Chicago City Wire

A public health expert said sloppy reporting surrounding the death of a 9-month-old from Cook County who had tested positive for COVID-19 needlessly put others at risk for exposure when parents, upon news of the child’s death, rushed their children to hospitals for checkups.

“There used to be a time when reporters would verify facts before publishing or broadcasting them, but in our hyper, attention-seeking media world, this is no longer the case,”   AnneMarie Schieber, a research fellow at The Heartland Institute, told Chicago City Wire. “Unfortunately, such lack of diligence can have harmful consequences which may contribute to the panic we are already seeing.”

The news reports stemmed from a March 28 news release by the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) reporting the baby’s death. It was headlined: “Public Health Officials Announce the First Death of an Infant with Coronavirus Disease.”

Coronavirus | Adobe Stock

In the release, IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said, “There has never before been a death associated with COVID-19 in an infant.” But she also said, “A full investigation is under way to determine the cause of death.”

Commenting on the release, Schieber said “It’s imperative for agencies of authority to make sure there is no room for speculation from their public statements.”

Citing the IDPH statement, NBC Chicago headlined a March 28 story about the death with “Cook County infant dies from coronavirus, First in U.S.”

A March 29 Chicago Tribune subhead read “Chicago’s public health commissioner says hospitals saw weekend spike in well baby visits after infant coronavirus death.”

It’s still unclear what caused the child’s death, and the IDPH did not respond to questions about its investigation into the cause.

An Associated Press story said the child had been in the hospital for four weeks and suffered from intestinal blockage and organ failure.

Separately, FOX 2 Detroit headlined a March 30 story about the death of a state lawmaker with “Lawmakers mourn passing of Detroit rep who died of coronavirus complications.”

But in the story the lawmaker’s mother is quoted as saying that “she suspects his death could be related to coronavirus.”

Schieber said that the panic caused by the virus, and worsened by news reports, reinforces the need for accelerating tele-health -- virtual doctor visits -- where people can get a checkup from the safety of their homes.

“There are still too many obstacles getting in the way of tele-medicine,” she said, “from cumbersome payment models to state regulations that restrict prescribing abilities or require a ‘live’ provider in the same room as the patient.”