6-Week-Old Baby Dies Of COVID-19, Texas City Reports

A newborn baby boy, reportedly six weeks old, died of a coronavirus-related illness, according to health officials of a city in Texas.

The City of Corpus Christi announced Friday, July 10, that health officials were already informed about the death of the 6-week-old infant. The city's news release also mentioned the age of the baby as below six months old.

Jacqueline Cruz, who identified herself as the aunt of the victim, told KRIS-TV that the infant's name was Isaiah Jeremiah Garcia and that he was born six weeks ago. Isaiah reportedly died Thursday, July 9. "I want people to know that even if you have no symptoms like baby Isaiah did, you could still have the virus," Cruz said during an interview with the TV station.

She added that the infant tested positive had a fever but the hospital released him since the fever had subsided. Cruz also revealed that her sister, the mom of Isaiah, brought the baby to the hospital because he developed a rash and a little bit of fever. After undergoing flu and coronavirus tests, his results showed he was positive for COVID-19, reports say.

Since Isaiah did not have any other symptoms apart from his low fever and rashes, Cruz said her sister decided to go back to work. "And then she got a call Thursday while she was at work that the baby wasn't breathing any longer," the infant's aunt said.

A Happy Baby

Cruz told the news outlet that her nephew was a very happy baby. She revealed there are tons of pictures on her sister's social media account showing Isaiah smiling. His mom was able to take a video of the infant some hours before he died, Cruz said. The video shows he was in the car seat and was smiling broadly.Annette Rodriguez, Corpus Christi Public Health District Director, told reporters the infant had other health problems. According to reports, the infant's death regarded as sudden infant death syndrome or SIDS, though it is also being considered a coronavirus-related death because he was COVID-19 positive at the time of his death.

Recent Surge

Corpus Christi and other areas in Nueces County have experienced a recent surge in coronavirus-related deaths, according to KSAT-TV. The station also reported that there are almost 6,000 cases in Corpus Christi and 50 deaths due to COVID-19. On Saturday, July 11, the Lone Star State reached a record high in new cases of coronavirus infection, further exacerbating the unsettling trend of rising cases.