May 8, 2020 / By Erika Edwards
A 5-year-old boy in New York has become the first child in the United States to die from a condition called pediatric multisymptom inflammatory syndrome that is believed to be linked to COVID-19.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said during a briefing Friday that the state department of health is investigating several related cases in children.
“This would be really painful news and would open an entirely different chapter,” Cuomo said.
“This is an extremely rare and previously unknown presentation of COVID-19 in children,” the Mount Sinai Health System said in a statement. “We extend our deepest condolences to the family in the wake of this tragedy.”
Nationwide, nearly 100 children have been diagnosed with the newly identified syndrome. At least eight states — California, Delaware, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Washington — as well as Washington, D.C., have reported cases.
