Five-year-old dies from coronavirus amid UK's record death toll

Updated 4 April 2020 at 7:48 pm·3-min read

A five-year-old child, who is thought to be the UK’s youngest victim, is among the record 708 daily COVID-19 deaths in the country.

Britain’s health ministry said 4313 people who tested positive for the virus in hospital had died as of 1600 GMT on Friday, while there were 41,903 confirmed cases as of 0800 GMT Saturday, up 3735.

The toll has been steadily increasing by more than 500 deaths a day this week and the country is bracing for an expected peak in the next week to 10 days.

A medical professional in PPE, including gloves, eye protection and a face mask as a precautionary measure against Covid-19, carries a tank as a patient is taken from an ambulance into St Thomas' Hospital in north London, on April 1, 2020 as Britain battles coronavirus. — A member of medical staff carries a tank as a patient is taken from an ambulance into St Thomas' Hospital in north London, on April 1, 2020. Source: Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP via Getty Images

A total of 637 of the latest deaths were in England, the National Health Service (NHS) said.

"Patients were aged between five years and 104 years old. 40 of the 637 patients (aged between 48 and 93 years old) had no known underlying health condition," it said in a statement.

The NHS said it would not be giving further information about the five-year-old patient at the request of the family.

A 13-year-old boy from London, Ismail Mohamed Abdulwahab, died last week days after testing positive for COVID-19. His family said he had no underlying illnesses.

Senior minister Michael Gove told a daily briefing the teenager's mother and siblings were now showing symptoms.

The overall death toll now included seven healthcare professionals, he added.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is in self-isolation after developing mild symptoms of the disease, ordered a three-week lockdown of the country on March 23 to try to cut infections.

But there has been concern that warmer weather forecast for this weekend could tempt people from their homes to green spaces and public parks.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has warned against any relaxation in social distancing, saying: "If we do, people will die."

UK braces for COVID-19 peak

Imperial College London epidemiologist Neil Ferguson, who is advising the government, told BBC radio on Saturday a peak was expected around the Easter weekend.

"We still think things will plateau but we'll be at quite high levels of infection for weeks and weeks rather than seeing quite a rapid decline as the type seen in China," he said.

But Mr Ferguson said that was dependent on people staying at home. If that happened, it could lead to less stringent measures in place "at least by the end of May", he added.

The announcement of another record rise in deaths came after 13 residents at a care home in Glasgow died in one week in a suspected outbreak of coronavirus.

The Burlington Court Care Home said those who died had underlying medical conditions and two staff members were being treated for COVID-19.

Tests for coronavirus are currently carried out on the most serious cases that require hospital treatment, suggesting the true extent of confirmed cases and deaths is an under-estimate.