According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, there have been 853,000 cases of COVID-19 in children and adolescents as of October 29th. There were 200,000 cases reported in October alone and the week ending October 29th saw the largest number of cases in a single week in kids – 61,000. Those numbers are staggering and sobering. We need to have our youth in school and we need to try to get back to a semblance of normal, but we cannot do it by blindly opening up the country. We need to be careful. We need to avoid unnecessary risks.
Even in Monroe County, the “positivity” rate of tests has increased from ~0.7% to 2.6% in October. We are doing relatively well in our area, but the rate of positive tests has TRIPLED. I am not an alarmist and believe in “everything in moderation.” However, given these statistics, I also need to be realistic. Please be careful. Make sure you and your kids wear masks and avoid crowds. Limit contacts and make sure they are being socially responsible.
We are heading into the winter with much more knowledge about the coronavirus, but COVID-19 is pretty sneaky and not going to go away quietly.
We at Lewis Pediatrics continue to provide health care to our patients in a responsible manner. Do not hesitate to reach out to us.