Australia records its youngest Covid death amid Sydney outbreak
He collapsed at home after his condition ‘suddenly deteriorated’
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Your support makes all the difference.A man in his 20s is the youngest person to die of Covid-19 in the New South Wales (NSW) region of Australia.
Aude Alaskar, a 27-year-old forklift driver from Sydney, died on Tuesday on this thirteenth day of isolation at home.
It is believed that he had caught the Delta strain of the virus from his wife Yasmin, who works in a care home, according to Australian media. The couple had married just three months ago and were planning their wedding party for October.
The couple had both tested positive for the virus on 21 July. Yasmin is now in hospital.
Mr Alaskar had relatively mild symptoms until he started coughing, vomiting and then collapsed.
Asked by reporters why he wasn’t in hospital, NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant said his condition had deteriorated “suddenly” after he had said that he felt “a little fatigued”. Paramedics could not revive him.
Mr Alaskar’s relatives have said he was fit and healthy before contracting the virus and that he had no known underlying health conditions.
NSW premier, Gladys Berejiklian, confirmed that Mr Alaskar had not been vaccinated against Covid.
His death has prompted NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard to urge people aged 18 and over to “go and get” their jabs.
Bash Mnati, Mr Alaskar’s cousin, remembered him as a “real diamond” and “such a sweetheart”.
He told ABC news: “He was so nice, he was so good, he never had any trouble with anyone.”
The Gunners Soccer Club, where Mr Alaskar played, also paid tribute on Facebook saying: “Ady was a true gentleman both on and off the field and will be greatly missed. Rest in Peace Brother.”
A total of 233 new Covid cases were reported in NSW on Wednesday. The Covid death toll in NSW stands at 73.
In the whole of Australia, 35,086 cases and 927 Covid-related deaths have been reported since February 2020.
Australia’s youngest female victim of Covid is Adriana Midori Takara, who was a 38-year-old Brazilian business student in Sydney when she died in July 2021 before she was able to get a vaccine appointment.
Her family in São Paulo said that her death came as a “shock” as she was healthy with no known underlying conditions.
Last year, Nathan Turner, a 30-year-old man in Queensland who had underlying health conditions, was thought to have been the youngest person to die of Covid in Australia.
But, in May 2020, officials said that tests showed he tested negative for the virus.
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