Child Coronavirus Cases Are Highest in These States

More than 380,100 children in the U.S. have tested positive for the novel coronavirus since the outbreak began, according to a new study by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Children's Hospital Association (CHA). The study was based on publicly available data on child COVID-19 cases for 49 states, as well as for Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and Guam, as of August 6.

California had the most number of child COVID-19 cases (48,524), followed by Florida (28,281), Arizona (22,180), Alabama (21,704) and Tennessee (18,522) in the top five rankings, as of August 6.

The study noted case data from California was impacted by "computer/data system failures," reported earlier this month, which disrupted the reporting of the state's testing results.

Half of the states in the study reported 5,000 or more total child cases, while seven states had a total of 15,000 or more and eight states reported fewer than 1,000 child infections.

Child infections formed 9.1 percent of the total cases in the study, while 27 states reported 10 percent or more of their cases were children.

An overall rate of 501 child cases per capita (per 100,000 children) was reported for the areas covered in the study, with Arizona reporting the highest rate of 1,206.4 child cases per capita. Twenty-one states were reported to have more than 500 cases per capita.

Arizona also reported the second-highest number of child COVID-19 deaths (11 deaths) among the 49 states in the study, after Texas, which reported 13 fatalities. It should be noted that Texas reported the age distribution of only eight percent of its total cases, the study explained.

From July 9 to August 6, the study showed 179,990 new child COVID-19 cases were reported across the 49 states and other areas covered in the study, marking a 90 percent increase over roughly a month-long period.

The latest study did not include data on New York because the state did not provide the age distribution of its cases. The study did include data for child COVID-19 cases in New York City.

Most states reported case data for those up to 19 years of age. Some states reported a wider range, such as Alabama which included figures for those up to 24 years of age. Case data for Utah and Florida only covered those up to 14 years of age.

10 states with highest total child COVID-19 cases

(as of August 6)

Source: American Academy of Pediatrics and Children's Hospital Association

1. California: 48,524
2. Florida: 28,281
3. Arizona: 22,180
4. Alabama: 21,704
5. Tennessee: 18,522
6. Illinois: 17,895
7. Georgia: 16,427
8. North Carolina: 14,450
9. South Carolina: 14,129
10. Virginia: 10,850

10 states with highest child COVID-19 cases per capita (100,000 children)

(as of August 6)

Source: American Academy of Pediatrics and Children's Hospital Association

1. Arizona: 1,206.4
2. South Carolina: 1,074.4
3. Tennessee: 1,050.8
4. Louisiana: 980.8
5. Mississippi: 910.1
6. Arkansas: 840.2
7. Nevada: 826
8. Florida: 805.2
9. Rhode Island: 687.3
10. Georgia: 656.1

The graphic below, provided by Statista, illustrates the spread of COVID-19 cases in the U.S.

Over 20 million people globally have been infected since the virus was first reported in Wuhan, China, including more than five million in the U.S. More than 12.3 million globally have reportedly recovered from infection, while over 736,200 have died, as of Tuesday, according to Johns Hopkins University.

The graphics below, provided by Statista, illustrate countries with the most COVID-19 cases and a comparison of average new cases in the U.S. and the European Union.

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