More than 70,000 children have been diagnosed with COVID since early August

More than 70,000 children have been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus since early August, according to newly released data.

© Alexi Rosenfeld / Getty
People with masks play baseball in Prospect Park as the city continues Phase 4 of reopening after restrictions were imposed to slow the spread of coronavirus on August 17, 2020 in New York City.

A report released by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association shows 74,160 new cases of coronavirus among children from August 6 to August 20. According to the report, this is an increase of 21 percent in cases over the past two weeks.

Cumulatively, there are currently at least 442,785 cases among children with eight states reporting cumulative counts over 15,000, according to the study.

In terms of hospitalizations, between 0.2 percent and 8.6 percent of children were diagnosed with coronavirus hospitalization. “At present, serious evidence of COVID-19 is found to be rare in children,” the report said.

The increase in cases among children comes as states in the US struggle with reopening of schools.

In Florida, cases among children with nearly 9,000 increased in a span of two weeks as many schools in the state began to reopen. A pediatric report released on August 25 by the Florida Department of Health showed 48,730 confirmed cases among children under the age of 18. Schools in Florida had to reopen to personal classes under a directive from Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran, but a judge recently ruled in favor of a teachers’ union that Corcoran sued, saying the order was in violation of the state’s constitution.

A very fourth-grade class in Mississippi was forced to quarantine and move to online-only learning after multiple teachers tested positive for coronavirus. Adam Pugh, Lafayette County Superintendent, told The Associated Press that 200 students were quarantined after a majority of the students were exposed.

In addition, several colleges across the country are facing recurring obstacles due to the virus. Syracuse University recently suspended 23 students for attending a major social gathering on the school’s campus. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Notre Dame reversed their reopening plans and moved to peak hours in cases among students.

After more than 500 students, faculty and staff tested positive at the University of Alabama, Mayor Tuscaloosa Walt Maddox ordered all bars in the city to close for two weeks, hoping to limit the spread.

The novel coronavirus, which causes the respiratory disease COVID-19, has spread throughout the US. According to a Johns Hopkins University tracker, there are currently more than 5.8 million cases and at least 179,743 deaths in the country.

Newsweek reached the Department of Health and Human Services for comment, but received no response in time for publication.

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