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Coronavirus cases in kids climb by 21% since beginning of August, data show

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Coronavirus infections among children in the United States have jumped by more than 20% since the beginning of August, data show.

A report from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association — which compiles COVID-19 data from 49 states, New York City, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam — found the total number of infections among children increased from 358,469 to 432,629 between Aug. 6 and Aug. 20.

That’s 74,160 new cases, or about a 21% increase in two weeks, the report says.

REOPENING SCHOOLS

The report doesn’t offer insight into why cases have recently climbed.

But the increase comes as many students across the country have gone back to school during the pandemic or are preparing to do so.

Reopening schools has been a contentious topic in the United States. While some have pushed for students to return for in-person instruction, others have cited safety concerns about the virus.

Among supporters for reopening schools was the AAP, which came out with a statement in June and whose president argued during a news conference with President Donald Trump that students “learn more than reading, writing and arithmetic,” in schools, McClatchy News previously reported.

Several teacher and parent organizations, however, criticized calls from the president and others to reopen.

The school year has already proven to be complicated.

An increasing number of schools across the country have shut down again after reopening as students or staff have tested positive for the virus, The Wall Street Journal reports.

SEVERITY OF CASES

The report from the AAP and CHA found children make up 9.3% of all COVID-19 cases and have an infection rate of 583 cases per 100,000 children.

It also says between 0.2% and 8.6% of children infected with COVID-19 are hospitalized and between 0% and 0.7% of cases result in death.

But its data on hospitalizations only comes from 21 states and New York City and its mortality data comes from 45 states and New York City.

Its analysis of data from 14 states found that one in three children hospitalized with the virus is admitted to intensive care.

“Public health authorities and clinicians should continue to track pediatric SARS-CoV-2 infections,” the CDC report says. “Reinforcement of prevention efforts is essential in congregate settings that serve children, including childcare centers and schools.”

A sample is taken from a child’s nose at a mobile Coronavirus testing site at the Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science Wednesday, July 22, 2020, in Los Angeles. 

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