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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Health
Harry Cockburn

Coronavirus: Thirteen-day-old baby believed to be UK's youngest Covid-19 victim, NHS says

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A 13-day-old baby thought to have no underlying health conditions has died with Covid-19, according to NHS England.

The baby is believed to be the youngest victim of the disease in the UK.

The death was announced in Thursday’s coronavirus death toll in English hospitals.

The latest figures revealed a further 62 patients with Covid-19 had died in hospitals in England, with the eldest person aged 96.

The disease, which is statistically most dangerous to older people, has claimed the lives of at least 20 people under the age of 20 in the UK.

In May, a six-week-old baby, also with no known underlying health conditions, died with the virus.

Before that death, the youngest victim with no pre-existing health problems was thought to be Ismail Mohamed Abdulwahab, who died in March aged 13.

Doctors have also been alarmed at a spike in cases of an illness resembling Kawasaki disease.

Symptoms include a sudden high temperature, rash, swollen hands and feet, dry and cracked lips and tongue, and red, sore eyes.

A study led by Imperial College London and published earlier this month revealed the condition to be distinct from Kawasaki disease.

The researchers said they could not be certain that the new illness is caused by Covid-19, but said 45 of the 58 children involved in the study had evidence of current or past coronavirus infection.

They added that the emergence of a new condition during a pandemic is “unlikely to be a coincidence”.

Additional reporting by PA

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