Peruvian health authorities announced on April 15 that a baby has recently been born carrying the COVID-19 virus in a hospital in the middle of the country. This is the second time that this has happened in the world. Luckily, the newborn is ‘stable’ and he and his mother have since been isolated.
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On channel Canal N, Dr Alvaro Bardalez explained the situation:
We tested the newborn and the result was positive. The mother had been admitted to the hospital for a caesarean section, before that she too had been subjected to a rapid test and the result was positive.
The doctor believes this is very worrying because ‘this is the first national case and the second worldwide case of a baby born with COVID-19.’
However, the doctor didn't specify where the first case occurred in the world, and nobody else has mentioned it before…
How did the baby catch the virus?
According to a statement released by the Peruvian Social Security organisation, the virus was transmitted to the baby via the mother’s placenta. Before he was born, the mother was identified as a carrier of the coronavirus but was asymptomatic. The news proves to be cause for concern for medical professionals all over the world as it contradicts what we once believed about the virus' transmission.
However, Dr Alvaro Bardalez confirmed on local radio show RPP that both the mother and her baby are currently stable and doing well, adding that they have both been isolated in a suitable and well-adapted environment.
Since the epidemic hit Peru in early March, almost 11,500 cases have been recorded, of which 250 have been fatal.
As per real-time statistic site Worldometers, the number of recorded cases of COVID-19 in the UK is quickly approaching the 100k mark, with an estimated 12,868 deaths. The United States has quickly seen their numbers skyrocket, with over 640k cases and an estimated 28,572 deaths.
