252,000 CHILDREN TEST POSITIVE FOR COVID-19 AS CLASSES RESUME

A new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association reveals that nearly 252,000 children have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last week as many schools reopen for in-person learning.

The number represents the largest number of pediatric COVID-19 cases in a week since the beginning of the pandemic. Between Aug. 5 and Sept. 2, more than 750,000 cases of COVID-19 were confirmed among children.

Children made up 26.8 percent of reported weekly COVID-19 cases, higher than the 15.1 percent out of all cases throughout the pandemic.

By comparison, nearly 8,400 cases among young people were noted in a weekly report in June.

By the numbers: More than half of all new pediatric cases have been found in southern states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Almost 300 children are currently hospitalized in Texas, followed by 172 in Florida. Thirty percent of the pediatric hospitalizations are in the two states, where Govs. Greg Abbott (R) and Ron DeSantis (R) have banned mask mandates in schools.