A 13-year-old Brampton girl who contracted COVID-19 died last week, becoming one of the youngest victims of the virus in Ontario.
On Sunday evening, Mayor Patrick Brown tweeted his condolences to the family of Emily Victoria Viegas.
"This is beyond heart wrenching. As a parent, I am lost for words. Horrifying," Brown said.
"We can never underestimate the seriousness of #covid19 and the variants."
Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie also tweeted that losing someone so young to the virus is "heartbreaking."
The Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board confirmed Sunday the death of one of its students but did not release their identity.
"This is a loss to the entire DPCDSB community. At this time, we are focusing on supporting staff and students and respecting the privacy of the grieving family," the board said in a statement.
Peel Region has been hit hard throughout the pandemic, especially in Brampton, where many essential workers live. The city's test positivity rate is at 22.2 per cent.
Of the 24 new deaths reported by the province on Sunday, one person was under the age of 19, bringing the total number of people in that age group to die from COVID-19 to three.
