COVID-19 Rates in Children Increasing, CDC Says

By Madelaine D. First Posted: Aug 15, 2020 09:48 AM EDT

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) rates in children make more than seven percent of all coronavirus cases in the United States, according to health experts. The young age cases comprised 22 percent of the country's population.

According to CNN, a new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed COVID-19 rates in children have been "steadily increasing" from March to July. The data was posted alongside updated guidance for pediatricians on what is known about the virus in children.

"Recent evidence suggests that children likely have the same or higher viral loads in their nasopharynx than adults and that children can spread the virus effectively in households and camp settings," the CDC said in the guidance.

The transmission of the coronavirus among children may have reduced in spring and early summer because of mitigation measures like school closures and stay-at-home orders, as per CDC.

Schools and universities across the United States are reopening now. Schools in some states had to readjust their approach following positive tests among students and staff.

Several teachers have opted to resign rather than risking themselves to contract the virus. The discussion on how to safely welcome the students from returning to schools by state and local leaders is still on-going.

"So if I'm put into a classroom of 30 or more kids, it's a small room, there's one exit, the ventilation isn't all that great for schools. It's not a good situation, Matt Chicci, an Arizona teacher who quit his job, told CNN.

Several schools in Georgia reopened in recent weeks, and more than 1,000 students and staff have already been quarantined due to positive cases of COVID-19 and possible exposures to the infected individuals.

According to CNN, the risk of acquiring coronavirus among children has been downplayed by some U.S. officials, including President Donald Trump.

The new CDC guidance pointed out that children can develop severe illness and complications even if they have a lower risk compared to adults.

The rate of hospitalizations among children is increasing and among those hospitalized, one in three children is admitted to intensive care - the same as adults, the CDC noted.

According to Johns Hopkins University, more than 5.3 million people in the U.S. have been infected with COVID-19, and 168,446 have already died.

Latino and Black populations hit hard in hotspots

On Friday, the CDC published a report showing that many Latino and Black people have contracted the virus in 79 counties identified as hotspots across the U.S.

The majority of the counties reported disparities in COVID-19 cases in one or more ethnic or racial groups.

"These findings illustrate the disproportionate incidence of COVID-19 among communities of color, as has been shown by other studies, and suggest that a high percentage of cases in hotspot counties are among people of color," the report said.

Health officials in Milwaukee said that collecting COVID-19 impact data by race helped strategize a better response to the pandemic.

Jeanette Kowalik, commissioner of health at the Milwaukee Health Department, noted that it helped them alter their strategy to increase outreach and add additional testing sites. She added that it improved their communities of color to prevent exposure to COVID-19.

As per Kowalik, the data drove conversations that would not have taken place if officials were unaware that the virus impacted more people of color.