Coronavirus Deaths: Newborn Dies After Mother Contracted COVID-19

A newborn in the U.K. died after his mother test positive for COVID-19. The infant, Coolio Carl Justin John Morgan, died on May 5 after being born just three days earlier at Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend, Wales.

Morgan was transferred to Singleton Hospital in Swansea after experiencing a low heart rate. The official cause of Morgan’s death was listed as “hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy,” which involves a lack of blood and oxygen to the brain. The fact that the child’s mother tested positive for coronavirus after giving birth was included as a secondary cause of death.

“I pass on my condolences to the family in these most sad and depressing circumstances,” Coroner Graeme Hughes said in a statement.

It remains unclear if the mother’s infection had any bearing or in any way influenced her child’s primary cause of death. A full hearing on the investigation into Morgan’s case is set to be held in April 2021.

Early in the coronavirus outbreak, the disease was believed to be of low risk to younger people, but new developments have complicated this notion. A new disease believed to connected to COVID-19 has begun cropping up in children that test positive, with inflammatory symptoms similar to Kawasaki disease.

Many findings point to newborns being safe from contracting their mothers’ coronavirus during or before birth.