NETHERLANDS – A 29-year-old named Guus from Beek en Donk passed away due to the coronavirus on Tuesday. So far he is the youngest yet to die of Covid-19 in the Netherlands. As far as is known, he had no underlying health problems. His older brother, 31-year-old Bram, is currently in ICU with the virus, Eindhovens Dagblad reports.
Guus was admitted to hospital 2.5 weeks ago, and put into an artificial coma in intensive care a week later. The same happened to his brother Bram, who was admitted to hospital shortly before. “When Guus ended up in the hospital, everyone was afraid that he would follow the same route as his brother. That happened, they followed the same steps one by one,” Bram’s girlfriend Cathelijne said to the newspaper. But where Bram was recently woken from his artificial coma, Guus died.
Mayor Frank van der Meijden of Laarbeek, which covers Beek en Donk, knows the family and had contact with them on Tuesday morning. “What this family is going through is terrible. The grief is enormous. The death of such a young Beek en Donkenaar affects the entire community, because many people know the family well. Where possible, we try to support the relatives, including those of other victims, as much as possible,” the mayor said to Eindhovens Dagblad.
The vast majority of people in the Netherlands who die due to a coronavirus infection were at higher risk because of their age or underlying health problems. As far as is known, Guus was healthy before contracting the virus, according to the newspaper.