Two young girls who woke up on Monday morning and found their mother dead on the floor beside them later tested positive for Covid-19.
Their mother had been seriously ill for some days, and police believe she had died from the coronavirus disease.
Pol Maj Patthanapol Ratchatatarakan, a Bang Phli chief investigator, said police were called to the room in tambon Bang Chalong after the woman’s body was discovered about 10.30am. They were accompanied by a doctor and rescuers
Apaporn Suntarachon, 44, was lying dead on the room floor. There was no sign of physical harm to the woman. She was believed to have died about five hours previously.
The body was put in a zipped bag and taken to Rama Samut Prakan Hospital for an autopsy to establish the cause of death.
There were two girls in the room, aged 7 and 9 years, in the company of neighbours. They said they lived there with their mother Apaporn, who was a masseuse.
They said that a few days ago their mother had started coughing up blood, had chest and back pains, vomited and had problems breathing.
On Sunday, neighbours helped her go to a doctor, who gave her some medicine. She returned to her room and went to sleep. The girls said they slept with their mother throughout the night.
Late on Monday morning they woke up and found their mother lying facedown on the floor by the mattress. She was not moving. They called for help. Neighbours came to have a look, and told them their mother had died.
Anyawut Pothi-ampo, of the Ruam Katanyu Foundation, said the two girls were tested with Covid rapid antigen kits, and the results were positive.
The cause of Apaporn’s death was not known, pending the autopsy result, but police believed she died of Covid-19.
Pol Maj Patthanapol said the provincial welfare office would be contacted to take the two girls for further testing to confirm the antigen results. They said Apaporn’s death had left them without a guardian.
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