US infant dies from COVID-19

QNAWashingtonA US infant has died from the COVID-19 illness, marking the first infant death from the virus in the United States.At a news conference, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said "an infant" was among the fatalities linked to the new coronavirus over the previous 24 hours.The State Department of Public Health said the child who died in Chicago was younger than one year old and had tested positive for COVID-19."There has never before been a death associated with COVID-19 in an infant," the department's director Ngozi Ezike said in a statement.Multiple studies have found the virus disproportionately affects older patients and those with underlying conditions.The United States has the highest number of new coronavirus cases in the world, more than 120,000, although its death toll of more than 2,000 is still below that of other countries including Italy, Spain and China.More than 450 US deaths occurred over the 24-hour period prior to Saturday afternoon.The Chicago baby was among 13 new deaths in Illinois.