TODDLER TESTS POSITIVE TO COVID-19 IN HUNTER NEW ENGLAND

A three-year-old girl is the first child under 10-years-old to test positive to COVID-19 in the Hunter New England Health District.

The toddler has mild symptoms, and contracted the disease from her parents,  who were previously diagnosed.

Public Health Physician, Dr Dave Durrheim says it’s a timely reminder kids are susceptible to the virus.

“Across the world we’ve also seen that COVID-19 can be also severe in young children and so we really encourage parents that, although the symptoms may generally be mild, it’s very important that children also practice social distancing to reduce the spread of COVID-19,” said Dr Durrheim.

It comes as five others were also diagnosed in the past 24 hours in the region, bringing the total number of cases to 254.

There are 12 patients who are being cared for in Hunter New England hospitals, including five in ICU.

Across the District, an additional 12 people have recovered in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of cases recovered to 129 so far.