School district reports Wisconsin’s first teenage COVID-19-related death

A Wisconsin school district has reported that the state’s first teenage COVID-19-related death occurred over its Thanksgiving break.

Madison East High School Principal Brendan Kearney sent an email to students and families informing them of that junior Isai Morocho “unexpectedly during the Thanksgiving break after a brief, COVID-related illness,” the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported on Monday.

Kearney described Morocho as a “caring friend and family member with a ready smile and great sense of humor.” Morocho, believed to be the first person under 20 to die in Wisconsin after contracting the coronavirus, was also an excellent student who enjoyed theater and aimed to become a chef, the principal said. 

“We also want to recognize this tragic loss of life as a reminder of the threat that the COVID-19 pandemic poses to all members of our community, young or old,” Kearney said, according to the newspaper. “Receiving news like this in a time when we are unable to gather and meet in person is especially difficult and we all have our own ways of coping with loss.”

The Madison Metropolitan School District released a statement on Morocho’s death obtained by The Associated Press, saying it is “heartbroken.”

“Our community has lost a wonderful young person, and when a school family experiences a tragedy, especially the loss of a young life, it deeply impacts all of us,” the statement read.

The high school is offering support groups over Zoom on Monday and Tuesday, according to the Journal Sentinel. 

Morocho’s family members launched a GoFundMe to help pay for his funeral. As of Monday afternoon, it raised more than $15,000 out of a $20,000 goal. 

“Isai had the most caring and excited attitude about life that made everyone around him excited to see what he was going to do with it,” the GoFundMe reads. “He was known for his empathy, humor and so much more.”

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services’ COVID-19 dashboard currently lists no confirmed deaths of those under 20 years old, although the death of one child under 10 is considered “probable” to be caused by COVID-19.

Overall, Wisconsin has documented 3,313 COVID-19 fatalities and 387,235 confirmed infections.