A Korean-American teenager whose death has been linked to coronavirus was denied urgent care due to lack of insurance. His death is believed to be the first coronavirus fatality of a minor in the U.S.

Seventeen-year-old William Whang from Lancaster, California, died of septic shock on March 18. In the medical examiner's report obtained by British newspaper the Sun, his ethnicity is given as Korean.

The Global Sepsis Alliance said "COVID-19 can cause sepsis, which can lead to septic shock," according to the daily.

Medical authorities in the U.S. said early tests indicated that Whang was infected with the virus but a further evaluation is pending to determine if his death was in fact caused by it.

According to Lancaster Mayor Rex Pariss, the teenager's family had no idea that he had contracted the disease at the time of death and already buried him.

In a video posted on YouTube on March 25, Pariss said the teenager was healthy and socializing with his friends until March 13. On the day he died, he "had gone to an urgent care" but "he didn't have insurance, so they did not treat him" and instead sent him to a public hospital in the area. On the way, he went into cardiac arrest and died.