Covid 19 coronavirus: Baby tested after doctor contracts virus in West Australia

A newborn baby is being tested for coronavirus in Western Australia.

Baby Oliver, just four weeks old, was born prematurely and so is especially vulnerable to lung infection. On March 21 he was hospitalised at the Perth Children's Hospital for having a congested chest and blocked nose, according to the Daily Mail. During that hospitalisation he was treated by a doctor who later was diagnosed with COVID-19.

A week after the hospitalisation his parents, Michelle Chilton and Luke Tyson, were told Oliver had been exposed to the potentially deadly virus, and urgently needed to be tested.

Baby Oliver's family was already self-isolating ahead of his arrival. Photo / Facebook

Oliver was tested immediately but they say they still haven't received the results. They also haven't been informed of the doctor's condition, and don't know whether or not that doctor may have a "mild" or "severe" case of COVID-19.

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To make matters worse, the results have been delayed. After being contacted by WA Health on Saturday, Ms Chilton and Mr Tyson took Oliver to their local hospital in Kondinin — 300km east of Perth — to have him tested that day.

They were assured the test would be sent off on the same day — but it wasn't processed and sent until Monday.

"I rang the health service today and got the run around on who I needed to speak to," Mr Tyson told the Daily Mail yesterday. "Eventually I got through to the right people and they told me it was being processed."

Mum Mrs Chilton said in a Facebook post she now feels the safety of her child was placed "in the hands of others".

"We were already isolating ourselves at home but have been placed in lockdown by the Health Department & are awaiting the results to Oliver's swabs," Ms Chilton wrote in a Facebook post.

"Luckily we had already made the call to pull the big boys out of school due to three of us being immunocompromised," Ms Chilton wrote in a Facebook post.

"I think this just goes to show, however, that you can take all the measures to protect your family but sometimes the outcome unfortunately remains in the hands of others."

"Stay home people. None of us are immune to this. It could be your family!"

• Covid19.govt.nz: The Government's official Covid-19 advisory website