A four-week-old baby boy has become Sydney’s youngest COVID-19 case after catching the virus from his father who brought it home from work.
Beth Kouts took her newborn son, Lukas, to Nepean Hospital in Sydney on Monday with what she thought was reflux, but instead, he tested positive for the Delta variant.
Kouts said her baby was “screaming in pain, refusing his bottle and would vomit.”
“I have heard a two-year-old get it but not a four-week-old – so, yeah, that was terrifying,” she told 7NEWS.
She adds after her newborn returned a positive result, they were left waiting for 14 hours before finally being given an adult bed.
Sent home to self-isolate
Doctors told Kouts that Lukas would need to be transferred to Westmead Children’s Hospital but after a 24-hour wait, they were sent home instead.
“I do know that they’re under the pump, just a little bit more care would’ve been nice,” Beth said.
“It’s always hard to see your kid sick especially with this.”
It’s thought the baby contracted the virus from his father who brought it home to St Clair from his workplace last week.
Beth is waiting for her results but their toddler Emily is, so far, negative.
The symptoms Lukas is experiencing, like most children, are mild and similar to those of a common cold.
“When parents make babies – they make babies that are born with some really good immunity already because they’ve got it from their mother through the womb,” Infectious Diseases Physician Professor Robert Booy told 7NEWS.
The Kouts family is now isolating at home.
Image: 7News
This article first appeared on Over60.