The fake news media exploded this weekend after a health official on the Texas Gulf Coast claimed 85 infants have tested positive for the Coronavirus.
“We currently have 85 babies under the age of one year in Nueces County that have all tested positive for COVID-19,” Annette Rodriguez said during a public health update in Corpus Christi in a Friday presser. “These babies have not even had their first birthday yet. Please help us to stop the spread of this disease” by staying home except for necessary trips, socially distancing and wearing masks in public.
Fake News media outlets such as CNN, CBS and AP ran with the story.
It turns out Annette Rodriguez was mistaken, according to Nueces County Judge Barbara Canales.
Kris 6 News in Corpus Christi reported that there was no sudden surge in COVID-19 cases in infants.
“On Friday, July 17, during a press conference, a spokesperson mentioned that 85 infants under the age of one had tested positive for coronavirus,” Judge Canales said in a statement, KRIS 6 reported. “This number reflects the cumulative total of positive tests for infants under the age of 1 since the beginning of testing in mid-March, which has resulted in 8,171 positive test results.”
“For context, the spokesperson was using that statistic to illustrate that no one is naturally immune to this virus. While the elderly and those with existing medical conditions are at greater risk of illness and death, anyone can get the virus, from the elderly to infants, and without regard to race, gender, or economic status. The number was used to illustrate this point.”
“However, without this context, stating this number during our press conference led many to believe that we had a sudden surge in infants under the age of one testing positive. We have NOT had a sudden surge of 85 infants testing positive,” she said.
