Coronavirus: 5-year-old child with underlying health conditions among latest to die
Death of youngest known victim of UK epidemic confirmed by NHS England
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A five-year-old with underlying health conditions has become the youngest person to die with coronavirus in the UK.
The child was one of 637 patients in England whose death was confirmed by the NHS on Saturday afternoon.
Cabinet secretary Michael Gove opened the daily press conference by paying his respects.
He said: “Our thoughts today are also with the family of the five-year-old child with underlying health conditions who’s tragically died.”
The previous youngest known victim was an apparently health 13-year-old boy, Ismail Mohamed Abdulwahab, who died in hospital on Monday.
Ismail’s funeral was held on Friday without any of his immediate family present because they were in self-isolation after two of his siblings began displaying symptoms.
NHS England did not give any further detail about the five-year-old child other than to indicate they were among the patients with underlying health conditions.
It came as the Department of Health announced the UK death toll, as of 5pm on Friday, had risen by 708 in 24 hours to 4,313. It was the largest daily rise so far.
Nearly 42,000 people have tested positive for Covid-19, out of a total of 183,190 people tested.
London remains the worst-hit NHS area, with 10,724 cases, followed by the Midlands on 6,127. The North East, the North West and the South East have each recorded just over 4,000 cases.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments