Innalillahi! Just 28 Days Born, Baby Exposed To COVID-19 In Bengkulu Dies

Illustration of health workers preparing medical equipment for COVID-19 patients. (Antara-Raisan Al Farisi)

JAKARTA - The Bengkulu Provincial Health Office said that a 28-day-old baby in Bengkulu City died from being positive for COVID-19.

"It is true that the 28-day-old baby died in hospital and was found to be positive for COVID-19", said Bengkulu Provincial Health Office Head, Herwan Antoni in Bengkulu, quoted from Antara, Friday, August 12.

He added that the baby died at the M. Yunus Regional General Hospital (RSUD) in Bengkulu City.

Herwan explained the chronology of the incident was when the victim's mother brought the baby to the health public center (Puskesmas) at night with the condition of the baby crying and not wanting to breastfeed and pale.

However, because of the baby's condition, the health public center (Puskesmas) referred the baby to Bhayangkara Hospital and the baby's condition deteriorated so he was immediately referred to M. Yunus Hospital.

"When he arrived at RSUD M Yunus, the baby's condition was short of breath, so a PCR test was carried out and was positive for COVID-19", he said.

The Head of Disease Control and Eradication (P2P) of the Bengkulu Province Health Office, Oktomi Harlena, explained that when the swab test examination was carried out on the baby's family the results were negative.

Therefore, her party did not know the cause of the baby being positive for COVID-19, and possibly being exposed to the Bhayangkara Hospital or M. Yunus Hospital.

"Because when the further examination was carried out, the baby's family was negative for COVID-19 and we didn't know whether it was from the hospital or from where", she said.