1-Day-Old Infant Tests Positive For COVID-19

A newborn baby in the Philippines has tested positive for COVID-19 as infections continue to surge across the country.

The 1-day-old baby from La Paz town in Tarlac City, Pampanga, was confined to the hospital after being diagnosed with COVID-19. Health officials did not specify the child’s health condition.

The baby was one of the eight infants and nine children who tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday. A 25-day-old boy from the municipality of Concepcion, a 1-month-old boy from Capas town and three 1-year-old girls with mild symptoms were also hospitalized with COVID-19.

On Tuesday, health officials said an 8-month-old baby was hospitalized after being diagnosed with COVID-19. A 1-year-old boy who tested positive for COVID-19 but was asymptomatic is currently under quarantine, according to Inquirer.net.

The nine children who tested positive for COVID-19 were between the ages of 2 and 10. The children are either admitted to hospitals or quarantined.

Tarlac City on Wednesday registered 232 additional COVID-19 cases, including those of the eight infants and nine children, and 1 death that occurred in a 69-year-old man. The city has now reported a total of 21,977 infections and 848 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.

Across the province of Pampanga, health officials reported a total of 72,335 COVID-19 cases and 2,816 mortalities. At least 489 new cases and 301 deaths were reported Tuesday. The province currently has 5,540 active cases of COVID-19.

Nationwide, health officials recorded 18,191 new cases and 74 additional deaths Tuesday. This brings the country’s total tally to 3,493,447 COVID-19 infections and 53,736 deaths. The Philippines currently has a 35.2% positivity rate.

The regions with the highest number of coronavirus cases over the past two weeks were Region 4-A, with 2,101 and Metro Manila with 2,073.

The highly transmissible Omicron variant remains the dominant strain in the country. The variant was detected in 91.29% of 677 COVID-19 samples tested as of Thursday. The majority of the samples also had the BA.2 subvariant, which is also called the “stealth Omicron.”