At least 97,000 U.S. kids tested positive for coronavirus over last 2 weeks of July

During the last two weeks of July, at least 97,000 children in the United States tested positive for the coronavirus, according to a new report released Sunday by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children's Hospital Association.

More than seven out of 10 infections were reported in southern and western states, with the highest percent increase occurring in Missouri, Oklahoma, Alaska, Nevada, Idaho, and Montana. Since the beginning of the pandemic, at least 338,000 kids have been infected.

The report included data from 49 states, Washington, D.C., Guam, and Puerto Rico, but not Texas or any part of New York outside of New York City, meaning the true count is likely higher. The age ranges were not the same in every state; while most considered children to be anyone 17 or younger, Alabama put the age limit at 24, while Utah and Florida put it at 14.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

In a separate report, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted that Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C), a condition related to COVID-19, disproportionately affects people of color. From early March through late July, 570 young people under 20 met the definition of MIS-C, The New York Times reports.

Symptoms include fever, pinkeye, muscle weakness, and confusion, and most of the patients were previously healthy. Roughly 40 percent of patients were Latino or Hispanic, 33 percent were Black, and 13 percent were white; 10 died and about two-thirds were admitted to intensive care units.