Couple gets COVID-19, mother gives birth before dying of virus

CLEVELAND (WJW) — Cradling his baby, a Cleveland man sitting next to a picture of his wife said they had a great life together until they both fell ill with COVID-19.

Sierra Warith, 23, was pregnant with her second child when she and her husband, Ramath Mzpeh Warith, who works at the RTA, tested positive for the virus in May. 

Mr. Warith says his wife, who suffered from chronic asthma, began to experience a sore throat and develop a fever so she went to a local hospital. He says their baby was delivered through C-section. Warith would not survive to meet her baby.

“Just overabundance of fear, not knowing what tomorrow is going to bring because the situation was so dire,” said Warith.

He says she went to the hospital mid-May and died June 13, one day before turning 24.

“I feel like God kept her alive just long enough to deliver him,” he explained.

Thousands of dollars have been raised for the single father of two online. Those interested in helping the family can donate to the GoFundMe account established in Sierra’s memory.

“I know that God is keeping me because of the way he has blessed me,” he said.

Warith described his wife as a joyful woman looking forward to raising their children together. He says she was a student at Cuyahoga Community College. Warith encourages others to take the virus seriously. 

“This is real— wife, mother, 23 years old, whole life ahead of her, in school, doing well in life,” said Warith.

“It was just a feeling of brokenness,” he said about her death. “Not knowing what tomorrow holds because we have two children and we really had a wonderful life.”