Nearly 100,000 children got COVID-19 in last 2 weeks of July, a 40 percent increase

Nearly 100,000 children in America contracted COVID-19 in the last two weeks of July, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Children’s Hospital Association.

The new report signifies a 40 percent increase in cases among children.

All told, there have been 338,982 total child COVID-19 cases reported since the onset of the pandemic. That represents 8.8% of all COVID-19 cases.

Despite the uptick in cases, AAP found that hospitalizations and deaths in children remain “uncommon.” Children also made up less than 1 percent of all COVID-19 deaths.

“Those numbers are a reminder that children are not immune from this disease,” Dr. Ashish Jha of the Harvard Global Health Institute said in an interview with Good Morning America.

Schools are just now starting to reopen, whether that be online or in person, so the numbers in the AAP report do not reflect transmissions that could happen in schools.

For example, a school in Georgia–which recently made headlines when pictures surfaced showing a lack of COVID-19 precautions like social distancing or mask wearing–has been forced to go to remote-only learning after just over a week of classes because nine students have already tested positive for COVID-19.

Like many things with this new virus, the full extent of the danger to children remains unknown. Scientists are working around-the-clock to uncover new information, but COVID-19 remains less than a year old.

So far it appears students are less likely to transmit the virus.

“Kids transmit less; not zero, but less,” Jha said. He went on to say that, along with other important developmental factors, makes him believe school districts should be focusing on getting K-5 students in classrooms–with proper safety precautions in place.