As officials continue to warn about traveling over the holidays amid the fall surge, health experts are also investigating the virus’ impact on children.
There were more than 144,000 new cases of COVID-19 reported among children last week, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) said Monday.
Over the last two weeks, there has been a 28% increase in child COVID-19 cases and children now account for more than 11% of all confirmed coronavirus cases in the US, according to the AAP.
About 144,145 new cases among children 17 and under were reported from November 12 to 19, AAP said.
As of Monday, the US has reported more than 12 million coronavirus cases, and more than 257, 000 corinavirus-related deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
That means, this Thanksgiving, hundreds of thousands of families will be missing a loved one due to Covid-19.
Now doctors are pleading for Americans to stay home to avoid a similar fate next year.
“What most concerns me now is, you know, the immediate situation with people traveling from different places, coming home for Thanksgiving,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said during an interview with the PBS Newshour.
“When you leave a location and have to go to an airport or wherever it is, a train station, etc., the possibility of exposing yourself and then going home to your home community for a wonderful traditional Thanksgiving holiday might actually, unfortunately, be a source of, or even amplification of, the surge.”
Nationwide, new COVID-19 hospitalizations are soaring at unprecedented rates — threatening reduced care for even those who don’t have coronavirus.
At least 83,870 COVID-19 patients were hospitalized Sunday — the 13th straight record-breaking day, according to the COVID Tracking Project.
Many hospitals are at capacity, diverting patients surgeries and closing pediatric units for COVID-19 patients.
“Look, the virus doesn’t care how much you love people,” said Dr. Jonathan Reiner, a professor at George Washington University School of Medicine. “So let’s stay safe this year.”
“This Thanksgiving is going to suck a bit. We need to be careful, and we need to take care of each other, which means we should really have Thanksgiving for people that we live with.”
CNN
