Coronavirus Update: Chicago Reports First Infant Death Due To COVID-19 In US

An infant in Chicago on Saturday succumbed to COVID-19 complications, marking it the first known death of a child younger than one year due to the viral pandemic in the U.S.

The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) reported the death of the infant while withholding its gender. "There has never before been a death associated with COVID-19 in an infant. A full investigation is underway to determine the cause of death," DPH Director Ngozi Ezike said in a statement, urging people to do everything in their capacity to quell the further spread of the virus in order to protect those around them.

"I know how difficult this news can be, especially about this very young child. Upon hearing it, I admit I was immediately shaken, and it's appropriate for any of us to grieve today," Governor J B Pritzker said. "We should grieve. We should grieve with our family of state employees. With the many people who we've already lost to this virus, young and old. We should grieve for the loss of a sense of normalcy that we left behind just a few weeks ago. It's okay, today, to grieve."

He also said that the virus was “rarely fatal” to infants, while at the same time touting the incident a “wake up call” for the residents. Older adults are at higher risk of dying due to coronavirus but children aren’t completely exempt from the dire adversity. As of early March, a 10-month-old infant in Wuhan had died following multi-organ failure due to the coronavirus, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.