COVID-19 cases surge in US as schools reopen

Roughly 40 percent of 16-17 year-olds and 28 percent of 12-15 year-olds are vaccinated against COVID-19, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows. Children aged 5-11 aren't forecast to be eligible until late fall at the earliest and under-fives some time after that. Representative image (Image: AP)

A recent surge in COVID-19 cases is witnessed due to the highly infectious Delta variant as schools fully re-open in the United States.

The number of children hospitalised with COVID-19 is rising across the country, a trend health experts attribute to the Delta variant being more likely to infect children than the original Alpha strain.

Roughly 40 percent of 16-17 year-olds and 28 percent of 12-15 year-olds are vaccinated against COVID-19, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows. Children aged 5-11 aren't forecast to be eligible until late fall at the earliest and under-fives some time after that.

Whereas evidence last year suggested that schools could reopen safely without a spike in cases, the Delta variant appears to spread more easily among children.

Take San Bernardino City Unified School District, whose 47,000 students are among the 10 percent of the U.S. school-age population returning to classrooms this week. California requires masks, and the district is layering on extra precautions like new air filter systems.

Should one student get COVID-19, that student will isolate at home; if three in the same classroom come down with it, the entire class will be sent home for 10 days; and if 5 percent of the school gets it, the campus will close, according to the school's return-to-campus roadmap.

Almost 90 percent of educators and school staff are vaccinated, according to a White House statement echoed by Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers.

Dr Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease official, said it was critical to surround children with vaccinated and masked people in schools and elsewhere until shots are approved for them.

Meanwhile, school districts in Florida and Texas are bucking their Republican governors' bans on requiring masks for children and teachers as coronavirus cases soar in conservative areas with low vaccination rates.

The acts of rebellion by school officials come as these states -- along with Louisiana, Arkansas and others -- are flooded with new cases after people resisted vaccines and mask mandates. Teachers and administrators are seeking to protect students, many of whom are under 12 years old and cannot get vaccinated.

Based on population, Florida, Louisiana and Arkansas are leading the nation with new cases and how many COVID patients fill their hospitals. Texas is not far behind.

[Input from Reuters]