An 8-month-old infant has become the youngest person in Taiwan to develop a severe COVID-19 infection after being reported as one of Monday’s severe domestic COVID-19 cases by the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).
The baby girl, who has no underlying conditions and is unvaccinated against COVID-19, developed a fever of up to 39 degrees Celsius on May 4 and her parents sought medical attention at a hospital emergency room, said Taiwan Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Lo Yi-chun (???) at the daily CECC press conference.
“Her PCR was positive during her evaluation at the emergency room. The doctor said her condition was stable and her condition could continue to be monitored at home,” Lo said.
However, during the next two days, the baby started drinking less milk and her level of activity also started to drop, while a fever and twitching started to develop, Lo said.
The baby girl was taken to a hospital emergency room again, where she was admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU), Lo said.
While in ICU, she continued to show signs of twitching and developed a low blood pressure, and hence was intubated to stabilize her breathing and steady her heartbeat, Lo said, adding that she is still in ICU and is being treated with medication, including the antiviral drug remdesivir.
“Currently, her condition is stable and has improved as she is still in the ICU receiving care. This is the youngest person to be a severe case,” Lo said.
Taiwan reported on May 2 a severe case who is a 10-month-old baby girl and is also currently in ICU, but her condition is stable and improving, Lo said.
To date, Taiwan has recorded two severe COVID-19 cases who are children under one year old, Lo said.
Taiwan’s single-day COVID-19 cases exceeded 40,000 for the third consecutive day on Monday, with 40,304 new cases and 12 deaths from the disease, according to the CECC.
The CECC also reported that 52 patients had developed moderate symptoms and 19 had developed severe symptoms.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel