JUST IN: State Sees First Case Of Condition In Children Caused By COVID-19

By Victoria Ratliff
TheStatehouseFile.com

INDIANAPOLIS—The first case of a dangerous complication of COVID-19 that targets children have now been found in Indiana.

Dr. Kristina Box, the state health commissioner, broke the news of the state’s first confirmed case of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome — also known as MIS-C — Monday at Gov. Eric Holcomb’s virtual press briefing. She did not release the age of the child nor which part of the state the child resides in order to protect patient privacy.

“This is a very serious condition,” Box said. “Patients under the age of 21 present with fever, laboratory evidence of inflammation, and evidence of clinically severe illness involving multiple organ systems that require hospitalizations.”

“These cases have no alternative plausible diagnosis” than SARS-COV-2, Box said, using the label for the virus that causes COVID-19. Patients, she said, test positive for the virus or have antibody evidence that their bodies are fighting it.

As of Sunday, at least 220 possible and confirmed cases in 20 states and the District of Columbia had been identified. There are more than 150 cases in New York, where three children have died.

“This is something we are starting to see around the world,” Box said. “…We’ve asked hospitals to report suspected cases to us as we can investigate and learn more about COVID-19 and how that may be impacting our younger people.”

Parents need to be alert for persistent fever in their children and, she said, should contact their pediatrician if the child appears seriously ill.

Along with the first case of the condition, the state reported 492 new cases of COVID-19 with 28,255 cases statewide. An additional 14 deaths were reported, bringing the state’s total to 1,621, with another 144 deaths believed to have been caused by the virus.

As the virus continues to take a toll on the state, the Department of Child Services said they are working to keep their workers and the community safe from COVID-19 while still working on cases to keep Hoosier children safe.

DCS Director Terry Stigdon said the department has switched to working remotely except when investigating an abuse or neglect claims.

“While there has been much focus on ways we can work remotely, it is important to note when a child’s wellbeing is in question, a family case manager visits that child in-person to ensure they are safe,” she said.

The department is now conducting family visits virtually, limiting visits to DCS offices to appointment only and providing personal protective equipment to workers whose work cannot be done remotely.

In other COVID-19-related developments, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles Commissioner Peter Lacy said the state is increasing the number of open branches and the available appointments.

Lacy said the BMV has expanded its appointment capacity by 50% at 59 locations. This will add an additional 13,000 appointments weekly to the nearly 142,000 weekly appointments already occurring at the 128 open branches, he said.

But, he added, in-person appointments should only be used for transactions not available online or over the phone. Lacy said Hoosiers can go to MyBMV.com, in.gov/bmv, or call 888-692-6841 for other transactions.

Victoria Ratliff is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.