More children getting Covid in US
According to new data collected by the American Academy of Paediatrics, almost 94,000 COVID-19 cases in children were reported over a two-week period from July 29 to Aug. 5, which the academy dubbed “a continuing substantial increase.” The outbreak increased the total number of child cases by 4 per cent.
“After declining in early summer, child cases have steadily increased since the beginning of July,” the report added. Since the pandemic began, nearly 4.3 million children have tested positive for the virus — 14.3 per cent of total cumulative cases.
The new figures come as children’s hospitals in COVID-19 hot spots have reported an increase in young patients battling the virus.
Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock reported that of 23 patients admitted for COVID-19 under the age 18, 10 were in the ICU and five were placed on ventilators. St. Louis Children’s Hospital in Missouri had more than a dozen patients come in with COVID-19 infections last week, noted NBC News.
The American Academy of Paediatrics noted that although “at this time, it appears that severe illness due to COVID-19 is uncommon among children,” the long-term impacts on their physical and mental health and remain unclear.
“There is an urgent need to collect more data,” the report noted. (The Hill)