Chief pediatric at Wolfson troubled by number of kids sick with COVID

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Last week, 1 retired of each 4 of the 150,118 caller COVID-19 infections diagnosed successful Florida was to idiosyncratic younger than 19 years old.

Children and teenagers presently person a higher coronavirus positivity complaint than immoderate different property radical successful Florida and the delta variant has pediatricians, including the main of infectious illness astatine Wolfson Children’s Hospital, concerned.

“Just deliberation astir this: The regular coronavirus, if 1 idiosyncratic gets infected, they whitethorn beryllium capable to infect 2 different people. The delta variant, if 1 idiosyncratic gets infected, they tin infect 8 people,” Dr. Mobeen Rathore said. “It’s a overmuch much contagious virus, so, arsenic a result, successful adjacent quarters specified arsenic successful schools, the accidental for the microorganism to infect much children is overmuch higher with the delta variant than the previous.”

Rathore said Wolfson, wherever helium works, determination were astir doubly arsenic galore children admitted to the infirmary successful July than the erstwhile highest successful January, and truthful acold August is connected way to surpass that number. Tuesday morning, arsenic this interrogation was being done, determination were 19 pediatric patients astatine his hospital, with 5 successful intensive care.

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“The highest was 22 (patients), and that was the week that the CDC reported determination were 203 admitted to the infirmary nationwide and 22 were successful Jacksonville,” helium said. “That speaks volumes of what’s happening successful our community. The admissions to the infirmary are conscionable a signal, it’s a surrogate marker that a batch of different kids successful the assemblage that are infected.”

Rathore spoke successful favour of requiring students to deterioration masks astatine Monday’s contentious Duval County School Board gathering that ended with the board tightening its disguise requirement to necessitate a doctor’s enactment to opt-out, opening Sept. 7. But helium said masks are conscionable 1 portion of a bully prevention strategy.

“A immense assemblage of lit suggests that, yes, masks bash forestall corruption erstwhile they’re done successful proposition successful conjunction with different mitigating layers specified arsenic societal distancing, bully manus hygiene .... bully ventilation, bully investigating and declaration tracing,” Dr. Mobeen Rathore said. “They person been done arsenic a group, you cannot instrumentality conscionable masks.”

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Watch Jennifer Waugh’s afloat interrogation above.

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