Plan to reopen US schools may stall as 100,000 pupils test positive
ALMOST 100,000 American children tested positive for Covid-19 in the last two weeks of July, raising concerns for US schools’ plans to reopen this month.
America recorded a 40 per cent increase in coronavirus-related cases among children, according to a new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association, which found that at least 97,000 children tested positive for coronavirus in the last two weeks of July.
The report, using data from 49 states as well as Washington DC, Puerto Rico and Guam, found the increase was felt most acutely in the south and west of the US, accounting for more than seven out of every 10 infections.
The report also suggested the true number of cases among children could be higher, as the study did not include complete data from Texas, which has one of the largest outbreaks, as well as parts of New York State. However, the age range differed by state, with some defining children as those aged up to 14 and one state, Alabama, pushing the limit to 24.
The figures undercut Donald Trump’s claim that children are “almost immune” to the virus as he pushed for the country’s schools to reopen.
Some US schools have already reversed their reopening plans after outbreaks within the student community. One high school in Georgia, which made headlines after a photo of its crowded hallway was posted online by a student, has since sent pupils home after reporting nine coronavirus cases.
North Paulding High School provoked outrage when it suspended Hannah Watters for uploading the picture showing very few of her classmates wearing face coverings. The teenager later had the suspension revoked.
The school had resumed classes on Aug 3 but announced it was temporarily moving to online learning from yesterday after six students and three staff contracted the coronavirus.
The new study by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association has cast doubt over previous assertions that the coronavirus posed less of a risk to children.
It followed another recent study by the Children’s Hospital of Chicago, which found that children under five could carry a viral load 100 times higher than adults – raising more questions about their role in the transmission of Covid-19.
Mr Trump has repeatedly advocated schools reopening in full for students, and claimed during a Fox News interview last week that coronavirus “is going away”. The US president went on to say: “If you look at children, children are almost – and I would almost say definitely – but almost immune from this disease.”
A clip of the interview posted to Mr Trump’s social media accounts was later removed by Facebook and Twitter, with both platforms stating that the comments contained false information.
Courtney Parella, a spokesman for the Trump campaign, insisted the president was “stating a fact that children are less susceptible to the coronavirus”.