7-month-old male infant diagnosed with COVID-19 dies during hospital transfer

Arrived at Hospital 38 Minutes After Transfer but Ultimately Passed Away

A 7-month-old boy who tested positive for COVID-19 died while being transported to the hospital. The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. Photo by Yonhap News.

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Park] A 7-month-old male infant who tested positive for COVID-19 died while being transported to the hospital.

According to the Gyeonggi-do Fire and Disaster Headquarters on the 20th, at around 8:33 PM on the 18th, a 119 emergency call was received from the parents of A (7 months old) in Jangan-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do, reporting that "the child’s eyes showed the whites and he was having a seizure." Both A and his guardian had tested positive for COVID-19 and were quarantined at home.

The fire department arrived at the scene within 6 minutes of the report and contacted about 10 hospitals to secure a bed, but due to the recent increase in severe COVID-19 patients, they were told that transportation within the Suwon area was difficult.

Therefore, the paramedics secured a hospital bed at a university hospital in Ansan, about 17 km away, and began transport. During this process, A went into cardiac arrest, and CPR was performed but he did not recover.

Ultimately, A arrived at the hospital around 9:17 PM and was declared DOA (dead on arrival). This was 38 minutes after transport began.

A fire official stated, "Recently, it has become difficult to secure emergency patient beds, so it is common for general patients to be transferred between about 10 hospitals. For COVID-19 positive patients, finding a hospital is even more difficult, resulting in considerable time spent wandering on the road."

The police are investigating the exact cause of death by questioning medical staff and others.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.