A five-year-old Venezuelan migrant boy died from sepsis after contracting multiple infections inside a dirty Chicago migrant center that left several sick.
Jean Carlos Martinez was riddled with multiple illnesses, including COVID-19 and Group A Strep, which “rapidly became fatal,” the City of Chicago said in a statement.
Martinez died on Dec. 17 after being rushed to the hospital following shelter staff trying to perform chest compressions on the little boy.
The city had previously insisted that there was no outbreak at the Pilsen center, despite four other children also having to be taken to the hospital around that time.
Martinez’s autopsy said he had COVID-19, adenovirus, rhinovirus, and Group A Strep, according to Spectrum News.
City officials still maintain that all shelter residents are given medical screenings, including “weekly on-site provider supporter, on-site vaccination events for COVID, varicella, and [the] flu.”
It also insisted that migrants have access to health centers for all healthcare needs, the statement read.
The shelter serves around 2,300 people and was in the hot seat earlier this winter due to the growing list of medical emergencies happening inside its walls.
A volunteer revealed in December that residents were asking them for blankets and clothing, among other items.
Governor JB Pritzker pledged $182 million while the Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle gave $70 million more to help migrants in the city.
This is in addition to the $160 million the state also gave in November to “welcome” migrants to the sanctuary city.
In total, Illinois has spent $478 million on the migrant crisis, according to Fox News.
More than 36,000 migrants have come through Chicago in the last 18 months. There are currently 13,000 migrants in shelters inside Chicago’s city limits.
