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General News of Thursday, 18 June 2020

Source: www.ghanaweb.com

4-month-old premature Ghanaian baby becomes UK’s youngest Coronavirus survivor

Baby Emmanuel Boateng leaving the hospital amidst claps from medical officers at King's College play videoBaby Emmanuel Boateng leaving the hospital amidst claps from medical officers at King's College

Medical officers at the King’s College Hospital in London, UK have been beside themselves with joy since baby Emmanuel Boateng got discharged after battling the deadly Coronavirus for 47 days.

As a show of good gesture, the hospital staff lined up and gave him a standing ovation as he left the premises with his mother, Evelyn.

Baby Emmanuel Boateng’s fight with the Coronavirus started before he was even due to be born.

Born three months early and from Peckham, southeast London, he has been reportedly cited as UK’s youngest survivor of the fast-spreading global pandemic.

He spent the first two months of his life in intensive care after being delivered prematurely on 30 January.

Theindipendent.co.uk reports that Emmanuel Boateng was rushed to King’s College Hospital, in Camberwell, few days after he was discharged having been declared healthy enough as a preterm baby. He tested positive for coronavirus and sepsis in March.

His mother, Evelyn Ntiamoa Boateng, told ITV she feared the worst at first, adding: “Coronavirus for such a tiny baby, I lost hope. I didn’t sleep, I would just be upset with myself crying and crying.”

She added that the hardest part was having to leave Emmanuel for 14 days while she self-isolated at home with his father and elder brother after he tested positive for COVID-19.

Emmanuel was treated with Remdesivir, a drug more commonly used to treat ebola and still being trialled for the treatment of COVID-19.

Their gamble paid off after the baby begun to show signs of recovery after a few weeks.