Though US COVID-19 pediatric cases have dropped significantly since the Omicron surge seen in the winter months—when weekly infections topped more than 1 million—the latest update from the American Academy of Pediatrics shows that more than 53,000 child COVID-19 cases were reported for the week ending Apr 28, an increase of about 61% from 2 weeks ago.
This is the third consecutive week of case increases for children. Since the pandemic began, at least 13 million US children have had COVID-19, with 5 million of those infections occurring in 2022.
Last week the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published new data showing that 75% of US children under the age of 18 years have antibodies indicative of a previous COVID-19 infection, and roughly 30% of those infection occurred during the Omicron surge.
The United States reported 81,644 new COVID-19 cases yesterday and 266 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins COVID-19 tracker. The 7-day average of new daily COVID-19 cases is 60,953, with 331 daily deaths, according to the New York Times tracker.
In total, the nation has tracked 81,479,439 COVID-19 cases, including 994,236 deaths.
Shanghai begins to end lockdown
Globally, some of the stricter lockdown measures are easing in Shanghai, China's most populous city, with restrictions lessening in 5 of its 16 districts. Residents there have been in a tightly controlled lockdown for weeks as the country attempts to maintain a zero-COVID policy.
Reuters reports that some residents were briefly allowed to leave their homes for walks and to buy groceries.
Elsewhere in China, the city of Zhengzhou—population 12.5 million—was put on a week-long restriction, and Beijing officials announced they will keep schools closed another week after the Labor Day (May Day) holiday ends tomorrow. Visitors to that city will also be required to show a negative COVID-19 test taken within 48 hours of arrival.
