New York Governor Andrew Cuomo says three children have died from inflammatory disease that might be linked to coronavirus.There are fears that that it might be entering a new phase of the COVID-19 pandemic where it strikes children, who had previously been deemed at low risk for the virus. New York has been the coronavirus epicenter in the United States. There had been, another 226 deaths in the state on Friday alone, bringing the toll to 21,045.

Cuomo said New York has at least 73 cases of the Kawasaki disease or toxic shock syndrome like illness.. He said one death was that of a 5-year-old boy in New York City, while Westchester County officials said that a death happened locally, along with 11 children who had been hospitalized. They had developed symptoms four to six weeks after initial exposure to the virus. The new condition was first reported in late April, by doctors in Britain, Italy and Spain.

The ailment has been called “Paediatric Multi-System Inflammatory Syndrome Associated with COVID-19.” New York state is to launch an investigation into it in conjunction with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Symptoms that should prompt caregivers to seek immediate medical attention for a child include:

A fever that lasts more than five days

Difficulty in feeding for infants

Severe abdominal pain, diarrhoea or vomiting

Pasty or patchy skin tone

Breathing difficulty or rapid breathing

Racing heart or chest pain

Decreased visits to the bathroom to urinate

Lethargy, irritability or confusion

According to experts, children aged 2 to 6 years old are particularly susceptible to the syndrome.

Umm Mohammed Umar