‘Mommy, is Daddy Dead Forever?': Father of 5 Dies of COVID Amid Spike

A South Florida father of five, with another child on the way, died Friday due to complications of COVID-19 as cases in the state continue to rise due in part to the more transmissible Delta variant.  

Choranzin McBride worked at a call center, drove for Uber and Lyft, all while studying to become a physical assistant. 

His family says McBride was unvaccinated, but was researching which vaccine would be best. 

“The doctor call me and he says, ‘Mrs. McBride, Mr. McBride, his heart stopped," McBride's wife, Chrystal said, "and we are now trying to restart it. At 4:28 he calls me and says Mrs. McBride, the time of death was 4:21. We could not restart his heart.” 

McBride was in critical care at Memorial Health where he had been intubated. 

“He helped us in every way," McBride's son Choranzin Jr. said, "to do everything. I just wish he was here with us today.”

“No matter if he’s not here, he’ll always be here for us,” McBride's other son Caiden said. 

It's a pain the little boys and so many other families are dealing with as the number of hospitalizations rises.

In it's latest report released Friday, 420 people were being treated at Memorial Healthcare Systems, up from 90 in June.

“Since June 19th up to today, we’ve seen a four-fold rise in the amount of cases that have been hospitalized, the number continues to grow every day,” Dr. Juana Mejia said.

75 patients were admitted with COVID on Monday, the most in this latest surge.

The Florida Hospital Association reports 17,589 new COVID cases Friday in Florida. That’s up from 16,000, Thursday and 9,329 people hospitalized.

Doctors blame the spike on the highly transmissible Delta variant. The variant is affecting a younger population.

“People in their 30s, 40s, 50s,” Dr. Mejia said.

The McBride family, sharing their story, hoping others will get vaccinated.

“My four-year-old, he says, 'mommy, is daddy dead forever?’," Chrystal McBride said. "How do I answer him?"