A 10-year-old girl was confirmed to be infected with the novel coronavirus on Wednesday, the first case of COVID-19 among children here.

The child is the daughter of a 41-year old woman in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, the country’s 20th patient who was confirmed with the virus on Feb. 5, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The mother became infected after coming into contact with her brother-in-law, the country’s 15th patient, who had traveled to Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the virus outbreak.

The girl had been under self-quarantine at home and did not go to school since early this month since her mother was confirmed positive.

She is under quarantine and being treated at the Seoul National University Bundang Hospital. Her condition is stable, though she has been anxious after being confirmed with the coronavirus, according to authorities. 

Suwon officials said they are planning to transfer the mother, who is currently being treated at Armed Forces Capital Hospital, to the same hospital as her daughter.

The latest case has raised concern as children were thought to be less vulnerable to the virus than older people.

Relatively fewer cases of COVID-19 have been reported among children around the world, and health experts said children who test positive for the virus seem to experience milder symptoms compared to older people.

On Wednesday, Korea confirmed 20 more cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of infections to 51.

By Ahn Sung-mi (sahn@heraldcorp.com)