Nearly 204,000 new COVID-19 cases reported among children last week
As COVID-19 infections steadily increase across the country, the U.S. continues to see a concerning surge in pediatric cases just as children head back to the classroom for a new school year.
Just under 204,000 new child COVID-19 cases were reported last week, marking the second-highest week on record, according to a newly released weekly report that compiles state-by-state data on COVID-19 cases among children from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Children’s Hospital Association (CHA).
After declining throughout the early summer, new child cases have increased "exponentially," the organizations said, with an over five-fold increase the past month, rising from about 38,000 cases the week ending July 22 -- a 427% increase in the weekly rate.
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Since the onset of the pandemic, nearly 4.8 million children have tested positive for COVID-19. Last week, children represented 22.4% of all reported COVID-19 cases.
At this time, severe illness due to COVID-19 remains “uncommon” among children, the two organizations wrote in the report. According to the nearly two dozen states, which reported pediatric hospitalizations, 0.1% to 1.9% of all child COVID-19 cases resulted in hospitalization. Similarly, in states which reported virus-related deaths by age, 0.00%-0.03% of all child COVID-19 cases resulted in death.
However, the AAP and CHA warned that there is an urgent need to collect more data on the long-term consequences of the pandemic on children, "including ways the virus may harm the long-term physical health of infected children, as well as its emotional and mental health effects."
-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos