An infant who had tested positive for COVID-19 has died, the first known death of a child younger than a year old infected with the virus in the United States.
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) reported Saturday the death of the infant in Chicago who tested positive for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
"There has never before been a death associated with COVID-19 in an infant. A full investigation is underway to determine the cause of death," IDPH Director Ngozi Ezike said.
"We must do everything we can to prevent the spread of this deadly virus. If not to protect ourselves, but to protect those around us."
Illinois Governor J B Pritzker told reporters, "I know how difficult this news can be, especially about this very young child. Upon hearing it, I admit I was immediately shaken, and it's appropriate for any of us to grieve today."
"We should grieve. We should grieve with our family of state employees. With the many people who we've already lost to this virus, young and old. We should grieve for the loss of a sense of normalcy that we left behind just a few weeks ago. It's okay, today, to grieve."