Update: Michigan infant reported as coronavirus death died of complications of congenital condition
A 2-month-old child has died of COVID-19 in Michigan, state health officials said this week.
The baby is the youngest known person to die of the disease in Michigan and is the only recorded death of a child under age 1 from COVID-19, said Bob Wheaton, public information officer for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. No additional details about the child were made public.
“Our thoughts are with the family, which has experienced a terrible loss,” he said. “To protect the privacy of the family, we cannot provide additional details.”
During a Wednesday press conference, Michigan Chief Medical Executive Dr. Joneigh Khaldun acknowledged the child’s death and expressed condolences to the parents and family, noting that COVID-19 and its effects should not be taken lightly for any age bracket.
“Children are not spared from this disease, either,” she said. “Studies show that while children are less likely to get severely ill from COVID-19, they still can.”
Children between the ages of 0-9 represent 2 percent of Michigan’s total COVID-19 cases. As of Thursday afternoon, there have been 114,692 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Michigan and 6,632 deaths.
Related: Dangerous syndrome in kids linked to COVID-19 under review in Michigan after 17 cases confirmed
Khaldun said many people who survive COVID-19 have a prolonged period of recovery and could have significant long-term health consequences.
Although children are less likely to get severely ill, they can pass the disease along to adults who could develop worse complications, Khaldun said. She also warned that children could be at risk of contracting a rare disease associated with COVID-19, multi-system inflammatory syndrome, that can cause organs to fail.
“We’re fighting COVID-19 because we want people to not only live, but to have long lives with good health - not living the rest of their lives and their years with organs severely damaged from this virus,” she said.
COVID-19 PREVENTION TIPS:
In addition to washing hands regularly and not touching your face, officials recommend practicing social distancing, assuming anyone may be carrying the virus.
Health officials say you should be staying at least 6 feet away from others and working from home, if possible.
Use disinfecting wipes or disinfecting spray cleaners on frequently-touched surfaces in your home (door handles, faucets, countertops) and carry hand sanitizer with you when you go into places like stores.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has also issued executive orders requiring people to wear face coverings over their mouth and nose while in public indoor and crowded outdoor spaces. See an explanation of what that means here.
Additional information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus.
For more data on COVID-19 in Michigan, visit https://www.mlive.com/coronavirus/data/.
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