The father of the London region's youngest COVID-19 related death says his son suffered chest pains and had difficulty breathing in the days leading up to his death.
Ahmad Dabeh spoke with reporters through a translator on Tuesday, the first time he has done so since his 19-year-old son Yassin's death.
Ahmad Dabeh speaks about his son Yassin's COVID-19 related death, January 26, 2021.
Dabeh said his son was diagnosed with COVID-19 the second week of January. He was in and out of hospital with complications from the virus prior to his death but was never admitted.
"[Yassin] went to hospital complaining of chest pain and they tried to give him some oxygen," the teen's father said through translator Tamara Elsayed. "The day before he passed he was complaining a lot of having difficulty breathing, chest pain, and having soreness in his body."
When the family tried to wake the 19-year-old from a nap on Thursday evening, Yassin was unresponsive. The family called 911 and despite the efforts of paramedics to revive him, Yassin was soon pronounced dead. Blood work done after his passing indicated his death was due to COVID-19, Dabeh said.
Yassin was buried on Friday. His death was included in the daily COVID-19 numbers from the Middlesex London Health Unit the following day. As no autopsy was done, public health officials were unable to confirm whether he died from COVID-19 or just with COVID-19. That led to nasty and hurtful rumours online, including ones alleging Yassin took his own life.
"The family is very distraught by the information that is being passed around on social media as it is false," Elsayed said on behalf of Dabeh. "[Those making these claims] were not there at the time of his death and they were not there to watch him struggle with COVID-19."
A visibly upset Dabeh then pleaded with the public to stop making these false allegations online, let the family mourn in peace, and to be respectful in what they write on social media.
Neither of Yassin's parents were able to attend his burial as they both have contracted COVID-19.
Dabeh said his son was a sweet, lovable boy who dealt with people in a compassionate manner. He was a Syrian refugee who, along with the rest of the family, moved to Canada in 2016. He had been working as a cleaner at Middlesex Terrace, a long-term care home in Delaware, when he contracted the virus. The facility has been dealing with an outbreak of the virus since December 23 that has killed 12 residents of the home.
Despite the outbreak, Yassin did not have safety concerns about his work and was happy at his job, his father said.
"He had a whole bright future ahead of him," Dabeh added.