Amritsar infant tests positive a day after death

AMRITSAR: A two-and-a-halfmonth-old boy tested positive for Covid-19, a day after he died at Government Medical College and Hospital (GMDH), Amritsar, health officials said on Thursday.

The state also recorded 20 fresh infections that pushed the patient count to 2,115. Of the new cases, seven were reported in Hoshiarpur; four in Amritsar; four in Gurdaspur; two each in Ludhiana and Pathankot; and one each in Kapurthala and Patiala, a medical bulletin said.

GMCH medical superintendent Dr Raman Sharma said the baby from Navi Abadi area of the city had died at 5pm on Wednesday. His sample tested positive at Virus Research and Diagnostic

Laboratory (VRDL) in Amritsar. This is the fifth death in the district due to Covid-19.

“The baby was admitted to the paediatric ward on May 18 and was found to be suffering from pneumonia. He was also diagnosed with encephalitis,” said the medical superintendent.

“On May 19, the infant’s parents noticed that he was finding it difficult to breathe. He was shifted to the isolation ward after he started exhibiting corona symptoms,” he said.

Dr Sharma added that the boy’s family was immediately informed about the report. The body has been kept at the GMCH mortuary.

The health department has taken samples of the family members of the infant and sent them for testing. They have been quarantined at their home for the next 14 days, said Dr Sharma.

Four doctors of the paediatric ward who treated the child before his death have also been quarantined.