July 8.

Both tested positive for COVID-19 and had underlying health conditions.

“We never thought in a million years that a virus would come and take out two of our loved ones within 11 days. It’s not a game. Please wear your mask,” cousin Darisha Scott told WPLG.

Over the weekend, Florida reported the largest single-day increase in COVID cases in any state since the beginning of the pandemic, adding more than 15,000 cases as its daily average death toll continued to rise.

According to the state Department of Health statistics, 15,299 people tested positive, for a total of 269,811 cases, and 45 deaths were recorded.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Cox Media Group