A 3-week-old infant in New York became the youngest patient in America to contract COVID-19. According to Fox News, the infant was treated at NYU Winthrop Hospital in Long Island, New York.
Luckily, after seven days of treatments, doctors deemed the infant well enough to go home with their parents. Now, experts are saying that this case in particular expresses how the virus doesn’t discriminate when it comes to the age of a person.
As Fox News reports, experts also urge parents and caregivers to remain vigilant in looking for symptoms in their younger children and to continue being strict when it comes to social distancing. Dr. Asif Noor, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at NYU Winthrop, told Fox News in an interview that if a child tests positive and their symptoms are mild, they will be sent home to be observed.
Three-Week-Old Becomes Youngest COVID-19 Patient in America
“We are instructing these parents to adhere to common sense infection control precautions at home.” Noor also explained that “children seem to recover more quickly and don’t seem to get as sick as adults.” However, if a child does exhibit symptoms, it’s important for older members of the household to be cautious.
“You make sure if there is an elderly person or someone who has an underlying medical problem, you limit contact with them realistically as much as possible. I mean, with some families, maybe they can ask their grandma and grandpa to go and live with the uncle and aunt for a week or two weeks. Maybe it’s not possible, but then you’ll have to separate them. Make sure the elderly, the vulnerable, stay in one room. And if you are sick, stay in the other room.”
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As of April 1, there are a total of 186,101 cases in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.