LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A 10-year-old COVID-19 patient has been placed on a ventilator, Gov. Andy Beshear said Monday.
Beshear and Public Health Commissioner Dr. Steven Stack, who said the youth is "critically ill," offered limited details on the child.
Beshear said the child is the only Kentucky youth placed on a ventilator since the COVID-19 pandemic began to his knowledge.
"This thing continues to change, and we continue to try to be fluid and to adapt to it," he said.
Stack said the child is suffering from a syndrome related to COVID-19 in which their immune systems become "overactive" and cause them to have "an extensive inflammatory response" throughout their bodies.
"In these individuals, I think what we've seen is that some of them can have a respiratory problem," Stack said. "Others can have a gastrointestinal problem. There's not much you can do to prevent this except to take all the steps we've told you about, which is stay healthy at home, minimize social contact, have increased social distancing, wear a mask."
"There's just a lot we don't know about it yet, unfortunately," he said.
But Stack said this is much is known, the condition is dangerous.
“For kids who get this syndrome, it's serious. The young patient that we have in Kentucky is critically ill,” he said.
Most children who catch the virus do well, but Stack says this case is a stark reminder about the presence and impact of Covid-19.
“Though we've had great success in blunting its worst impact at large across the state, it's still out there and it's still a danger,” said Stack.
Beshear also reported that a six-year-old and a 12-year-old, both from the Bowling Green area, are among Kentucky’s latest reported cases.
He also announced seven additional deaths linked to COVID-19 on Monday and 246 newly identified positive cases. Those numbers are from both Sunday and Monday, he said.
Kentucky has identified at least 6,677 positive cases since the pandemic began, and 311 of those COVID-19 patients have died.
The youngest reported case of the coronavirus is a then 10-day-old baby from Lincoln Co. The child is said to be recovering well since the case was first reported in April.
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