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New York officials are investigating a mysterious inflammatory condition that appears to be related to the coronavirus that has killed at least three children in the state and infected dozens of others.
Mayor Bill DeBlasio said Sunday there was “tremendous concern” that 38 children in New York City had contracted the disease. Almost half of them tested positive for Covid-19, while more than 80 percent had antibodies, he said.
Three children in New York State have died from the inflammatory disease, and authorities are investigating two other deaths.
The findings present a new layer of danger for the coronavirus, which was previously believed to leave young people relatively unscathed compared to the older population. Several studies have found that children only experience mild versions of the virus, if they become ill. A study by doctors in Shanghai found that 94 percent of children with the virus had mild or moderate asymptomatic disease.
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New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said the state government was investigating up to 85 children who may have been affected by the new pediatric disease, which is characterized by inflammatory symptoms rather than the respiratory conditions that generally accompany Covid-19. These children are primarily toddlers or primary school-age children, he added.
“We think the youth were not affected by Covid-19,” said Governor Cuomo. “We are no longer so sure that is the fact.”
Children affected by the newly discovered disease suffer from persistent fever, a blotchy rash, abdominal pain, and vomiting as their immune systems speed up. Doctors say the symptoms resemble Kawasaki disease, another disease that causes inflammation of the blood vessels in children.
Confusion about how the coronavirus affects children will complicate decisions about when to reopen schools, as governments begin to take steps to ease blockages. Schools in New York have been closed for the remainder of the academic year, but no decision has been made on their reopening in September.
DeBlasio said New York City hospitals will screen all children with these inflammatory symptoms for antibodies to the coronavirus.
“We have said many times [coronavirus] it’s so troublesome and challenging because it’s so new, “Mayor DeBlasio said Sunday.” There are still so many unanswered questions. “
