An 11-year-old allegedly found her parents dead in their basement, where they had been quarantining with Covid-19.
Authorities in St Louis, Missouri, said on Friday that the child found her parents dead in their basement bedroom, and that there was no sign of foul play, as local TV station KSDK first reported.
Officers from St Louis County Police Department were called to the family home in Mehlville, a suburb of St Louis, on Thursday last week following a report of a sudden death.
The department added in a statement to The Independent that there was "no reason to believe their deaths were caused by anything other than Covid-19 at this time”.
The couple were in their forties, and according to a neighbour, were showing symptoms of Covid-19 shortly before their deaths.
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Chuck Duy, a neighbour of the family, told KSDK that the couple recently tested positive, after the woman – who has not been identified – went to hospital.
“Supposedly, she had gone to the hospital,” said Mr Duy. “They thought that she had a stroke, but I guess it was due to Covid.”
The neighbour said the mother tested positive and returned home, from which point the couple began quarantining in their basement bedroom.
“She tested positive, but they sent her home and then her husband, meanwhile, was home with a positive test for Covid, so they both were quarantined,” said Mr Duy.
"To lose both parents at one time, you know, for an 11-year-old, it's really tragic," the neighbour told KSDK. "They were just the nicest people. We are praying for the girl and their family."
According to reports, the daughter was the only child of the couple, neither of whom have been identified by authorities.
The deaths follow a recent decline in the number of Covid infections and fatalities in Missouri, which has so far recorded almost 516,00 cases and 8,440 deaths, according to data from The New York Times.
More than 28.5 million infections and 510,000 fatalities have meanwhile been reported across the United States.
