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Family ‘devastated’ after boy, 13, dies in London after testing positive for Covid-19

Coronavirus: We are in uncharted territory
Coronavirus: We are in uncharted territory Coronavirus: We are in uncharted territory

The death of a 13-year-old boy who tested positive for coronavirus has been confirmed just hours after a top health official warned fatalities in young people highlight the need for everyone to follow social distancing rules.

Ismail Mohamed Abdulwahab’s family said they were not aware of any underlying health conditions and had been left “beyond devastated” by his death at King’s College Hospital.

Confirmation of the teenager’s death came after NHS England released its latest figures, which included a 19-year-old who died after testing positive for Covid-19 and had no existing medical issues.

Italian news website La Repubblica named him as Luca Di Nicola, a chef originally from Nereto who had been living in London.

The news outlet quoted his aunt Giada as saying he was “very healthy” and that before he was admitted to hospital doctors had given him paracetamol and told the family “he was young, strong and they must not worry over this nasty flu”.

When Mr Di Nicola’s symptoms got worse he was taken to North Middlesex Hospital where he died.

England’s deputy chief medical officer Jenny Harries said the deaths of young people will have come as a “huge shock” to the victims’ families.

The NHS announced on Tuesday that 367 people who tested positive for coronavirus had died.

The group were aged between 19 and 98 years old.

Officials said that all but 28 patients had underlying health conditions.

Addressing the daily Downing Street press conference, Dr Harries said: “Although what we know about this disease is that, in general, younger people are not having significant severe illness, it is the case, very sadly… that young people can still be affected.”

She said younger people “tend not to think of death” and so it is “quite easy perhaps to not think of yourself as part of the risk, or part of the affected group”.

She added: “They are really sad reminders that it doesn’t matter what age you are, you should be staying at home and observing all the social distancing measures we have highlighted.”

Dr Nathalie MacDermott, a lecturer in infectious diseases at King’s College London, said Ismail’s death “highlights the importance of us all taking the precautions we can to reduce the spread of infection in the UK and worldwide”.

She said: “While it is reported this boy did not have any underlying conditions and was thought to be otherwise healthy, it is important that a coroner assesses whether a post-mortem is necessary to further understand the exact cause of death.”

Research into why some people with no underlying health conditions die after contracting coronavirus is “essential” because it could indicate “an underlying genetic susceptibility of how the immune system interacts with the virus”, she added.

She said: “Determining if this is the case could help us to learn more about the interaction of the virus with the immune system and subsequently what further treatments may be suitable in patients with severe infection.”

The death toll in England now stands at 1,651.

The latest figures come after global health leaders warned that young people are “not invincible” to the virus.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said previously that the infection can cause severe disease in “people of all ages”.

WHO has warned that young people can die from the illness or hospitalised for weeks.

It said around one in 10 people aged 20 to 50 will have “moderate to severe” illness.

And figures from Italy show that one in eight people occupying intensive care beds were under 50.