3 children die of syndrome potentially linked to Covid-19

Three children in New York have died from a rare inflammatory syndrome thought to be linked to the novel coronavirus, Governor Andrew Cuomo stated on Saturday, a development that may predict a pandemic risk for the very young.

Both Cuomo and his counterpart in the neighbouring state of New Jersey also spoke on Saturday about the pandemic’s rising toll on mental health, another factor on the minds of governors as they show the impact of mounting job losses against health risks in moving to loosen restrictions on daily life.

Almost all of the 50 US states will have taken steps to relax lockdown measures by this weekend, including countries like Arizona and Mississippi, which are reporting rising infections of Covid-19, the disease caused by the virus, highlighting the risk of a new wave of outbreaks.

Cuomo said in a daily briefing that he was frequently worried about a syndrome that shares symptoms with toxic shock and Kawasaki disease, which he told included swelling of the blood vessels and potentially fatal damage to the heart.

He said three children including a five-year-old disclosed on Friday - have died from such symptoms while also testing positive for Covid-19 or related antibodies, suggesting a link that was still not fully understood.

Cuomo, who has emerged as a leading national voice on states’ response to the coronavirus crisis, said state health officials were reviewing 73 similar cases, which have rattled a prior assumption that children were mostly not susceptible to the novel coronavirus.

“We are not so sure that is the fact anymore. Toddler, elementary school children are presenting signs similar to Kawasaki disease or toxic shock-like syndrome,” Cuomo added. “It’s possible that this has been going on for several weeks and it hasn’t been diagnosed as related to COVID.”

Cuomo said state health officials had partnered with the New York Genome Center and the Rockefeller University to look at whether there is a genetic basis for the syndrome and have been asked by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to develop national criteria for identifying and treating cases.

The syndrome shares symptoms with toxic shock and Kawasaki disease, which is associated with fever, skin rashes, swelling of the glands, and in severe cases, inflammation of arteries of the heart. Scientists are still trying to determine whether the syndrome is linked with the new coronavirus because not all children with it have tested positive for the virus.