Published 17:59 IST, March 14th 2020
Newborn in London becomes youngest patient to contract coronavirus
A newborn in north-west London recently became the youngest patient to have contracted deadly coronavirus as it continues to spread to more than 140 countries.
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As the deadly coronavirus continues to spread around the globe and has already reached more than 140 countries, a newborn in north-west London recently became the youngest patient to have contracted COVID-19. According to reports, the mother of the newborn had rushed to North Middlesex University Hospital just days before giving birth over fears that she had contracted pneumonia. However, her test came back positive only after she had given birth to a baby who was also found infected with COVID-19 after being diagnosed.
Currently, both the mother and the baby are being treated at different hospitals while the doctors are still trying to find if the baby had contracted the fatal virus inside the womb or after birth. Furthermore, the baby still remains in the same hospital while the mother has been now moved to a specialist infections hospital. Apart from Antarctica, the fatal virus has spread to every continent and has caused 11 deaths and more than 790 people are infected in Britain.
Global pandemic
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared the coronavirus as a global pandemic after the virus spread to more than 140 countries, resulting in the deaths of more than 5,400 people worldwide. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom further even urged all nations to get very serious over the issue and take all necessary measures to contain the virus from spreading at this rate. Tedros said, that the word 'Pandemic' cannot be used lightly or carelessly due to its strong connotation.
However, Tedros also said that the coronavirus outbreak is a "controllable pandemic". According to a statement released by the World Health Organisation, Tedros outlined two main reasons as to why the decision was taken to describe the epidemic as a pandemic. Tedros said that one reason was the speed and scale of transmission and the others was because 'countries are not approaching this threat with the level of political commitment needed to control it'.
First detected in the city of Wuhan, in Hubei Province of China, the virus outbreak has disrupted many lives since December 2019. As per reports, the total number of confirmed cases within China has reportedly hit 80,824 and more than one lakh worldwide. According to reports, the death toll in China has also surpassed 3,100 and the National Health Commission also confirmed more than 11 new cases. The death toll due to the deadly virus across the world also mounted to over 5,400.
(With ANI inputs)
17:59 IST, March 14th 2020