2 children in Virginia dead from COVID in 3-day span

yesterday

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A child under the age of 10 died in eastern Virginia on Wednesday from COVID-19, the second fatal juvenile case this week in the region, health officials confirmed.

A health department spokesperson, Larry Hill, told the Richmond Times-Dispatch he could not provide any further information about the child.

The child’s death occurred shortly after that of 10-year-old Teresa Sperry, who died Monday from the virus. According to officials, they are the 12th and 13th juvenile deaths in the state since the beginning of the pandemic.

Sperry, who was from Suffolk, started exhibiting severe symptoms Sunday but was sent home from Sentara Obici Hospital after a chest scan came back clear. On Monday, Sperry stopped breathing, her family told The Virginian Pilot.

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HEALTH & MEDICINE | NEWS

‘I miss my baby.’ Family of Suffolk girl who died of COVID-19 describes heart-wrenching final days

By ELISHA SAUERS
THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT | SEP 29, 2021 AT 10:40 AM

SUFFOLK — Jeff Sperry balked at the idea of his children riding in a school bus in the middle of a pandemic, so he drove them each day.

His family of six is vigilant. They believe in wearing masks, getting vaccinated and staying home from school when under the weather. His wife, Nicole Sperry, is a third-grade teacher.

When he picked up his daughter last Wednesday, she had a headache. When she came home from school Thursday, she was profoundly altered, drowsy to the point of conking out for a nap. She had a fever, so he kept his children home from school Friday.

By Monday, his daughter was gone.

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Elisha Sauers, 757-839-4754, elisha.sauers@pilotonline.com

Elisha Sauers
Staff Writer
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Elisha Sauers covers health and medicine and has been a reporter at The Virginian-Pilot since 2016. Previously she covered Norfolk business. Prior to The Pilot, she worked at The Capital in Annapolis, Maryland.