US child COVID cases reach record levels since winter surge

Confirmed COVID-19 cases among children in the US have reached record levels since the 2020 winter surge, according to the latest report from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children's Hospital Association.

As of August 19, over 4.59 million children have tested positive for the virus since the onset of the pandemic early last year, Xinhua news agency quoted the report issued on Wednesday as saying. More than 180,000 cases were added the past week, reaching levels of the previous winter surge, the report said.

After declining in early summer, child cases have increased exponentially, with over a four-fold increase the previous month, rising from about 38,000 cases the week ending July 22 to 180,000 the past week.

According to the report, at this time, it appears that severe illness due to COVID-19 is uncommon among children. However, there is an urgent need to collect more data on longer-term impacts of the pandemic on children, including ways the virus may harm the long-term physical health of infected kids, as well as its emotional and mental health effects, it added.