Skip to main content
Press Release

As Schools Reopen, Accelerating Cases & CDC Warnings Highlight the Risks to Children’s Health

By August 10, 2020No Comments

40% Increase In Coronavirus Cases Among Children; 340,000 Infected Since Pandemic Began

CDC Warns Of Danger To Children, Higher Risk For Hispanic & Black Youth

Georgia High School That Punished Student For Posting Photo Of Packed Hallway Forced To Shut Down After 9 Test Positive 

As President Trump mandates the broad reopening of America’s schools, evermore evidence points to the risk that such reopenings pose to children. 

In the last two weeks of July along, cases among children skyrocketed by 40%. Outbreaks have emerged in summer camps and schools, where children congregate without safeguards. And contrary to President Trump’s assertions, many children who contract the virus are exhibiting serious health consequences. 

Coronavirus Cases Among Children Are Skyrocketing as School Begins, With a 40% Increase in Child Infections During the Last Two Weeks of July Alone

During The Last Two Weeks Of July, 97,000 Children In The United States Tested Positive For Coronavirus. 

  • “Nearly 100,000 children tested positive for the coronavirus in the last two weeks of July, a new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics finds. Just over 97,000 children tested positive for the coronavirus from July 16 to July 30, according to the association. Out of almost 5 million reported COVID-19 cases in the U.S., CBS News’ Michael George reports that the group found that more than 338,000 were children.” [CBS News, 8/9/20]

The 97,000 Children Infected At The End Of July Represent A 40 Percent Jump In The Number Of Cases Among Children.

  • “Coronavirus infections among U.S. children grew 40% in the last half of July, according to a report from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association, bringing the total number of child infections to 8.8% of all U.S. cases.” [Bloomberg, 8/9/20]

A Cluster Of Cases Has Emerged At A Georgia High School That Drew National Attention For Allowing Students To Pack Into Hallways Without Masks.

  • “A cluster of coronavirus cases has emerged at a Georgia high school that drew national attention last week after students posted pictures and videos of their peers walking without masks in tightly packed hallways, according to a letter sent to parents over the weekend. Six students and three staff members at North Paulding High School have reported testing positive for the virus, Principal Gabe Carmona wrote in the letter, which was first reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He said the infected people were in school ‘for at least some time’ last week. Superintendent Brian Otott later announced that the school will close Monday and Tuesday and revert to virtual learning while the building is cleaned.” [Washington Post, 8/9/20]

Based On Available Data, In Less Than Ten Days, More Than Half Of Campers Ages 6 To 10 Became Infected At A Georgia Summer Camp, While 44 Percent Of Tested Campers Ages 11 To 17 Became Infected. 

  • “The staff were joined by 363 campers and three senior staff members on June 21. All were required to provide documentation of a recent negative coronavirus test…. The camp was closed on June 27.  Of the 344 campers and staff whose test results were available to researchers, 260 tested positive. Over half of children ages 6 to 10 were infected; 44% of those ages 11 to 17 were infected; as were one-third of those ages 18 to 21. Only seven staffers were older than 22, and two of them tested positive.” [Des Moines Register, 8/8/20]

Nearly 340,000 Children Have Tested Positive For Coronavirus Since The Beginning Of The Pandemic.

  • “As of July 30, there were 338,982 cases reported in children since the pandemic began. Still, that was a relatively small fraction of the total number of coronavirus cases nationally — 8.8 percent. As of April 14, children made up just 2 percent of cases nationwide, according to the data.” [Washington Post, 8/9/20]

The CDC Is Warning That Children Can Experience Severe Symptoms That Require Them to Be Hospitalized, While Health Disparities Augment Risk to Certain Groups

On August 7th, The CDC Released A Report Warning That Children Were At Risk Of Developing Severe Coronavirus Symptoms That Would Require Admission To An Intensive Care Unit.

  • “While most children who catch the coronavirus have either no symptoms or mild ones, they are still at risk of developing ‘severe’ symptoms requiring admission to an intensive care unit, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a new report released Friday.” [NPR, 8/8/20]

According To The CDC, Hispanic Children Are Eight Times More Likely Than White Children To Be Hospitalized With Coronavirus, While Black Children Are Five Times More Likely.

  • “Hispanic and Black children in particular were much more likely to require hospitalization for COVID-19, with Hispanic children about eight times as likely as white children to be hospitalized, while Black children were five times as likely.” [NPR, 8/8/20]

One Of Three Children Hospitalized For COVID-19 Is Admitted To The Intensive Care Unit — A Rate Similar To That Of Adults.

  • “Despite persistent rumors that children are ‘almost immune’ from the virus, the analysis of 576 children hospitalized for the virus across 14 states found that one out of three was admitted to the ICU — similar to the rate among adults. Almost 1 in 5 of those were infants younger than 3 months. The most common symptoms included fever and chills, inability to eat, nausea and vomiting.” [NPR, 8/8/20]

Childhood Obesity Affects One In Five Children In America, Possibly Putting Them At Greater Risk For Complications From COVID-19. 

  • “Forty-two percent of the 208 children in the CDC analysis had at least one underlying condition, usually obesity. ‘Childhood obesity affects almost 1 in 5 U.S. children,’ the CDC authors wrote, ‘and is more prevalent in Black and Hispanic children.’ It’s unclear how obesity might affect the severity of COVID-19 outcomes, but the link has also been noted among adults with the virus.” [NBC News, 8/7/20]

At Least 45 Children Under The Age Of 14 Have Died From COVID-19 Since The Pandemic Began.

  • “Some [kids] have ended up hospitalized with severe complications. The CDC reports at least 45 children age 14 and under have died from COVID-related causes since the pandemic began. This week, a 7-year-old died in Georgia.” [NBC 15, 8/7/20]

Experts Are Warning That Exploding Cases and Limited Access to Information Make School Reopenings Especially Dangerous

Dr. Michael Saag, Director Of UAB Medicine’s Division Of Infectious Disease: “Watching These Horrific Explosions Of Cases, Be It In The Summer Camp… Now We’re Seeing Schools That Seem To Shrug Their Shoulders. … It’s Impossible To Stay Quiet.”

  • “The way that schools across America are handling the start of classes amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic is being watched closely by public health experts, teachers, government officials, and parents. Some doctors don’t like what they’re seeing. ‘Historically, my response up to this last couple of weeks has been typically much more neutral and just trying to implore people to do the right thing, to lay the information out in front,’ Dr. Michael Saag, director of UAB Medicine’s Division of Infectious Disease, told Yahoo Finance. ‘But watching these horrific explosions of cases, be it in the summer camp… now we’re seeing schools that seem to shrug their shoulders. … It’s impossible to stay quiet.’” [Yahoo News, 8/8/20]

Annette C. Anderson, Assistant Professor Of Education And Deputy Director Of The Center For Safe And Healthy Schools At Johns Hopkins University: “We Have No Idea How To Properly Reopen Schools.”

  • “‘We knew how to close schools,’ said Annette C. Anderson, an assistant professor of education and deputy director of the Center for Safe and Healthy Schools at Johns Hopkins University. ‘But we have no idea how to properly reopen schools.’ The result of this chaos is uncertainty for students and their parents, with profound ramifications for health, learning, emotional development and economics in schools that open and those that don’t.” [Washington Post, 8/9/20]