Newborns not likely to contract COVID-19 in the hospital, study says

Newborns are very unlikely to contract the coronavirus while hospitalized, according to a new study.

Researchers in the United Kingdom found just 66 cases of COVID-19 in newborns among 10,000 births at hospitals from March 1 through April 30, according to the study published in The Lancet medical journal.

“Neonatal SARS-CoV-2 infection is uncommon in babies admitted to hospital,” the study found.

Of the 66 infected newborns, 28 of them had a severe case of the illness. One of the infected babies died, but not from coronavirus, the study said.

The study also found that babies are unlikely to contract coronavirus even if their mothers had tested positive before giving birth.

As of the end of July, 58 — or 88 percent — of the newborns that had COVID-19 were already released from the hospital.

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