4-month-old baby girl in Pasay sickened with COVID-19

MANILA, Philippines —Pasay City government on Tuesday urged its residents to follow strict health protocols after a four-month-old baby girl in the city contracted the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

In a statement, Pasay Mayor Emi Calixto-Rubiano, who was previously infected with the virus, said the child’s 23-year-old mother was also diagnosed with the respiratory disease.

“Doblehin po natin ang pag-iingat sapagkat wala po talagang sinasanto ang sakit na ito at hindi namimili kung bata o matanda ang magiging biktima,” Rubiano said in a statement.

(Let us double our efforts in protecting ourselves from the disease. It can hit anyone, even children and senior citizens.)

In the same statement, Mark Anthony Castillo, a nurse at the  City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, said the child and her mom were transferred to the Mall of Asia Quarantine Facility.

Castillo said the virus could be transmitted to the child because she is still being breastfed by her mother.

Pasay government is intensifying its efforts on COVID-19 testing and contact tracing to prevent further community transmission of the virus, Rubiano said.

The city government placed 33 villages under localized lockdown for 14 days after its barangays recorded three or more active cases of COVID-19.

Rubiano announced that she would undertake self-quarantine after she tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 last Feb. 9.

It was not yet clear if Rubiano recovered from the disease but the PIO said the mayor finished her mandatory quarantine.

To date, the city has 7,650 confirmed cases with 196 deaths, 7,059 recoveries, and 395 active cases.

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