Today in Chicago, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) announced the death of a boy under the age of one who tested positive for coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
“Never before has COVID-19 related mortality occurred in an infant. A thorough investigation is underway to ascertain the cause of death, “said Dr. Ngozi Ezike, head of the IDPH. “We have to do everything possible to prevent this deadly virus from spreading. If not defending ourselves, but shielding those around us.”
‘If you haven’t paid attention, this is perhaps your wake-up call,’ Ezike said.
Governor Jay Pritzker said at a press conference on Saturday: ‘I admit I was shocked when I heard it.
‘We will grieve with our state employee families, with the many people we have already lost to this epidemic, young and old.’ Illinois has been under a residence ban, with all non-essential work and transportation banned.
Older adults are at greater risk of severe disease and over 85 per cent of deaths in Illinois are 60 years of age and older.However, people of all ages might suffer serious sickness.
In certain cases, the virus causes minor to severe symptoms, often requiring hospitalization, which may include fever and cough but in some cases it leads to pneumonia.
Children represented a limited percentage of cases of coronavirus worldwide. The infant was among 13 recent deaths reported in Illinois, that now has a death count of 47 for coronavirus.
IDPH confirmed 465 new cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois on Saturday, including 13 new fatalities.
A three-week-old baby was confirmed in New York earlier this week as the youngest child in the US to screen for coronavirus positive.
The baby has been hospitalized for several days at NYU Winthrop Hospital on Long Island in Mineola, but has now been released, and is now improving at home.
Dr. Asif Noor, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at NYU Winthrop told that doctors are equipped to administer supplemental oxygen in children if necessary.
Pritzker encouraged residents to follow his stay-at-home order to exercise social space while leaving their home, to announced that new retail practices would begin, such as notices in supermarkets that warn shoppers to remain six feet apart and a temporary ban on reusable bags.