Death of Wheeling High School sophomore raises concerns about COVID-19 in teens

A student at Northwest Suburban High School District 214 has died, raising concerns about whether he succumbed to complications of COVID-19.

Zach Leviton, a 16-year-old Wheeling High School sophomore, became ill last month, CBS-TV Channel 2 quoted his mother as saying. He worsened, was put on a ventilator and died last week.

Zach had tested negative for COVID-19, CBS quoted his mother as saying, but a doctor had told them the boy had experienced heart complications and might have been suffering from early stages of the virus.

The death shook the community and his friends posted memorials on YouTube and Instagram for the boy, whose services last week were private because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Cook County medical examiner's office had not yet ruled on a cause of death Sunday.

Family friend Jacqueline Batalis said Sunday that Leviton was one of her son's best friends and one of six boys who hung out together.

"They were all best friends. And he was with us all the time. So It's quite devastating," she said.

Northwest Suburban High School District 214 Superintendent David R. Schuler had informed parents and students in an email Saturday that one student had died, likely from complications of COVID-19.

He and other school officials did not name the student or school involved and would not say Sunday whether they were referring to Zach.

In the same letter, Schuler said another student is in intensive care, raising concerns about the effects of the disease in an age group considered at low risk for serious infections.

"Our understanding is that he hadn't been feeling good for a couple weeks. And then he was gone," Batalis said.

She said Zach's many friends are still trying to process his passing.

"It's hard to grasp and understand why and how such a young boy is just gone," she said.

Batalis remembered a boy who made others feel good.

"He had the most genuine loving heart. Everybody that was around him liked him. He was always smiling, always laughing. Always made everybody around him laugh and smile. Such a free spirit. Just a really neat, really respectful young man. Really good kid," she said.

Cases of COVID-19 among teens are uncommon. The Cook County Medical Examiner reports no teenagers among COVID-19 victims since the outbreak began, though the Illinois Department of Public Health on Wednesday reported the death of "one female teen" in Cook County. The agencies could not immediately explain the discrepancy.

Among those under age 20, 144 people have tested positive and 11 have been hospitalized, the Cook County Department of Public Health reports.

Illinois Public Heath Director Ngozi O. Ezike said while those numbers are relatively small, teens appear more likely than younger children to suffer severe cases of COVID-19. She could not say if other teens have died.

She added that a death is considered COVID-19-related for anyone who tests positive, though other causes could have led to death.

"We know from the pediatric literature that pediatric deaths from COVID are low," she said Sunday during Gov. J.B. Pritzker's daily briefing.

However, "a 2-year-old and a 17-year-old are all considered pediatric patients but the 17-year-old has the physiology much closer to an adult than, say, an infant or baby. Hospitals that I have worked with and pediatricians I have talked to, they have seen severe illness in older pediatric patients, as they look more like adults than babies."

Schuler said District 214's student services staff is working with family and friends of the students to provide support.

In his emotional letter, he said the student died "likely due to complications related to COVID-19. In addition, we currently have at least one additional student who is in the (intensive care unit) due to COVID-19.

"While we may be seeing a plateau in confirmed cases and deaths related to COVID-19 in Illinois, this is a dark week in District 214 that leaves me with an incredibly heavy heart."

He added, "We will continue to move forward to see the sunrise again one day; however, this week in our district is marked by pain and sadness. My family's thoughts and prayers are with these families and all members of our district's school community during this global pandemic."

According to the Cook County Department of Public Health, there have been 327 deaths out of 7,983 confirmed cases in the county.

Among those under age 20 in suburban Cook County, there have been 23.3 positive COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people.

The rate jumps to 336 per 100,000 people in their 20s, and 393 per 100,000 people in their 30s.

Older people are much more likely to have a positive test for COVID-19, with the rate jumping to 607 per 100,000 people in their 60s, the highest rate reported.