I don’t know how he died. I assumed from the article that he committed suicide. We have had several young people do that (well above normal) here in my city. The article referenced that he was undergoing counseling and was upset that school (and football) were shut down.
I think the point of the article is that you have two populations of children only miles apart. One has been in school and is living a relatively normal life. The other, thanks to a policy that does not appear to be justified by science, is not living a normal life.
That's what I assumed when I first read the article, but apparently he did not.