WASHINGTON — Already, a pediatrician in Frederick County said his practice has seen a huge increase in child COVID cases since schools reopened. Schools all over the area have seen widespread quarantines after starting just weeks prior, or even days.
Three weeks into school, at Anacostia High School in Southeast D.C., the entire football team is in quarantine after being exposed to the virus. A similar situation happened in Fairfax County when Herndon High School parents said the entire football team had to stay home after a player tested positive. At the beginning of September, approximately 1,000 students and staff were in quarantine at Montgomery County Public Schools.
THE QUESTION
So, let's Verify: just how bad is the rate of infection among kids and teens in the DMV?
THE SOURCES
Our research honed in on CDC data from the week of Aug. 28 and a Sep. 2 report from the American Academy of Pediatrics and Children's Hospital Association.
WHAT WE FOUND
The American Academy of Pediatrics reports that during the week of Aug. 26 to Sep. 2, children represented almost 27% of the reported cases for that week.
Across the country, the number of new cases among the ages of 16 and 17 amounted to 325 children for every 100,000 children in that age group. That adds up to 0.325%.
So how does the D.C. region compare?
In the District, it's about 302 of the teens per 100,000. That’s slightly better than the national average. In Maryland, it’s only 136 teens per 100,000. Virginia is the closest to the national average, with 328 per 100,000.
For children and teenagers 0-15, the data is listed below per 100,000.
NATIONAL
0-4: 150.8
5-11: 269.9
12-15: 311.7
DC
0-4: 187.4
5-11: 201.5
12-15: 223.8
MARYLAND
0-4: 110
5-11: 155.9
12-15: 117.8
VIRGINIA
0-4: 182.8
5-11: 289.5
12-15: 292.9
So far, pediatric hospitalizations of children and teens ages 0-17, while still the lowest of any age group compared to other age groups, are the highest they’ve ever been.
The latest data reflects 0.47 deaths per 100,000, according to the data.
In the DMV, no one under the age of 18 has died from COVID since the death of a Fairfax County child, which was reported on August 26.