The London, Ont., teen who passed away with COVID-19 on Tuesday has been identified as Owen Brandies.
Brandies, 18, is the youngest person to die with COVID-19 in the Middlesex-London Health Unit‘s jurisdiction.
According to a GoFundMe campaign created by family friend Alison Taylor, Brandies passed away “suddenly (and) without warning.”
“Owen did not have any underlying conditions and the effects of the virus set in quickly and aggressively,” it read.
The GoFundMe campaign says Brandies leaves behind his mother and older sister.
On Thursday, medical officer of health Dr. Chris Mackie said Brandies went into respiratory distress, arrived in hospital and died within the same day.
A coroner’s investigation is underway and is expected to provide more information, but Mackie suggested on Thursday that he may have had some kind of underlying condition.
“Obviously, there was a unique situation in this individual. We do not get deaths in people of this age group very frequently. This would be among a handful across Canada during the entire pandemic,” he said.
The GoFundMe page had raised over $2,200 by late Friday afternoon.
The organizers say “the family is planning to use the funds to honour Owen’s love of the outdoors and take a trip to the mountains to fish.”
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