A 4-year-old child is among the 162 newest COVID-19-related deaths in New Jersey.
The child had underlying health conditions, according to Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli. But the commissioner declined to go into any further detail, saying that she would respect the privacy of the family.
“That precious 4-year-old. It’s unfathomable,” Gov. Phil Murphy said.
The unidentified child is the youngest person in the state to have died form COVID-19. No one under the age of 18 has died from the virus, according to state officials.
The death comes as New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that a 5-year-old boy died of an illness possibly linked to the coronavirus. Cuomo said Friday that there have been 73 reported cases in New York of children becoming severely ill with symptoms similar to Kawasaki disease and toxic shock syndrome.
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Murphy declined to comment Friday on whether the 4-year-old from New Jersey had Kawasaki disease.
Murphy said Friday that including the child, 162 new COVID-19-related deaths were reported. The New Jersey death toll now stands at 8,952.
The Associated Press wire services contributed to this report.