SARASOTA, Fla. — Roughly two weeks after Brad and Jessica Lewellen were diagnosed with COVID-19, they noticed something was off with their 6-month-old baby boy. 

In a matter of hours, he developed a rash that wrapped around his body. They say the rash was hot, elevated, and getting worse very quickly. 

“As soon as we saw it I immediately was like, 'I’m not taking any chances because I don’t know how they’re treating it with infants,'” Jessica said.

They took him to Sarasota Memorial Hospital and hours later received the test results that the infant was positive for COVID-19. He never had a fever. 

“He’s the only one that has had the reaction and I think it's because he was so close to me,” Jessica explained. 

The Lewellen’s were advised to keep their son home and not put any creams or ointment on the rash. Over the next few days, they say it started to fade and their son returned to his normal happy self. 

Joseph Perno, Chief Medical Officer at John Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, says they are only testing children for COVID-19 who have been exposed and are showing symptoms. He says the symptoms they are seeing in children include fever, cough, rash, and peeling skin. 

If a child has been exposed and is not showing symptoms, they recommend to quarantine and keep them at home. 

“If they’re asymptomatic, with just an exposure, we’re not doing any tests,” he said. 

The couple has two daughters who so far haven’t shown any symptoms. They are taking their temperatures often and keeping the girls home in the meantime.