London: A 13-year-old boy with no underlying health conditions has become the UK’s youngest victim of the coronavirus pandemic in the United Kingdom (UK). The death toll continued to rise in the country with UK recording over 500 coronavirus deaths for first time in 24 hours.
Ismail Mohamed Abdulwahab was admitted to King’s College Hospital here after suffering breathing difficulties and died Tuesday evening.
An online fundraiser organised by Arabic educational institution Madinah College in the UK capital has raised over 56,000 pounds in funds for the boy’s grief-stricken family within days.
“Ismail was only 13 years old without any pre-existing health conditions and sadly he died without any family members close by due to the highly infectious nature of COVID-19,” the fundraiser page said.
The 13-year-old schoolboy from Brixton in south London started showing symptoms of coronavirus last week and was rushed to hospital after he had trouble breathing. There he tested positive for COVID-19 and was put on a ventilator then into an induced coma but never recovered. “We are beyond devastated. To our knowledge he had no underlying health conditions,” said a statement released by the family.
King’s College Hospital expressed condolences to the family as it confirmed that the boy’s death had been referred to the coroner. Dr Nathalie MacDermott, clinical lecturer at King’s College London, said the 13-year-old boy’s death highlights the importance of taking the precautions required to reduce the spread of the deadly virus.
MacDermott said: “It is important that a coroner assesses whether a post-mortem is necessary to further understand the exact cause of death. While chronic underlying medical conditions are known to result in worse outcomes in COVID-19 infection, we have heard of cases of younger individuals with no known medical problems succumbing to the disease.”
PTI