A 6-week-old baby is believed to be the youngest coronavirus victim in the world after succumbing to the disease in a Connecticut hospital. Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont confirmed the infant’s death Wednesday, marking the first pediatric death in the state, which reported 3,5557 confirmed cases and a total of 85 deaths as of Thursday morning, according to a New York Times database.
“It is with heartbreaking sadness today that we can confirm the first pediatric fatality in Connecticut linked to [COVID-19],” Lamont wrote. “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.”
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“This is a virus that attacks our most fragile without mercy,” he continued. “This also stresses the importance of staying home and limiting exposure to other people. Your life and the lives of others could literally depend on it. Our prayers are with the family at this difficult time.”
In response to the death, NBC Connecticut reports that Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin said “our hearts break for that family.”
“We have also seen that this disease can be tragically unpredictable and fatal to people of any age,” he added.
The infant’s death is just the latest to occur in the United States, which currently reports the most coronavirus cases in the world with more than 216,000, deaths surpassing 5,000. On Monday, New York City, considered the be the epicenter of the outbreak in the United States, recorded its first pediatric death due to COVID-19.
“If there was ever a moment for unity, this is the moment. This virus doesn’t discriminate. It attacks everyone, and it attacks everywhere,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. “This virus has been ahead of us from Day 1. I’m tired of playing catch-up with this virus. You never win when you’re playing catch-up. If you are not prepared for the apex, for the high point, you are missing the point of the operation. It is a fundamental blunder to only prepare for today.”
Just days earlier, on Saturday, Illinois officials reported the first death of younger than one.
President Donald Trump has warned that the coming weeks will be “very tough,” stating in his Tuesday briefing that “this is going to be a very painful — a very, very painful two weeks.” He has since extended his social distancing guidelines through the end of April in an effort to flatten the curve.
