Report Shows Pediatric Coronavirus Cases Soaring; How CO Is Doing

ACROSS COLORADO—As families and school districts struggle with whether to send children back to the classroom, people are looking to whatever available data they can find to help inform their last-minute decisions.

One of the reports to garner attention this week is one from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children's Hospital Association. It shows a 40 percent increase in pediatric coronavirus cases nationwide in the last two weeks of July, with nearly 100,000 testing positive in that time.

The latest public health data in Colorado — current as of August 10 — shows more than 5,300 people under 19 having been diagnosed with COVID-19, making up 10.41 percent of the state's confirmed cases to date.

According to the national report, pediatric cases made up a lower percentage of a state's total in only four states and New York City as of July 30. Since not all states have the same age range for children as Colorado (0-19), it's not a perfect comparison. For instance, Utah's data is for people 0-14 while Alabama's is 0-25.

Overall, children made up about 9 percent of all cases in the country as of the end of July.

The rate of pediatric cases in Colorado is at 318.8 per 100,000, which is below the national rate of 447 as of July 30.

According to the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment, there have been no deaths reported in children ages 0 to 9. There have been three deaths (0.16 percent) for children between the ages of 10 to 19. There were 86 such deaths across the country in the national report.

Colorado has had 148 hospitalizations of people 0-19 due to COVID-19. It's still not known what sort of long-term complications children can get as a result from COVID-19.

The national report comes as Colorado school districts adapt to educating students -despite the challenges - amid a global pandemic. Denver Public Schools recently announced its remote instruction has been extended from Aug. 24 through Oct. 16. Boulder Valley School District will begin the school year on Aug. 26 with at phase 1 at home learning.

Last month, the Colorado Education Association, which represents nearly 40,000 educators in the state, said 80 percent of its members polled were willing to refuse to return to work due to safety concerns.

“No one wants to return to schools and classrooms more than educators, but the decision to do so must take into account guidance from the state and local health departments as well as the necessary safety precautions,” said John Robinson, a 20-year high school teacher and president of the Poudre Education Association. “If school districts aren’t able to guarantee the health and safety of their students and educators, then we must delay the return to school and continue with distance learning.”

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