39-day baby in Thiruvananthapuram, youngest Covid victim

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A baby boy, 39 days old, died of Covid-19 at SAT hospital here on Tuesday. The death of the baby is the youngest Covid fatality recorded in the state to date.
The death was included in the list of 25 Covid-19 deaths confirmed in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday. In May alone 264 Covid-19-related fatalities have been reported in the capital.
In 2020, four babies had died of Covid-19 in Kerala; a 3.5-month-old male in Malappuram, a 5-monthold female in Malappuram, a 7-month-old female in Kasaragod and a 4-month-old in Malappuram.
The baby boy who died the other day was one of the twins born to the couple, Shaji and Sheeja, residents of Chenkal panchayat in Thiruvananthapuram. The baby girl is stable and healthy.
SAT hospital authorities said that the baby was brought with severe pneumonia and was put on a ventilator. According to hospital authorities, he died on May 13 morning due to Covid pneumonia. The samples collected after the death came out positive for Covid-19.
Shiji, the sister of Sheeja said that the baby was bathed and put to sleep on April 26. However, when the baby was awakened, he showed signs of weakness following which the baby was rushed to Neyyatinkara district hospital from where he was referred to SAT.
The mother and the other baby were tested negative for Covid-19. The health authorities have not been able to establish an epidemiological link. Sheeja's family said that none of the members have been symptomatic.
The babies were born preterm in the 33rd week. They were discharged from the hospital on April 20 and had to be readmitted after the baby boy was brought sick. Sheeja was under treatment for the last few years before she delivered the twin babies last month. At the time of delivery, the baby boy weighed 2 kg and the girl weighed 1.27 kg. The health team is monitoring the family members.