Two more New York children have died of a “truly disturbing” coronavirus-linked inflammatory syndrome that mirrors Kawasaki disease, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Saturday.
“The illness has taken the lives of three young New Yorkers. This is new, and it’s developing,” Cuomo said at his daily press briefing in Manhattan.
He continued: “One of the few rays of good news was young people weren’t affected. We’re not so sure that is the fact anymore.”
The fatalities include the 5-year-old who died Thursday at Mount Sinai’s Kravis Children’s Hospital.
The illness, which experts have said appears to originate from the novel coronavirus, has infected at least 73 children statewide.
Similar to toxic-shock syndrome, Kawasaki disease causes an inflammation of blood vessels in infants, toddlers and elementary school-aged kids, potentially leading to heart disease and death.
Tackling it, the governor said, is “the priority for us today.”
Cuomo said the infected kids tested positive for antibodies or COVID-19, but “those were not the symptoms they showed when they came into the hospital system.”
Specific details about the additional deaths were not immediately available.
