Omicron threat stokes fears coast to coast but leading public health expert says ‘We know how to keep schools open and safe’
City and elsewhere, the number of children hospitalised in New York with Covid-19 quadrupled, the state health department said.on Twitter: “Unfortunately New York is seeing an increase in pediatric hospitalisations , and they have similar [five - to 11-year-old] vaccination rates.”
Rising numbers of pediatric cases have convinced officials in some states to order a return to remote learning after the winter break. Around 300 schools in Maryland,In Mount Vernon, a New York suburb, virtual learning is scheduled until at least 18 January. “The increased positivity rates have significantly challenged the ability to do so, causing anxiety among many school communities and disruption to the school day.”“A surge of new cases has occurred in north-eastern New Jersey and it is expected that the trend will continue through the holiday break,” said the superintendent, Eileen Shafer.
“We know that for kids being in school is the right thing for them, for their mental health, for their education. And we have all sorts of tools to keep schools open so I don’t really understand why school districts are [closing schools]. The department warned that admissions rose four-fold from the week starting 5 December to the week starting 19 December. Approximately half the admissions were of children under five and thus not eligible for vaccines. For the week starting 19 December, none of the five- to 11-year-old patients were fully vaccinated.
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