THERE are no conclusive findings as yet which can definitively explain how the six-day-old baby, who died recently at the West Demerara Regional Hospital, Region Three, contracted COVID-19. On November 29, the Ministry of Health announced that the baby boy was a COVID-19 related death and was the 150th person to die from the disease. It was later clarified that his death, however, was not caused by the coronavirus, but by complications he was born with. Following his death, as per hospital protocols, he was swabbed and tested for COVID-19. Subsequently, it was found that he did contract the virus. But, when his parents were tested, their results showed that they were not infected, thereby raising questions as to where the baby could have contracted the virus. Ministry of Health spokesperson, Daniel Singh told the Guyana Chronicle on Sunday that the baby’s sample was retested and it was found to be positive; the authorities wanted to ensure that a false positive was not recorded in the first instance.

“After the baby was found to be positive the second time, the nurses were isolated because nobody was showing symptoms and chances are, if you test them early, they might be negative,” Singh explained in a telephone interview. Recently, Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr. Narine Singh reasoned that the baby may have contracted the virus via a nosocomial infection. The World Health Organisation (WHO) explained that this infection, also called a Hospital Acquired Infection (HAI), occurs in a patient during the process of care in a hospital or other healthcare facilities which was not present or incubating at the time of admission. Transmission usually occurs via healthcare workers, patients, hospital equipment, or interventional procedures. Singh, however, affirmed that all healthcare professionals are exercising due diligence in sanitising these spaces and wearing their Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs). The baby’s mother confirmed that the baby was laid to rest on Friday. She lamented that the family has gone through enough anguish and just wanted some closure.