Atlanta Girl, 12, Improving Says Family: GA Coronavirus

ATLANTA, GA — A 12-year-old Atlanta girl who tested positive for the coronavirus is showing signs of improvement, reports CNN. Emma had no underlying health conditions and hadn't recently traveled, according to family.

Her cousin Justin Anthony tells CNN that Emma is now “slowly waking up out of sedation and is responding well to her dad and mom.”

Doctors took an X-ray of her lungs on Tuesday that showed "good improvement," he said.

On Sunday Anthony told the news outlet that the little girl was “fighting for her life.” The family said they aren’t sure how she was infected with COVID-19. She was diagnosed with pneumonia on March 15 and later tested positive with the coronavirus. She had to be hooked up to a ventilator.

Anthony wants to warn others.

“Everyone keeps saying it doesn’t impact younger people. But here’s a 12-year-old. People need to practice social distancing. People need to take care of their children. People need to take this seriously.”

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Globally, more than 553,000 people have been infected and more than 25,000 people have died from the new coronavirus, Johns Hopkins reported Friday. Of that total, more than 86,000 confirmed cases were in the United States, surpassing China who had the highest cases since it originated. There have been close to 1,300 U.S. deaths tied to the virus outbreak.

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