(Image Courtesy of Western Mass News)

A Pittsfield mother is speaking out after her two-year-old tested positive for COVID-19 and potentially be the youngest case in the Bay State.

According to a story reported on by Western Mass News, Ciara Berkeley, the mother of two-year-old Inari, said her daughter is doing much better today than a week ago when she tested positive for COVID-19.

It’s a parent's worst nightmare. On November 9, Berkeley told Western Mass News that she noticed her two-year-old daughter was not her normal self. She described Inari as being lethargic and having a bad cough.

“She ended up taking a nap, woke up, and had a fever and it was 103.8,” Berkeley explained.

Berkeley immediately rushed her daughter Inari to Berkshire Medical Center where Inari received a COVID-19 rapid test and the result was positive.

Doctors at the hospital prescribed Tylenol and Motrin and sent Inari home to quarantine while she recovers.

Ciara said, "They said that they haven’t seen someone so young have COVID, so when I did speak to them, they said they were going to have a meeting with the pediatrics team and put procedures and protocols in place, so they can have an idea of what they would do going forward for younger kids that do end up getting COVID."

Only a few days later, Berkeley woke up around 4 a.m. and noticed Inari was having a hard time breathing, so she rushed back to the medical center.

Doctors examined Inari and cleared her to go back home.

Dr. John O’Reilly, the chief of pediatrics at Baystate Medical Center, told Western Mass News children of any age can get exposed to COVID-19, but it appears younger people tend to have milder cases than adults.

O'Reilly said, "It probably relates to how their immune system responds to this virus, so a little kid - let's say a two-year-old - their body is almost continuously being exposed to different germs and things as the kids pick up stuff."

Under Gov. Charlie Baker’s new mask mandate order, children under five are not required to wear face coverings in public, but Ciara Berkeley had a different message.

Berkeley had this to say, “Anyone below five should, indeed, wear a mask. Obviously, this goes to show anyone under five can get COVID and it’s important to keep kids safe."

There is much more to this story. Please check it out at Western Mass News' website here.

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