Coronavirus: Infant under the age of one is youngest person to die from virus

The baby, who was under the age of one, is the youngest known person to have died from coronavirus.

An infant who tested positive for the coronavirus has died in Chicago, USA, Illinois authorities announced yesterday.

It was the first known death of a child younger than a year old with the virus in the United States, although the authorities in some states do not release details about people who die.

Newborns and babies have so far seemed largely unaffected by the coronavirus.

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Intensive Care Units are braced for a huge demand as coronavirus cases soar. Picture: Brendan Radke.

“There has never before been a death associated with COVID-19 in an infant,” said Dr. Ngozi Ezike, the director of the Illinois Department of Public Health.”

Older adults, especially those in their 80s and 90s, have been viewed as the most vulnerable in the outbreak, but younger people have also died.

It comes as the Federal Government maintains its advice to keep schools open, amid health advice that children are less susceptible to catching the virus.