16-day-old baby youngest COVID-19 survivor in Philippines
Manila, Apr 30 (efe-epa).- A 16-day-old baby in the Philippines has become the youngest patient to recover from COVID-19, the Department of Health said on Thursday, while Thailand announced a four-stage reopening plan under tight restrictions.
At just five days old, Kobe Manjares – named in honor of basketball star Kobe Bryant, who died recently – was admitted to the National Children’s Hospital in Manila, where he tested positive for the novel coronavirus. He was treated there for the next 11 days.
“The DOH applauds our valiant healthcare team for this feat,” the health department said on its Facebook page.
The baby was discharged from hospital on Tuesday and was sent off by the medical team who treated him along with posters that read, “Kobe beats Covid,” according to photos published in the local media.
Kobe was born healthy on Apr. 12, but developed symptoms of fever and cough.
His father Ronnel Manjares said doctors told him that the infant needed to be hospitalized if he wanted his son to survive.
The authorities have not given any details about how the infant contracted the virus or about the health of the mother.
Health official Maria Rosario Vergeire in a press conference on Thursday said 25 babies under one year of age are infected with COVID-19 in the country, of which six have died while the others have recovered.
The youngest patient is a nine-day-old baby in the city of Cebu.
The Philippines has so far reported 8,212 COVID-19 cases, including 558 deaths, while 1,023 have recovered.
Meanwhile, Thailand’s government on Thursday announced a four-stage reopening plan, with the first six types of businesses and venues considered low-risk — including parks, hairdressers and markets — reopening under tight restrictions from May 3.
Each stage will last 14 days before evaluation of moving to the next, ending with the reopening of high-risk venues such as concert halls and sports stadiums.
It is expected that it will take two months minimum for all businesses to resume normal operations.
In addition to the extension of the emergency decree already announced, the government also reiterated that measures such as the nighttime curfew, a ban on inbound passenger flights, domestic travel restrictions, a ban on alcohol and working from home is to be maintained.
Thai health authorities on Thursday reported seven new cases for a total of 2,594, with 22 more patients discharged for a total of 2,687 and no new deaths to stand at 54. There are currently 213 patients being treated in hospitals.
In China, the National Health Commission reported four new cases, all “imported,” compared to 22 a day earlier. There were no new deaths, so the total stands at 4,633 out of the 82,836 cases officially diagnosed in China since the start of the outbreak.
On the other hand, 32 patients were discharged in the past 24 hours, so the total number comes to 77,610.
China also recorded 33 new asymptomatic cases, bringing the total number of asymptomatic patients under observation to 998.
In Hong Kong, cases sit at 1,037 with four deaths, while Taiwan has 429 cases and six deaths. EFE-EPA
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