A 6-week-old dies of coronavirus in US. Here’s what we know about babies and COVID-19

A 6-week-old newborn died last week after testing positive for coronavirus, media outlets reported.

Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont confirmed the baby’s death on Wednesday.

“It is with heartbreaking sadness today that we can confirm the first pediatric fatality in Connecticut linked to [COVID-19],” Lamont wrote on Twitter. “A 6-week-old newborn from the Hartford area was brought unresponsive to a hospital late last week and could not be revived. Testing confirmed last night that the newborn was COVID-19 positive. This is absolutely heartbreaking. We believe this is one of the youngest lives lost anywhere due to complications relating to COVID-19.”

The results of the autopsy on the baby, who was from Hartford, are still pending, according to The Hartford Courant.

“The infant did test positive for the COVID-19 virus and an autopsy was done at the [Office of the Chief Medical Examiner],” Chief State Medical Examiner James Gill said, according to CBS News. “At the current time, we have not issued a final cause of death. There are numerous tests that we must do on infant deaths before issuing a final cause of death.”

An infant in Chicago with coronavirus died and marked the first death in the U.S. of a baby who had gotten sick from the virus, public health officials confirmed on Saturday, according to The Los Angeles Times. The infant’s exact cause of death has not been determined, the news outlet reported.

Parents should take their babies to pediatrician appointments, have them vaccinated, and call a doctor if their infant begins showing symptoms, including a fever, according to Good Morning America.

“Call the pediatrician’s office and the doctor or their staff will be able to sort through what symptoms the baby is having, whether they need to be seen in the office or whether they need to go to the emergency room,” Dr. David Kimberlin, professor and co-director of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at the University of Alabama-Birmingham, told Good Morning America. “They will use the symptoms’ information with what they know is already circulating in the community.”

The symptoms for coronavirus are similar in children as they are in adults, but kids tend to have milder symptoms, according to Johns Hopkins University. It’s unlikely for children to need to go to the hospital due to COVID-19. Symptoms for children include fever, cough, difficulty breathing, sore throat, and diarrhea, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Doctors said kids have shown “stomach distress” along with other coronavirus symptoms, according to NBC San Diego.

“They’ll develop gastrointestinal symptoms, especially diarrhea and vomiting, which may not be seen in adults,” said Dr. Patricia Whitley-Williams, chief of pediatric infectious disease at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, according to NBC.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends the following:

• keeping kids away from others
• practicing social distancing
• teaching your children to cough and sneeze into a tissue
• washing hands often with soap for 20 seconds at least
• cleaning and disinfecting your home and your children’s toys

This story was originally published April 2, 2020 at 3:26 PM with the headline "A 6-week-old dies of coronavirus in US. Here’s what we know about babies and COVID-19."