Let’s have another look at a case scenario where the underlying cause of death was COVID-19.

A 1-month-old male infant weighing 3450g was brought to the ER by his mother with no signs of life. On examination, there was no respiratory effort, no heartbeat and pupils were fixed and dilated. CPR was commenced but the child was unresponsive. He was born at term via normal vaginal delivery weighing 3045g, and HIV unexposed according to mother. The mother was Rhesus positive and rapid plasma reagin (PRP) negative for syphilis.

There was a 1-day history of cough and runny nose. The mother noted fever in the early hours before presentation at the ER.

However, baby developed difficulty breathing during the night and was found to be unresponsive during the early hours of the next day. Post-mortem COVID-19 swab done was SARS-CoV-2 positive.

The immediate cause of death in this patient is

• Pneumonia, reported in Part 1 line a.
• COVID-19 is the underlying cause of death, so it is reported on the lowest used line of Part 1.

Confirmed COVID-19 should be reported on the death notification form when laboratory confirmation is available.