Two-month-old infant with health problems dies after contracting coronavirus

A two-month-old infant died at Jerusalem’s Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital Saturday after contracting coronavirus.

The newborn had been born with a health condition and had undergone a complex operation after his birth, the hospital said. He had been sedated for the past few weeks.

His complicated condition, coupled with the damage to his lungs from the virus, eventually proved too much, officials said.

It was not clear whether COVID-19 was considered to be the chief cause of his death or was merely a contributing factor.

Serious cases of COVID-19 have been exceedingly rare in children, and the illness generally has the potential to be more severe the older one is.

Illness rates had also previously been low for kids, but have risen recently, apparently as a result of the British strain of the coronavirus.

Health officials have said that the British strain is causing concerning levels of infection in children and young people, as well as serious illness in a number of pregnant women. Sharon Alroy-Preis, head of public health at the Health Ministry, said on Monday that there was a rise in infections in children aged six to nine.

As of Saturday night, 2,977,696 have received the first vaccine dose, while 1,697,752 have gotten the second. Friday saw 6,435 new cases diagnosed, taking the number of active cases to 72,229. Of those, 1,173 people are in serious condition.

January was by far Israel’s deadliest month yet since the start of the pandemic, with 1,367 fatalities of the total 4,738 as of Saturday night — nearly a third of all deaths.