A report published by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children's Hospital Association reveals how easily children can get infected by coronavirus. Inspite of this report thousands of students have started returning to classrooms this week.
According to the association, just over 97,000 children have tested positive for the coronavirus from July 16 to July 30.
CBS News’ Michael George reports, the group has found that out of almost 5 million reported COVID-19 cases in the U.S. more than 338,000 were children.
The country has witnessed 90% increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in children over the past four weeks as per this report. According to the new report, there were 179,990 new COVID-19 cases among US children between July 9 and August 6.
As of August 6, atleast 380,174 total child COVID-19 cases were reported. It appears that severe symptoms are rarely observed in children with COVID-19 infections. AAP has called for an effective testing strategy so that communities will be able to make well-informed choices about opening of schools.
Dr. Sean O'Leary, vice chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Infectious Diseases said that varied factors led to an increase in the number of coronavirus infections in children in the past few weeks. These included increased testing, increase in the movement among children and rising infection among the general population.
Atleast 86 children have died due to the disease since May, mentions the report. The new study, coupled with the previous study, contradicts President Donald Trump’s claims that children are “almost immune” to COVID-19.
More classrooms were to reopen this week, but some students who just began the school year have to go back to virtual learning, because of new infections among teachers and students.
Florida grapples with one of the worst test positivity rates in the country. As of Monday, more than 17% of tests taken resulted positive. This is the fifth highest rate of any state, according to the Johns Hopkins data.
Schools of at least 12 Florida counties plan to reopen this week for in-person learning as stated by the Florida Education Association and school district websites.
The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention mentioned last month that officials in counties where the test positivity rate is higher than 5% should think about keeping classrooms closed to students.
Infact out of 12 counties where schools plan to reopen this week, atleast nine had test positivity rates higher than 5% as of Saturday, as mentioned by the Florida Department of Health.
North Paulding High School in Georgia was in news when a student posted a photo of a packed hallway, where almost no one appeared to wear a mask.
After a week the school reopened, North Paulding moves to online only classes for Monday and Tuesday.
Many Americans still don’t follow the basic advice, which could significantly lessen the spread and help students get back to classrooms safely, doctors say.