Last week, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that a child died after being treated for pediatric multi-system inflammatory syndrome, which may be related to the outbreak of COVID-19.
On Monday, May 11, healthcare officials announced that multiple children have been coming into Long Island hospitals daily, with at least 93 cases statewide, with more than 30 cases reportedly on Long Island.
According to health officials, “while rare, we are seeing evidence that COVID-19 can cause severe illness in children.”
"Pediatric multi-system inflammatory syndrome (PMIS) is a new health condition appearing in children in New York and elsewhere," officials noted. "Some doctors think the condition is related to having COVID-19, but the connection is still not clear."
The symptoms officials have been seeing are similar to Kawasaki disease and toxic shock-like syndrome.
The illness potentially is a child’s body overreacting to COVID-19. It is unclear how it will impact the potential reopening of schools in the fall.
Parents should seek immediate care if a child has:
- A prolonged fever (more than five days);
- Difficulty feeding (infants) or is too sick to drink fluids;
- Severe abdominal pain, diarrhea, or vomiting;
- Change in skin color - becoming pale, patchy, and/or blue;
- Trouble breathing or is breathing very quickly;
- Racing heart or chest pain;
- Decreased amount or frequency of urine;
- Lethargy, irritability, or confusion.
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