More than 1.4 million children under the age of 19 have tested positive for COVID-19 in the U.S. since the pandemic started earlier this year, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association.
New datareleased this week shows that as of December 3, 1,460,905 children have tested positive in this country, representing more than 12% of total reported cases at that time.
In August, children under 19 made up 9% of all COVID-19 cases in the U.S.
During the last two weeks of November, there was a 23% increase in the number of children who tested positive for the coronavirus, going from a total of 1.183 million in mid-November to 1.460 on December 3.
Children still make up a small number of the country’s hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19; ranging from 1-3% of hospitalizations depending on the state, and 0-.23% of all COVID-19 deaths.
Last week, the AAPreleased guidance on returning to youth sports during the pandemic. They encourage children to wear cloth face coverings at all times “for group training, competition, and on the sidelines.”