1-month-old baby tests positive for COVID-19 in South Jersey

A 1-month-old baby boy in Atlantic County has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, making him one of the youngest known patients to contract the virus in New Jersey, according to health officials.

The newborn was among results announced Sunday by Atlantic County, and appeared to be the second-youngest known patient in NJ, following a two-week old baby confirmed to have the virus in North Bergen in late March.

The infant did get discharged to recover at home, Atlantic County officials said Monday. The newborn who tested positive in March similarly was sent home to recover.

COVID-19 continues to impact older patients more significantly, as out of 146,334 confirmed cases statewide as of May 16, just 624 patients were between the ages of newborn and 4 years old.

That same age range has made up just 0.25% of hospitalizations from COVID-19, according to data from the state health department.

More recently, there has been growing attention to a possible post infectious condition, called pediatric multi-system inflammatory syndrome, which may be linked to COVID-19.

At a May 7 state briefing, Department of Health Medical Director Edward Lifshitz said that the public should be aware that "this is a very rare disease and we're still learning about how it's associated with COVID."

Lifshitz also said evidence continued to show that the very large majority of children exposed to the novel coronavirus either don't get sick at all or do so, minimally.

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