At Gov. Andrew Cuomo's press conference in Albany on Tuesday, a reporter asked him and his team about a rare, but serious illness that has struck over two dozen children in New York City and is reportedly linked to COVID-19. The illness has shocked parents, who for weeks have been told the coronavirus does not affect children.
NBC New York's Melissa Russo has been shining a light on the illness. As she explained in a recent report, medical experts are beginning to identify inflammation as a new syndrome of COVID-19 that can send the body into a state of shock and cause organ failure. One child who experienced this terrifying ordeal, 8-year-old Jayden Hardowar, was an otherwise healthy young man. He first developed a fever and an upset stomach and a few days later ended up on a ventilator as he went into cardiac arrest. His doctors are "convinced" COVID-19 is to blame, Russo explained. He is now breathing on his own and showing signs of improvement.
Parents are urged to be on the lookout for symptoms such as a fever, rash, red, irritated eyes and abdominal pain.
Russo has been sharing her reportage with New York officials. Although they have not appeared to be reciprocating.
"We have not been getting a lot of details from the state so far, though we have been asking," she said.
Fifteen children in New York City aged aged 2 to 15 have been hospitalized with the new disease and of those, four tested positive for COVID-19 and six others had antibodies. No fatalities have been reported.
All New York hospitals with pediatric critical care units will have to fill out a new weekly state survey asking for details of every child showing signs of those symptoms. Cuomo and his team promised the press they'd had more information on the rare illness at Wednesday's presser.
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