6-week-old baby's death linked to coronavirus, believed to be one of the youngest fatalities

A 6-week-old baby who tested positive for the coronavirus died last week in Connecticut. Governor Ned Lamont confirmed the death on Wednesday, and said that it is likely one of the youngest deaths from the disease "anywhere." 

"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 Hartford Courant reports that the baby was from Hartford, the state's capital. According to Chief State Medical Examiner James Gill, an autopsy has been performed, but no results were determined as of Thursday. 

"The infant did test positive for the COVID-19 virus and an autopsy was done at the [Office of the Chief Medical Examiner]," Gill said, the Courant reports. "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."

According to Johns Hopkins data, Connecticut had 3,557 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 85 deaths from its disease as of Thursday. Hartford makes up 469 of those cases, and accounts for 11 of the deaths. A majority of the state's cases and deaths are located in Fairfield, which is about an hour's drive from New York City, the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak. 

On Monday, Chicago reported what is believed to be the first infant to die from the virus. Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said in a press release announcing the death that "there has never before been a death associated with COVID-19 in an infant."  

"A full investigation is underway to determine the cause of death," Ezike said. "We must do everything we can to prevent the spread of this deadly virus. If not to protect ourselves, but to protect those around us."

Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said Monday on "CBS This Morning" that the case was "very unusual," as the large proportion of severe coronavirus cases are seen in older patients. 

"Obviously we're doing a thorough investigation, working really with the family — our hearts go out to them — the pediatrician, the medical examiner, the CDC, really wanting to make sure we're doing confirmatory testing, looking at everything that's underlying it," Arwady said. "We're obviously concerned about it, but by and large, the main risk does remain in the older populations, the folks with the underlying medical conditions."

In:
• COVID-19