"Denied Emergency Treatment Due to No Health Insurance"… Korean American Teen Among COVID-19 Deaths in the US

First Minor COVID-19 Death in the US Suspected
Mayor: "No Treatment Given Because of No Insurance"

Teenage boy without insurance unable to receive emergency treatment, story revealed by Rex Paris, Mayor of Lancaster, California
[Image source=YouTube capture]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki Ha-young] A Korean American high school teenager who died from the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) in the United States has been confirmed. He is presumed to be the first minor in the U.S. to die from COVID-19, and controversy has arisen after revelations that he was denied emergency treatment due to lack of health insurance.

According to the British daily The Sun and others on the 30th, the official death record of William Hwang (aged 17 at the time), who died in California on the 18th (local time), lists his race as "KOREAN." It is presumed that Hwang died from COVID-19, but the specific cause of death is stated to be under further investigation.

Earlier, Rex Parris, mayor of Lancaster, California, revealed in a YouTube video that Hwang went to an emergency treatment facility but was denied treatment because he had no insurance.

Mayor Parris stated that the emergency treatment facility told Hwang to go to the public hospital Antelope Valley Hospital emergency room, and while being transported there, Hwang suffered cardiac arrest. After arriving at the emergency room, he underwent six hours of resuscitation efforts but ultimately did not recover.

The Sun reported that Hwang is presumed to have died from septic shock. COVID-19 is known to potentially cause sepsis.

LA County announced in a briefing on the 24th that the first teenage patient had died from COVID-19, but the family was reportedly unaware that the patient was Hwang. The family is said to have held a funeral earlier last week without knowing that Hwang had contracted COVID-19.

Mayor Parris told The Sun, "The family did not know that Hwang was the boy appearing in the news," and added, "They shook hands with mourners at the funeral without any knowledge of COVID-19."

Currently, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has not officially classified Hwang as a COVID-related death. Health authorities stated, "Although Hwang tested positive, this case is complex and requires further investigation."