South Carolina health officials report increasing numbers of children diagnosed with COVID-19.
Dr. Jonathan Knoche, medical consultant for the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, announced what he called “sobering” numbers.
“Since Aug. 21, the 11 to 20 age group has recorded the highest number of new cases in South Carolina,” he reported. “The second highest group are those age zero to 10.”
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He said on June 12, the 11 to 20 age group reported 173 cases. By last week, the number skyrocketed to 7,713. There were 85 cases in June for the zero to 10 age group. The number surged to 5,391 cases in August. The South Carolina Children’s Hospital Collaborative reports there are nine children in ICUs with four who are relying on ventilators to breathe.
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Knoche said most children recover from the virus, but there have been 15 pediatric deaths since the pandemic began.
Just 48 hours earlier, Georgia’s Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Kathleen Toomey gave a report on pediatric cases.
“We’re seeing a significant number of cases among school-aged children, and the cases have quadrupled over the last several weeks,” Toomey reported. “With the sharpest increase, the highest number of cases in children aged 11 to 17. Children can transmit the virus, and they are becoming infected. We’ve seen the highest numbers of weekly outbreaks since the pandemic began. We’ve seen 170 outbreaks statewide, with more than half of these outbreaks in K-12 schools.”
COVID-19 cases are impacting local school districts, too.
The Richmond County School System will transition all school to the Learn@Home model for Sept. 7 and 8. During those days, school personnel will prioritize cleaning and disinfecting. Supplies of soap, hand sanitizers, masks and water will be replenished before face-to-face instruction resumes on Sept. 9. Families can pick up meals from the schools on Sept. 7 between 10:30 a.m. and 4 p.m.
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As of last week, RCSS reported 197 positive cases and 1,337 students in quarantine out of the nearly 30,000 students enrolled. There are 61 employee cases with 129 quarantined among the 4,315 total employees.
In Columbia County, the district reports 504 students currently with COVID-19 out of nearly 29,000 students. Out of 4,041 employees, 62 currently have positive cases. Columbia County does not post how many students or staff are quarantined.
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Director of Communications Abbigail Remkus said, “At this time, we do not have plans to return to a learn from home environment. District leaders have and will continue to monitor cases in our community and schools, and each week will use this data to determine if any changes to current safety mitigation measures are necessary.“
In Aiken County, the district reports 298 students have tested positive and 4,049 are quarantined out of the 23,330 total student body. That represents 17.31% of the students in Aiken County. Among the 3,371 total employees, there are 43 positive cases and 91 in quarantine.
Dana Lynn McIntyre is a Staff Reporter with The Augusta Press. You can reach her at dana@theaugustapress.com.
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