Baby with coronavirus gets CPR from deputy just in time as SC medics rush to scene
A baby with the coronavirus was waiting for medics when a South Carolina deputy stepped in to help save the child’s life, officials say.
The infant was unresponsive when Shawn Gopaul got to the scene and started performing CPR on Tuesday, the Chesterfield County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post.
The department says Gopaul took the emergency actions in Pageland, a town roughly 75 miles northeast of Columbia and near the North Carolina border.
“Deputy Gopaul did not hesitate in performing his duties” until the ambulance arrived to help the child, cops say. The baby was rushed to Monroe, North Carolina, and later airlifted to a Charlotte hospital, the sheriff’s office wrote on Facebook.
Now, the child is home and getting better, officials say. Gopaul quarantined after the incident and took a COVID-19 test that came back negative, according to his department.
It wasn’t the first time a South Carolina cop was credited with helping a young child in a critical moment.
In Oct. 2019, a body-worn camera captured a Belton police officer rescuing a choking baby girl, McClatchy News reported. The 4-month-old had taken medicine and began struggling to breathe, according to officials.
This story was originally published October 29, 2020 at 3:46 PM with the headline "Baby with coronavirus gets CPR from deputy just in time as SC medics rush to scene."
