Report Shows Pediatric Coronavirus Cases Soaring; How IL Is Doing

ILLINOIS — As families and school districts struggle with whether to send children back to the classroom, a new report shows an increasing number of pediatric coronavirus cases across the country.

One report from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association shows a 40 percent increase in pediatric coronavirus cases nationwide in the last two weeks of July, with nearly 100,000 children testing positive in that time.

The latest public health data shows 16,262 Illinois residents under age 20 having been diagnosed with COVID-19, making up 9.2 percent of the state's confirmed cases to date.

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 Illinois is 517 per 100,000.

As of July 30, five of the more than 7,400 deaths related to COVID-19 in Illinois were children. There were 86 such pediatric deaths across the country in the national report, including 13 deaths in New York City, 12 in Arizona and six in Alabama.

Child coronavirus hospitalization rates for Illinois were not available.

It's still not known what sort of long-term complications children can get as a result of having COVID-19.

Face Masks In Schools: Pritzker Sues Schools Refusing To Comply

Some parents are pushing for a widespread in-person return to class, while others are joining a vocal group of educators — including the Illinois Federation of Teachers — in calling for a fully remote start to the school year, which starts later this month. Across Illinois, some school districts have opted to start the school year with remote learning only, while others are choosing in-person learning or a hybrid of the two.

Mike Carraggi, Patch Staff, contributed to this article.