Europe: COVID-19 Rare Disease Kills 9-Year-Old in France

A man rides along a cycle lane in Manchester, Britain, on May 14, 2020.

Published 15 May 2020

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-- UK COVID-19 deaths hit nearly 34,000;

-- Coronavirus-linked rare disease kills 9-year-old in France, 135 cases identified in total;

-- Italy's active COVID-19 infections continue downward trend, as gov't mulls reopening inter-region movement;

-- Over half of Germans support fully opening borders to EU countries soon.

The following are the latest developments of the COVID-19 pandemic in European countries.

LONDON -- Another 348 COVID-19 patients have died in Britain as of Thursday afternoon, bringing the total coronavirus-related death toll in the country to 33,998, the Department of Health and Social Care said Friday.

The figures include deaths in all settings, including hospitals, care homes and the wider community.

As of Friday morning, 236,711 have tested positive for the virus, said the department.

A worker disinfects a hair salon which is about to resume operations in Rome, Italy, May 14, 2020. (Photo by Alberto Lingria/Xinhua)

ROME -- Italy registered 242 new coronavirus fatalities on Friday, bringing the country's death toll to 31,610, out of total infection cases of 223,885, according to the latest data provided by the country's Civil Protection Department.

The number of recoveries rose to 120,205, with an increase of 4,917 compared to Thursday. Nationwide, the number of active infections fell by 4,370 to 72,070, according to the Civil Protection Department.

Of those who tested positive for the coronavirus, 808 are being treated in intensive care, down by 47 compared to Thursday, and 10,792 are hospitalized with symptoms, a decrease of 661 patients over the past 24 hours.

A security man wearing mask is seen at a store at the Champs Elysees Avenue in Paris, France, May 15, 2020. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)

PARIS -- A nine-year-old boy died in Marseille last Friday from Kawasaki-like disease and tests have shown that he was infected with coronavirus, his doctors told French media on Friday.

A medical team from La Timone University Hospital in Marseille in southern France said he was the first victim of the disease in France and the second in Europe after the death of a boy in the United Kingdom.

"The child presented symptoms that resembled Kawasaki disease and his serology indicated that he had been in contact with the coronavirus without developing symptoms in the previous weeks," said Professor Fabrice Michel, head of the hospital's pediatric resuscitation service.

A customer in face mask leaves a clothing shop in Berlin, Germany, May 9, 2020. (Photo by Binh Truong/Xinhua)

BERLIN -- Fifty-five percent of Germans wanted borders between countries of the European Union (EU) to be fully open again, according to a Politbarometer survey published by the German public broadcaster ZDF on Friday.

At the same time, 41 percent of German citizens were against opening the EU borders completely again soon and only four percent were undecided about this matter, according to the survey among more than 1,200 German voters.

The Ministry of the Interior announced on Wednesday that controls at the border with Luxembourg would end on Friday. Starting Saturday, controls at German borders with three neighboring countries -- France, Switzerland and Austria -- will be relaxed, but not yet fully discontinued.