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TEEN TRAGEDY

‘Healthy’ Italian chef, 19, living in London dies from suspected coronavirus after ‘doctor told him not to worry’

A TEENAGE chef has died from suspected coronavirus after doctors said he had "nothing to worry about".

Luca Di Nicola, 19, from Enfield, North London, worked with mum Clarissa in their family restaurant before contracting COVID-19.

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 Luca Di Nicola, 19, worked with mother Clarissa at their north London family restaurant before he became ill with suspected COVID-19
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Luca Di Nicola, 19, worked with mother Clarissa at their north London family restaurant before he became ill with suspected COVID-19
 Luca's family say they are struggling to come to terms with their grief because “he was very healthy”
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Luca's family say they are struggling to come to terms with their grief because “he was very healthy”

Luca, originally from Nereto in eastern Italy, died at the North Middlesex Hospital in London last week.

His heartbroken family say the popular teen was "very healthy" but had visited a GP with symptoms of coronavirus before his death.

Luca's auntie Giada, from Abruzzo in Italy, told : "For a week before his death Luca had a fever and a cough and my sister-in-law Clarissa and her partner Vincenzo who lived in the same house also had it.

"The London-based doctor gave my nephew some paracetamol.

"But Luca got worse on March 23.

"The doctor visited him at home and told him that he was young, strong and that he didn't have to worry about that bad flu."

But his condition deteriorated, with Luca complaining of chest pains and Clarissa noticing his lips turned purple, before he collapsed.

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His mother and her partner called an ambulance and paramedics revived him.

But his lungs collapsed from being full of blood and water.

There are fears for the well-being of Clarissa and Vincenzo are still displaying the same symptoms as Luca.

The couple have been told to self-isolate for two weeks by doctors.

However, Italian media reports they have not been tested for COVID-19 and have been given paracetamol to cope with their symptoms.

Italy continues to be the second highest affected country outside of mainland China.

On Friday, the country's coronavirus deaths rose by 889 deaths in 24 hours, bringing the total to 10,023.

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Italy has recorded 92,472 confirmed cases of infection since the outbreak began.

It was revealed on Sunday that at least 50 doctors in the country have died from the virus.

The National Federation of Orders of Surgeons and Dentists (FNOMCeO) confirmed 17 of those had worked in Lombardy, the country's heaviest-hit region.

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