4th baby born from covid-19 infected mother, restrictive measures increase in the country

Published Thursday, July 2, 2020

4th baby born from covid-19 infected
mother, restrictive measures
increase in the country

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

The fourth baby was born to a mother infected with covid-19 in the country, announced Social Security on Wednesday.

The mother gave birth to a baby girl in the San Juan de Dios public hospital in San José Province by a cesarean procedure. Everyone involved took safety precautions with sanitary health guidelines applied for these kinds of cases, said Social Security in its statement.

The newborn girl, Emma was born at 9:48 a.m. on Tuesday. She weighed 2,430 grams. Her mother entered the hospital early Tuesday morning only 37 weeks pregnant.

Reports show they are both in good health. However, diagnostic tests have been applied to the baby, to see if she has been infected with covid-19.

"The baby girl remains in an incubator next to her (mother), and with the help of an obstetric nurse, the baby is taken out to breastfeed with strict hygiene and safety measures. Every time the mother takes the child to breastfeed, she puts on a face mask."

The hospital reported that the mother, who lives in the Alajuelita district in San José Province, may be authorized today to return home with her baby.

According to Social Security, specialists keep track of cases of new mothers who are also infected with covid-19.

Of the four babies born to a mother infected with covid-19, two were born in the Mexico Hospital and two in the San Juan de Dios Hospital.

Authorities did not provide information on the third baby born to a mother infected with the virus. It is presumed the birth happened in the Mexico Hospital.

However, the second baby from an infected mother was released on June 12. She gave birth to a baby boy in the Mexico Hospital also by a cesarean procedure. The baby weighed 3,830 grams and a height of 52 centimeters.

The hospital reported that the mother, who lives in the canton of Nicoya, was authorized, along with her baby, to return home one day after the medical procedure.

The first case of a baby born of a covid-19- infected mother happened in April.

The 30-year-old infected woman gave birth to a girl at the San Juan de Dios Hospital, in San José Province. The staff immediately tested the newborn to verify if she presented the covid-19 virus, which resulted in negative.

After the cesarean procedure, the mother and daughter were in a joint accommodation, where they are kept in isolation from other patients. The mother and daughter finished the isolation quarantine at home.

An increase is expected of babies born to a mother infected with the covid-19 due to the growing spread of the virus in the country.

Because of higher numbers in cases, more restrictions should be re-imposed, announced the Ministry of Health on Wednesday.

Today in the afternoon, the government will release the list of areas where residents should comply with more restrictions as a preventive measure to contain the virus.

"The measures will be enforced for at least one week, the closings will not be throughout the country but will affect the Metropolitan Area," said Daniel Salas, minister of health. "Unfortunately, the actions the people have taken to advance in opening phases have been misinterpreted by some people as a social opening, which resulted in the increase (of cases) announced today.”

According to Salas, the increases in cases reflect the infections that could have been registered a week ago, given the incubation periods of the virus.

The number of positive cases for covid-19 implies more eminent difficulties for health workers to follow up on the virus contagion, which could cause an eventual community contagion, said the Ministry in its statement.

Another preventive measure announced is the continuation of special operations to apply massive diagnostic tests in high-risk zones. Next weekend this operation will take place in the districts of Desamparados, La Carpio and Alajuelita.

On Wednesday, the Ministry of Health provided the following statistics of the status of the virus in the country:

• 294 new cases of patients infected with covid-19, bringing the total to 2,221 active cases.

• The ages of infected patients range from a three-month-old baby to a 96-year-old person.

• 1,085 foreigners are or have been infected of the 3,753 cases since March. That is approximately 29% of the total cases.

• 56 patients are being treated in public hospitals, where 50 are in recovery rooms and 6 are in an ICU, with delicate health conditions. Most of the infected patients are quarantined in their homes.

• 1,516 coronavirus patients have fully recovered, a 40% of the total of cases.

• 29,720 people have been ruled out.

• 42,589 medical covid-19 tests have been made.

• 17 deaths have been reported from patients infected with covid-19 since March, eight women and nine men.

The updated number of total patients in each district can be reached at the National Distance Education University on its Covid-19 Map.

As of Wednesday night, the pandemic has killed 515,694 patients worldwide, according to recent statistics reported by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

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Have you heard of babies being infected with covid-19 by their mother during birth in your country? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com