6-Week-Old Baby Dies After Testing Positive for COVID-19, Says Governor

Nurses screen patients for COVID-19 virus testing at a drive-up location outside Medstar St. Mary's Hospital in Leonardtown, Maryland on March 17, 2020. Win McNamee/Getty Images

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont on Wednesday said that a 6-week-old baby died from complications related to COVID-19, making the child one of the youngest to succumb to the disease.

“This is a virus that attacks our most fragile without mercy,” Lamont wrote on Twitter. “This also stresses the importance of staying home and limiting exposure to other people. Your life and the lives of others could literally depend on it. Our prayers are with the family at this difficult time.”

Lamont said the newborn was unresponsive and was brought to a Hartford-area hospital. Later testing determined that the child contracted the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) virus.

“Testing confirmed last night that the newborn was COVID-19 positive. This is absolutely heartbreaking. We believe this is one of the youngest lives lost anywhere due to complications relating to COVID-19,” the governor wrote.

Officials told local news outlets Wednesday that the number of CCP virus cases in Connecticut has swelled to 3,557 with 85 deaths. Most of the cases, or 1,986, have been confirmed in Fairfield County.

Last week, an infant died of the virus in Illinois, according to Gov. J.B. Pritzker in a news conference.

“I know how difficult this news can be, especially about this very young child,” he said. “Upon hearing it, I admit that I was immediately shaken. It’s appropriate for any of us to grieve today. It’s especially sorrowful for the family of this very small child for the years stolen from this infant. We should grieve ... We should grieve for a sense of normalcy we left behind just a few short weeks ago,” he added.