There has been an exponential rise in the total number of coronavirus cases, hospitalisation and deaths among children and teenagers in the United States of America, reports say.
Data compiled by the American Academy of Pediatrics show that the situation is largely attributed to the resumption of in-class schooling across all 50 states in the country.
According to them, little is known about the possible effects of the virus in infants, young children and adolescents.
The data set, which spans from 21st May, 2020 to 20th August, 2020, asserts however that the rise is similar across all states.
Vice-chairman of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ committee on infectious diseases, Dr Sean O’Leary, told the New York Times that there is evidence that minors are being infected at a higher rate now than earlier in the year.
“Anyone who has been on the front lines of this pandemic in a children’s hospital can tell you we’ve taken care of lots of kids that are very sick” he said.
The data also proposes that in as much as young children tend to contract and transmit the virus more than the rest of the general public, complications are less experienced amongst them.
“It is less severe in children than adults, but it’s not completely benign” Dr. O’Leary said.
Nonetheless, it establishes that African-American and Latino children, just like adults, are more likely to be hospitalized.
Further research into the matter reveals that likelihood varies by age. It shows that teenagers are more likely to contract and transmit the virus than younger children, though the reasons are uncertain.
Children between 10 to 19 years make up a larger share of cases than young children in all of the states that track the age groups separately.
In late May, about 5 percent of USA’s cases were documented in minors. By Aug. 20, the number has risen to more than 9 percent.