France reports first death from rare disease linked to coronavirus

France has reported the death of a 9-year-old boy — the first from a Kawasaki-like disease believed to be linked to COVID-19, doctors said on Friday.

According to the reports, similar child fatalities are being investigated in New York and London.

The boy died after a “neurological injury related to a cardiac arrest,” reports said adding that he had been tested positive for COVID-19, received treatment at the hospital for seven days and died on Saturday.

In the last three weeks, several countries have confirmed cases of children affected by an inflammatory disease with symptoms similar to those of a rare condition, Kawasaki’s disease. Scientists believe it is linked to COVID-19.

A children’s hospital in London said on Wednesday that a 14-year-old boy with no underlying health conditions had died from the disease and had tested positive for the new coronavirus.

In New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Tuesday that three children in the state had died and more than 100 cases were being investigated.

So far 125 cases reported in France between March 1 and May 12, the country’s public health agency said. The patients’ ages ranged from one to 14.

Symptoms include a high fever, rashes, abdominal pain, conjunctivitis and a red or swollen tongue.

Inflammation of blood vessels and cardiac damage are “much more pronounced” in cases suspected of being linked to COVID-19 compared with classic Kawasaki disease, France’s public health agency said.