A 12-year-old boy from Chicago died Thursday of coronavirus-related complications, the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed in a statement. Ernesto Guzman is the youngest known person to die of the virus in the county, and one of the younger deaths reported in the United States.
Guzman had other preexisting conditions that contributed to his death, including asthma, obstructive sleep apnea and Charcot-Marie Tooth Disorder, the county said. As of Thursday, 125 others have died of the virus in the county, bringing its reported death toll to 2,756.
Although the virus is particularly dangerous for the elderly, young adults and even children are still at risk. The death of a 6-week-old baby in Connecticut has been linked to the virus, and the 5-year-old daughter of two first responders died of the virus in Detroit. In Belgium, the virus killed a 12-year-old girl, which was the country’s youngest known casualty by far from the virus at that time.
Children are now also facing the rise of a mystery illness known as Pediatric Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome (PMIS), which has been linked to the coronavirus. The disease has been reported in more than 100 children in New York, and CBS News has recorded over 180 cases under investigation in 18 states and Washington, D.C.
