Dallas County, Texas Says 5-Year- Old boy Died from Coronavirus
BURNETT: New tonight, Dallas County, Texas, announcing a 5-year-old boy has died from coronavirus, the country's first -- or the county's, I'm sorry, first pre-teen death. Now, we don't know yet if the child had underlying issues. But the county has announced 1,450 children under the age of 18 have tested positive for coronavirus this month. And this comes as parents across this country are preparing to make big decisions on whether to send their kids to school this fall. And right now, two children in one family in nearby Arlington, Texas, is battling the virus. This is 11-year-old Scotty Carlton. He has fought underlying health conditions since his birth. He was hospitalized earlier this month and tested positive for coronavirus. One day later, his nine-year-old brother Jeffrey also tested positive. He did not have to be hospitalized. Luckily, Scotty has since been released from the hospital. OUTFRONT now, their parents Jeff and Catherine. And I really appreciate your time and both of you, you're talking to all of us. I know it's got to be hard, as a parent myself, for you to do this. But, you know, Jeff, let me start with you. We know that out of the hospital and back home, how are Scotty and Jeffrey both doing today?</s>JEFF CARLTON, FATHER OF TWO COVID-POSITIVE SONS: They're definitely better. Thank you for asking. There are still complications, right, to deal with</s>BURNETT: And complications like you mentioned things like headaches and things like that, Jeff?</s>J. CARLTON: Yeah, Scotty has been -- this is how it started. He's the oldest. Jeffrey was feverish and fatigued for the first few days of this thing, and now, he's having kind of mysterious, debilitating headaches that come on quickly, they -- for 10 or 15 minutes and they tend to go away. And so, that's new and it's obviously concerning.</s>BURNETT: Of course, of course. I mean, Catherine, I know you are both really worried about this virus. From the beginning you were cautious because of Scotty, because he has the underlying conditions and you did everything you were told to do. You did everything right. So, when you first learned that he and then Jeffrey tested positive, I mean, you know, as a mother, how terrifying was that for you?</s>CATHERINE CARLTON, MOTHER OF TWO COVID-POSITIVE SONS: It was crushing. Since March when we first heard about the virus, you know, we started making our plans and following guidance of how do we -- how do we protect Scotty. And we did what we thought and could do as best we could and it still happened to us, you know, four months in. And that first call was crushing. He was in the hospital and really thought if he got this, it would be a death sentence. So, we are in disbelief that he got it. We're in disbelief that Jeffrey got it. We're in disbelief then given his underlying conditions that he was able to come home and he's doing well. But I'm still worried. We're still worried because they still have symptoms. So, short term, we have concerns. I wish them both having it meant we didn't have to worry about them getting it. And we don't know the long-term effects of this virus on them, let alone that we have a third kiddo here that we have tried our best to keep safe. And so far, no symptoms for the three of us, and just the concern as a mom of, hey, I wish I could take it from them and have it myself and then be -- how do we care for them if we both get it. It's so complicated. Let alone quarantining within the house and keeping three kids separate to try and prevent the spread in our house.</s>BURNETT: So, let me ask you about a couple of things you mentioned. I mean, Jeff, you know, you have not shown any symptoms of the virus and obviously, Catherine, you have tested negative. Your daughter, you mentioned your other child, your daughter is negative. So, do you think that this is because of a result of all the things you've done? I see these pictures of your boys wearing masks and all these precautions that you've taken, or do you think that this is possibly because it is hard for kids to spread it? I mean, you're in the midst of this. Nobody knows the answer to that. What do you think?</s>J. CARLTON: You know, I think one of the more concerning things about this is that we just don't know. We don't know the answers to some of those questions. When we were leaving the hospital with Scotty, they told me to sort of presume that I was positive. They've also said that even though Catherine and our daughter tested negative initially they could, you know, be a false negative. They could test positive a few days later. There's an awful lot of unknowns with this illness.</s>BURNETT: All right. Well, I appreciate both of your time very much. I hope they keep getting better. I know you've got to be so worried with those continuing symptoms. But I really, as a parent myself, appreciate you're sharing all this with us. Thank you so much.</s>C. CARLTON: Thank you.</s>J. CARLTON: Thank you.</s>BURNETT: And next, going backward, Washington state seemed to have a grip on COVID-19 early in the pandemic. Tonight though, deaths are on the rise and at alarming rate. So, what happened? And a major university announcing it is going to have thousands of students back in class in weeks. I'm going to ask the president of the University of Arizona who is also a medical doctor why he made this decision.