MANILA, Philippines — A total of 25 infants have contracted the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) of which, two have died, the Department of Health (DOH) said.
“Meron na tayong (We have recorded) 25 cases ng (of) infants or ‘yung mga (those) less than 1 year old na naging positibo for COVID-19,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a virtual press briefing on Thursday morning.
Vergeire earlier said the six infants out of the 25 have died, but in an afternoon press briefing clarified that only two have died of the virus after verification from the epidemiology bureau.
According to Vergeire, it is possible that they have died due to a weak immune system.
She said the youngest COVID-19 patient in the country now is a 9-day-old newborn in Cebu.
“Aming bine-verify ‘yung accuracy ng data na meron tayo pero ‘yan ‘yung pinakabata galing sa epidemiology bureau namin (We are verifying the accuracy of the data we have been receiving but this is the youngest according to our epidemiology bureau),” Vergeire added.
According to the health official, there is still no proof that pregnant women can pass the virus “vertically” to their babies.
Vergeire said infants may have most likely contracted the coronavirus after they were born.
She added there is also no evidence yet that the virus can be passed by breastfeeding from a COVID-19 positive mother.
“Most of these cases, apparently ay paglabas ng bata ay baka doon nakuha [‘yung virus]. ‘Yung mga bata paglabas may pulmunya, so nung tinest positive siya,” said Vergeire.
(Most of these cases apparently, the infants got the virus when they were born. They had pneumonia after birth and when tested had yielded positive results.)
Nationwide, the number of COVID-19 cases as of Wednesday afternoon is at 8,212, with 254 new cases.
The death toll has reached 558, with 28 new fatalities. Meanwhile, the number of patients who have recovered is now at 1,023, including 48 new recoveries.