Staff members of the West Demerara Regional Hospital (WDRH) who had been in contact with the six-day-old baby that died while being infected with COVID-19 were tested for the virus yesterday after it was revealed that the parents of the infant tested negative.
This is according to the Ministry of Health (MoH) Public Relations Officer Shabana Shaw, who told Stabroek News that an investigation is being done following the negative results of the infant’s parents.
While she did not know the status of the investigation when Stabroek News contacted her, Shaw revealed that several staff members of WDRH who were in contact with the infant were tested for the virus yesterday. She said that the results are expected during the weekend.
The infant is the youngest COVID-19 fatality to have been recorded so far. He will be classified as a ‘COVID-19-related’ death as he was diagnosed with aspiration pneumonitis shortly after his birth and it was only after his death that it was discovered that he was infected with the virus.
It is unclear where the infant might have contracted the virus although it is possible that he might have contracted it from his mother, who was tested 13 days after his birth.
An 11-year-old child is the only other person to have been classified as a COVID-19-related death.
