New story in Health from Time: Young Person Dies From COVID-19 in L.A., Likely Becoming the First U.S. Victim Under 18

A young person under the age of 18 has died after contracting COVID-19 in Los Angeles County, likely becoming the first child to die from the virus in the United States.

Dr. Barbara Ferrer, head of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, described the death on Tuesday as “a devastating reminder that COVID-19 infects people of all ages.” The young person lived in Lancaster, Calif., according to a press release from the County of Los Angeles Public Health department. No other information is so far known about their identity.

The patient appears to have become the first minor to have succumbed to the virus in the country. Centers for Disease Control and Control had reported as of March 18 that there had been no deaths from coronavirus among people younger than 19 in the U.S., and less than 1% of the deaths were among people between 20 and 54 years old.

Scientists say that older adults are more susceptible to the coronavirus, and children account for a very small number of cases. In Los Angeles County, only 10 of the known 635 cases (excluding Long Beach and Pasadena) were younger than 17. However, experts say that younger people are still at risk from coronavirus, and a minority may contract serious cases that require hospitalization.

Ferrer said that at least 11 people have died in Los Angeles County thus far, and 119 patients diagnosed with the virus have been hospitalized.

As of Tuesday, at least 44,183 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the United States, and 544 people have died, according to the CDC.