US experiences increase in child coronavirus cases

Coronavirus infections among children in the US grew by 40 per cent in the second half of July, according to a report from the American Academy of Paediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association.

Children now make up 8.8 per cent of all Covid-19 cases in the US.

The report, which aggregates data from 49 states, comes at a time of heated debate over whether schools should reopen in the autumn.

While the surge of infections contradicts President Donald Trump’s assertion that children are “virtually immune”, the data also shows that child infections make up a disproportionately small share of the overall outbreak.

Many parents are eager to get their children back to school.

But there are still Covid-19 surges in much of the country, as well as conflicting data about how the virus is transmitted to and from children.

Some schools that have already resumed classes have experienced outbreaks.

Scenes of children crowded together without wearing masks also raised fears that a full nationwide reopening in September will cause a new surge in infections.

The study said 97,078 new child cases were reported from July 16 to July 30, taking the total to 338,982. The range of ages varied from state to state, with some including an age limit as high as 24. California, Florida and Arizona had the highest number of child cases in the US, with more than 20,000 each, the report found.

By population, Arizona had the highest count, with more than 1,000 cases per 100,000 children – more than double the national average of 447.

There have been 86 deaths of children from Covid-19 in the US, accounting for only 0.06 per cent of fatalities.

The data comes at a time of heated debate in the US over whether schools should reopen in the autumn