A teenager who died of coronavirus could have been saved if he was tested earlier, an Italian mayor has claimed.
Luca Di Nicola, 19, from the town of Nereto in eastern Italy, lost his life at North Middlesex Hospital in north London on 24 March.
The young man's family said that he was "extremely healthy" but was only given paracetamol by his GP when he developed symptoms, La Repubblica reported.
On March 23 the doctor visited Mr Nicola at his home in Enfield because his symptoms had worsened.
The medical professional told the Italian national "you're young, strong and shouldn't worry about this bad influenza", the paper reported.
The following day the chef complained of chest pains before collapsing.
He was rushed to hospital where he was put in intensive care before dying half an hour later.
“To learn of Luca’s death in our small community of 5,600 souls where almost everyone knows each other was devastating, a tragedy within a tragedy," the deputy mayor of Nereto, Maria Angela Lelii, told the BBC.
“That was made worse by the discovery that he tested positive for coronavirus because he could have won this battle had he had appropriate treatment," she said.
“And I state with even more conviction that had he returned to Italy, now we would be having a very different conversation.”
Mr Di Nicola's 23-year-old brother Davide paid tribute on Instagram, saying "I love you brother".
The Mayor of Nereto, Daniele Laurenzi, called on his country's foreign ministry to investigate Mr Nicola's death as a matter of "urgency".
Italy has been hit incredibly hard by the coronavirus.
However, today the Covid-19 death toll climbed by 727 to 13,155 – the lowest number since March 26.
Figures from the Civil Protection Agency show that the number of new cases rose more sharply than a few days earlier, growing by 4,782 compared to 4,053.
The total number of infections confirmed in the country since February 21 now stands at 110,574.
