Coronavirus cases among children and adolescents have been growing in California, up 150% over the past month, a rate that generally overcomes COVID-19 cases and establishes minors as a small but growing proportion of the state COVID-19 -falled.
The increase also appears to surpass the number of coronavirus cases among children nationwide, which grew 40% in the second half of July, according to a study by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Assn.
Nationally represented children with COVID-19 accounted for about 8.8% of all U.S. cases at the end of July, compared with 9% in California, the analysis found.
That number continues to climb, with more than 50,000 cases among children and teens in California this week, representing about 9.5% of the total cases, according to data from the California Department of Public Health. The number is still dwarfed by new cases among adults aged 18 to 50, who represent the majority of cases statewide.
The data comes under fierce discussion about when and how schools will be allowed to reopen, and what life will be like for students and teachers if they do.
Gavin Newsom said Monday that the state has seen “encouraging signs” in some key metrics, but “not the kind of stability … that we ultimately need.”
That increase includes a 19% drop in coronavirus hospitalizations over the past two weeks, and a 13% drop in admissions to intensive care units, Newsom said. About 8% of entire hospital patients are treated for COVID-19, down from 9% last week.
A new system in California could allow local public health officials to grant exemptions to open some elementary schools if the surrounding counties meet certain state standards. Officials have said that counties with coronavirus transmission rates higher than 200 cases per 100,000 inhabitants should not apply.
As hospital admission rates and ICU admissions fall, “more and more counties will have a chance to consider the exemption process and determine if it is the right thing to do” for local school districts, said Mark Ghaly, secretary of Health and Human Services in California. .
Officials in Los Angeles County, where the rate is 335 cases per 100,000 people, have said no elementary schools will be allowed to reopen immediately. Teachers, administrators and other staff will still be allowed to return to school buildings if they observe social distance and wear face masks, officials said.
“We need to be prepared for the high possibility that once schools reopen, there will be cases,” said Barbara Ferrer, director of public health at LA County.
Although cases are growing among children, young adults between the ages of 18 and 34 continue to account for an increased proportion of new cases of coronavirus in California.
Health officials have linked a number of outbreaks to younger adults and university campuses, including at least 45 people linked three fraternities of USC, a group of UCLA footballers who returned to campus and tested positive, and dozens of cases at UC Berkeley affiliated with fraternity parties.
Younger people may feel that precautionary measures such as social distance and face covering are unimportant because they are at low risk of becoming seriously ill or dying from the virus. But experts say the young could become “super-spreaders” who transmit the disease to the vulnerable, including elderly relatives and people with underlying health conditions.
“They’re cumbersome, they get sweaty,” Ferrer said, referring to face masks. “But they protect us all.”
Leagues and other youth sporting events are still banned in California, but officials have allowed limited training and conditioning activities to resume.
All players and coaches must maintain a physical distance of at least six feet and avoid physical contact. Everyone should wear a face mask unless they are swimming, eating, drinking or exercising heavily, Ferrer said. They also discourage athletes from sharing equipment like water bottles.
Children under 2 should not wear face masks, Ferrer said. Everyone should also have no problems with breathing, being unconscious or “otherwise unable to remove the mask without some help,” she said.
Times staff writer Ben Welsh contributed to this report.
