A 20-year-old woman passed away from the effects of Covid-19 in Flanders, making her one of the youngest people in Belgium to have died after contracting the novel virus.
The 20-year-old's death was confirmed by federal health institute Sciensano, with officials saying that it was "exceptional" for someone so young to die of the disease, De Standaard reports.
The woman, so far unidentified, is said to have suffered from chronic underlying conditions, a health group defined as having an increased risk to develop serious complications if they become sick from the virus.
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Her death was reported on Monday but officials at Sciensano said that she died on 14 August in Flanders, bumping up to four the number of Covid-19 deaths of people under 20 recorded in Belgium since the start of the pandemic.
News of her death comes as the death toll for the new coronavirus in Belgium reached 9,944, according to the most recent figures by Sciensano dated 17 August 2020.
According to these figures, at least three other deaths in the 0-20 age group have been recorded in Belgium, the first being that of a 12-year-old girl who died in late March after testing positive for the virus.
On 12 July, authorities reported the death of an 18-year-old woman who tested positive for Covid-19 and had underlying health conditions.
On 24 July, officials said that a 3-year-old girl had died from Covid-19, in what is so far Belgium's youngest Covid-19 death on record, announced as authorities scrambled to contain a surge in new infections after gradual relaxations of lockdown measures.
Gabriela Galindo
The Brussels Times
