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A three-week-old baby was diagnosed with coronavirus as an increasing number of tots are falling ill.

The baby spent several days at NYU Winthrop Hospital on Long Island, America, where healthcare workers are braced for an influx of patients after the virus spread in the area.

The tot is allegedly the youngest baby in the US to contract the virus.

The baby, who hasn’t been named, has since been released from hospital and is now recovering at home, according to Fox News.

Babies and children are less likely to contract the virus or to develop severe symptoms. They may be carriers of the virus without showing any symptoms like a temperature or a cough.

But as coronavirus sweeps the globe with 492, 603 cases worldwide and an overall death toll of 22,184 to date, the idea of a dependent is a fearsome prospect for parents.

Earlier this month, a mum shared photographs of her two-month-old baby daughter wired up to a ventilator, as she battled coronavirus.

Ashley Hildebrand, South Carolina, posted the shocking images of Ellie on her Facebook page confirming her daughter had tested positive, at first showing no symptoms before her health suddenly declined.

"Soooo... Ellie has tested positive for COVID 19. Me and Sean have to self quarantine for 2 weeks without her," Ms Hildebrand wrote in a post.

"She actually didn't really have any symptoms beforehand. She was a little wheezy on and off for a few days, nothing alarming at all. And her lungs sounded fine Tuesday at her two month check-up," she said.

(Image: Ashley Hildebrand / Facebook)

Ellie is on a ventilator to give her lungs time to rest - yet she is still semi-awake and tries to pull the wires out. After a "few scary days", Ellie is showing signs of improvement and she'll be weaned off the ventilator over 1-2 days.

Ms Hildebrand and her partner are now in a two-week quarantine and will be joined by Ellie when she no longer needs life support.

The news follows announcements from governments that a vaccine to beat coronavirus is underway.

Britain pledged on Thursday to contribute 210 million pounds to the international coalition to find a vaccine against coronavirus following a virtual summit of G20 leaders.

"My call to every G20 country and to governments around the world is to step up and help us defeat this virus," Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a statement.