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Father of Singaporean baby boy who died from COVID says he is facing 'difficult' time

The father of an 18-month-year-old Singaporean boy who died from COVID-19 said he is facing a
The boy died from encephalitis – inflammation of the brain – due to the novel coronavirus as well as the respiratory syncytial virus and enterovirus. (PHOTO: KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital/Facebook)

SINGAPORE — The father of an 18-month-old Singaporean boy who died from COVID-19 on Monday (27 June) said he is facing a "difficult" period and will be spending time with his loved ones.

"Today, my strong, brave son passed on to the next world after fighting for his life," Farath Shba wrote on Monday in the professional networking site LinkedIn.

Farath, who said he is a father-of-two, added that he will not be responsive on LinkedIn and other social media platforms for a while.

Yahoo News Singapore has reached out to Farath for comment.

His comments came after a separate post by him last week when he made a desperate plea for medical help to save his son, who was "severely affected" by COVID-19 and warded at KK Women's and Children's Hospital.

Doctors had told Farath that there was nothing much that could have been done to alleviate his son's swollen brain and to save him, according to the post.

The boy died from encephalitis – inflammation of the brain – due to COVID-19 as well as the respiratory syncytial virus and enterovirus and had no other past medical history, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Monday. He was the first COVID-19 patient aged below 12 to have died from the virus here.

Apart from a high fever and recurrent seizures, the boy experienced a subsequent drop in consciousness, when he was brought to KKH Children’s Emergency Department on the night of 21 June, MOH said.

He was later admitted to the children’s intensive care unit in critical condition and diagnosed with severe meningoencephalitis – inflammation of the brain and its surrounding protective membranes.

Along with the Health Sciences Authority and the expert committee on COVID-19 vaccination, MOH said it will study the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines that have been formulated for young children aged under five once manufacturers submit documents for evaluation.

"MOH extends our deepest condolences to the patient’s family. We understand that KKH is in contact with the family to provide the necessary support," it added.

To date, 1,413,667 COVID-19 cases have been recorded in Singapore, with 1,409 deaths due to the disease.

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