Oregon infant dies of COVID-19

An infant has died of COVID-19 in Oregon.

Dr. Dean Sidelinger with the Oregon Health Authority announced the death Thursday. He expressed condolences to the family, saying that an infant’s death to the coronavirus is extremely rare.

Gov. Kate Brown called the death “an indescribable tragedy for a family.”

The infant was a Umatilla County boy who died Jan. 17, and had underlying health conditions. He died the same day that he tested positive for COVID-19.

Since the start of the pandemic, 2,149 people in Oregon have died of COVID-19. Thursday the health agency confirmed 466 new confirmed or presumptive cases of the disease, and six new deaths to the virus.