Almost 100 more babies test positive for COVID-19 in Corpus Christi, Texas

A medical staff member takes the blood pressure and heart rate of a baby girl positive for COVID-19 while her mother holds her in her arms at the door of her hotel room turned into a hospital for people who do not need hospitalization during the week in Venezuela. (Photo by Leonardo Fernandez Viloria/Getty Images)

In Corpus Christi, a coastal city in South Texas, nearly 100 babies tested positive for COVID-19 in the past few weeks.

In mid-July, Nueces County, where Corpus Christi is located, announced that nearly 85 newborns tested positive for COVID-19.

One 6-week-old infant even died after contracting it.

Corpus Christi, TX: 187 INFANTS have tested positive for COVID-19 and sadly one has died.
Georgia: 260 students in quarantine due to positive tests/contacts 1st week of school.
Florida: 38,00+ positive for children <17 yrs old. At this time 440+ are hospitalized, 9 died. ?

— Addie (@kdmd907) August 8, 2020

“Since March until now, it’s close to 167. So from the last time I reported, I don’t remember that exact date, but we had 85 infants, 23 months or younger, and since that date that number has almost doubled and that hasn’t been a very long time period,” City-County Health Director Annette Rodriguez told KSAT, an ABC affiliate station in the San Antonio area.

Since the pandemic began to gain speed in March, Nueces County has seen a total of 13,062 COVID-19 cases, according to KSAT.

Corpus Christi residents under 19-years-old who tested positive for COVID-19 represented an estimated 12% of cases.

Adolescents are not the only ones suffering and dying from the outbreak. On Wednesday, Flour Bluff school superintendent David Freeman, 46, died from COVID-19, according to the Caller Times.

Teachers, students and the community are mourning Dr. David Freeman, the superintendent of the Flour Bluff ISD in the Corpus Christi area. https://t.co/qCsX2BDTR4

— CBSDFW (@CBSDFW) August 5, 2020

The superintendent’s sister took to social media to announce Freeman’s passing. Freeman was in the intensive care unit when he died.

“We are heartbroken and grief stricken over the sudden loss of our fearless leader,” a post on the Flour Bluff Independent School District’s Facebook page reads.

“Dr. Freeman had been battling health issues over the past few months.” Freeman leaves behind a wife, two daughters and a son.

As of reporting, there were nearly 460,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Texas, and of those cases, more than 136,000 are estimated to be active.

Have you subscribed to theGrio’s podcast “Dear Culture”? Download our newest episodes now!