A teenage girl has become the youngest person in Europe to die of coronavirus, according to reports.
The 16-year-old French schoolgirl sadly passed away this week in a hospital in Paris.
According to reports in the French media, she had no underlying medical conditions, and was taken to hospital after initially developing a ‘slight cough’, before dying of respiratory problems on Wednesday.
Named only as Julie A, people have paid tribute to the girl, describing her as ‘bright and much loved’.
Her sister, Manon, spoke out to warn other young people that the virus can affect anyone, adding that her sister hadn’t suffered from any illnesses beforehand.
Manon said: “We must stop believing that this virus only affects the elderly. No one is invincible against this mutant virus. Julie just had a slight cough last week. It got worse last weekend with mucus and on Monday we went to see a general practitioner.
“It was there that she was diagnosed with respiratory distress. She had no particular illnesses before this.”
She spoke to the French newspaper Le Parisien and released a photo of Julie, in a bid to warn everyone about the risk of coronavirus to young people.
