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Chinese newborn tests positive for coronavirus

Published:Thursday | February 6, 2020 | 10:20 AM
Officials in protective suits talk near the cruise ship Diamond Princess anchored at the Yokohama Port in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, Thursday, February 6, 2020. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

BEIJING (AP) — China’s official media say the new virus has been confirmed in a baby just 36 hours after its birth.

The baby born Sunday in Wuhan is China’s youngest case of the illness.

Only a handful of children have come down with the new coronavirus, which has been most severe in older people.

Zeng Lingkong, director of neonatal diseases at Wuhan Children’s Hospital, said the mother had tested positive before birth and the baby was separated from her immediately after its birth.

Zeng said in an interview with state broadcaster CCTV that other mothers gave birth to babies who tested negative, so it’s still unclear if the virus can be transmitted in the womb.

Zeng said the possibility “needs further study.”

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