Covid-linked illness infects 110 kids in NY, probe begins

New York, May 15

The authorities in the upscale New York City, the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic in the US, are investigating 110 Covid-19 cases related to a rare inflammatory illness in children that has claimed three lives, the city’s Governor Andrew Cuomo has said, describing the situation as “serious”.

The severe illness in children and child deaths is linked to the serious inflammatory disease called ‘Pediatric Multi-System Inflammatory Syndrome Associated with Covid-19’. So far, two boys aged five and seven years and an 18-year-old girl have died due to the illness.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said at his daily coronavirus briefing the New York State Department of Health was now looking at 110 cases of a Covid-19 related illness in children, similar to the Kawasaki disease or toxic shock-like syndrome, describing the situation as “serious and concerning”.

He said the New York State and Department of Health were at the forefront in the US in investigating the illness. Apart from New York, 16 other states are also seeing similar cases. Cuomo said parents should immediately seek medical help if the child has a prolonged fever (more than five days), difficulty in feeding (in infants) or is too sick to drink fluids, has abdominal pain, diarrhea or vomiting, change in skin colour, trouble in breathing, lethargy, irritability or confusion.

Worldwide, there have been more than 4.4 million coronavirus infections reported and 3,00,000 deaths, while nearly 1.6 million have recovered from coronavirus. — PTI

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