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28 April 2020updated 06 Oct 2020 9:45am

Children have died from syndrome with potential coronavirus link, Hancock says

By Samuel Horti

Children with no underlying health conditions have died from an inflammatory syndrome believed to be linked to the coronavirus, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said.

The syndrome appears to be similar to Kawasaki disease, a rare condition that can cause heart problems. News of a spike in children attending hospital with the syndrome emerged yesterday after GPs in North London were sent an alert by local NHS bosses.

Hancock did not say how many children had died, but he told LBC the number of cases was “small”.

“There are some children who have died who didn’t have underlying health conditions,” he said. “It’s a new disease that we think may be caused by coronavirus… we’re not 100% sure because some of the people who got it hadn’t tested positive, so we’re doing a lot of research now, but it is something that we’re worried about.”

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