The 27-year-old man from south-west Sydney who was confirmed to have died from COVID on Wednesday has been identified as a forklift driver and factory worker from Liverpool, who had gotten married only six weeks ago.
Per The Daily Mail, Aude Al-Askar had been “feeling 90% fine” after his positive COVID result in late July, and had only developed symptoms a week after his diagnosis. He is now the youngest person in NSW to die after testing positive.
It’s believed he had contracted the virus from his wife, who works in aged care, and was quarantining with him at home in Liverpool when she found him unconscious in the shower.
Aude had only gotten married six weeks before his death, and was reportedly looking forward to completing his 14-day quarantine on Wednesday.
Paramedics reportedly determined he had suffered a heart failure, and his cousin Khalid Thijeel also told the Daily Mail that his family has a history of heart conditions. It’s expected that the Coroner’s report will determine his cause of death, but friends have also been told that “his heart couldn’t handle the infection”.
“He woke up yesterday, he was feeling good, he had breakfast, called his family and then he had a shower about 4pm and that was it,” Khalid said.
“He only got married about six weeks ago… [he was] just starting his life.”
Premier Gladys Berejiklian confirmed that Aude wasn’t vaccinated in Wednesday’s press conference, urging for everyone in the Greater Sydney area to get vaccinated as soon as possible.
Khalid also told the Daily Mail that his cousin was apparently waiting to see what the long-term effects of the vaccine were before getting it done. The outlet also reports that Aude hadn’t initially considered getting the jab as a priority because of his age.
“We can’t stress how important it is to come forward and get vaccinated,” she said.
“If you are vaccinated you are staying out of hospital, staying out of the ICU and helping to reduce the spread of the virus.”
The deeply-infectious Delta variant is currently tearing through the Greater Sydney region, with an alarming number of people under 40 are producing positive test results.
All adult Aussies (yep, even if those of us under 40) are currently able to get the safe and effective AstraZeneca vaccine through a GP. Talk to a doctor to see if it’s right for you.
Alternatively, you can triple-check to see if you’re eligible for the Pfizer vaccine here.
The best vaccine is the first one you can get, and that’ll be our ticket out of this mess.
