Chongqing's youngest COVID-19 patient makes full recovery

On Wednesday, the youngest patient infected with COVID-19 in Chongqing, a 7-month-old-girl, has made a full recovery and was discharged from Chongqing Three Gorges Central Hospital in Wanzhou district.

The baby girl, Guoguo, was confirmed with COVID-19 on Feb 3 after her mother's confirmation on Jan 31 and before her father's confirmation on Feb 8.

One of Guoguo's doctors, Xiong Daoxue, said: "Her symptoms were mild. As an infant patient, she was mostly taken care of by special pediatric nurses in addition to receiving other treatments."

"The bigger challenge is to transfer Guoguo's breast feeding to formula feeding," Xiong said.

"The infected mother has undergone great anxiety in her previous treatment. Considering their mother-infant connection, the hospital decided to arrange the whole family in the same ward," said Mo Yunbo, director of the hospital affiliated with Chongqing University.

"It is best for their mental health recovery if they receive treatment in the same ward, since early diagnosis for the three was timely and their symptoms are relatively mild," Xiong said.

The hospital had arranged for several nurses to take care of the baby around the clock, in four-hour shifts, to ensure the best treatment.

On Feb 15 and 17, two nucleic acid tests on Guoguo proved negative for the virus. She has had no fever symptoms for over three consecutive days, her respiratory tract symptoms have improved significantly and a chest CT shows inflammation has been greatly improved.

More good news followed on Tuesday when Guoguo's mother tested negative in her second nucleic acid test. Mother and baby were then released from quarantine and discharged from the hospital.

"We hope daddy will come home very soon as well. I would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to all, the doctors and nurses who have taken good care of us," the mother said, as she headed home with her daughter.