The Department of Health Central Visayas Center for Health Development (DOH-7) has confirmed the newborn baby in Cebu City recently tested positive for COVID-19, making it the youngest patient with coronavirus in Central Visayas.
DOH-7 said in a report that the presence of a newborn case in the region needs further validation on how transmission occurred since the mother tested negative. They assured that existing protocols were in place.
UPDATE (April 22, 2020): Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella reports that the newborn baby in Cebu City is already negative to COVID-19. Moreover, the baby is still admitted for monitoring.
With this, DOH-7 calls on all pregnant women to continue monitoring themselves in these times that put them at a more than usual vulnerability, to reach out to their care givers for any concerns.
Pregnant women belong to a special group that is at a higher risk of contracting COVID-19 compared to non-pregnant women. Their pregnancy makes them more vulnerable due to the increased demand on nutrition and lowered immune system status as the body accommodates the growing fetus.
As of April 21, 2020, Cebu now has a total of 198 confirmed COVID-19 cases with 21 recoveries and 7 deaths.
Maybe the hospital or health worker was contaminated?