The Social Health Security (Essalud) indicates that the infections of children by coronavirus increased from 500 to more than 800 in the last week. Compared to the cases of the first week of July, the rate has increased by 75%.
According to the institution’s statement, 6 out of 10 infected are adults between 30 and 59 years old. However, it warned that this growth in cases in minors cannot be overlooked.
“In the past week, new weekly cases in children increased from 500 to over 800, an increase of 75% from the first week of this month. This is the greatest variation registered by age group ”, he specifies.
The detail of each age group regarding the increase in new cases would be: 75% in children (from 513 to 892 cases), 50% in teenagers (from 494 to 740 cases), 29% in youth (from 3,681 to 4,750 cases) , 26% in adults (from 13,014 to 16,400 cases) and 19% in older adults (from 4,575 to 5,429 cases).
Dante Cersso, head of the Intelligence and Data Analysis Unit of EsSalud, reminded the population that children can only transit at a distance of no more than 500 meters from their home, as said in the article 7 of the D.S. 116-2020-PCM.
He noted that after the end of the quarantine, an increase in vehicular traffic has been reported, especially on weekends, in addition to family gatherings, which is what could encourage the spread of the virus in children. Also, he warned that children are generally asymptomatic or have mild symptoms, which makes it easier for them to spread to others.
“These numbers show us that children are going out more. This is good for mental health and recreation, but they should always go out complying with biosecurity measures such as the use of the mask, hand washing, and distancing at all times. Now, where do the children come out? They go out to the park or make family visits, so the family visit is that we meet at the table, we remove the mask, and there’s the probability of infection increases. That is why it is convenient to respect the measures that the government has given ”, she points out for América Noticias.
According to EsSalud figures, nationally, the average number of positive patients per week was 31.1%, 31.1%, and 30.3% in the last three weeks. While, in the children’s age group, the index was 33.7%, 33.2%, and 35.4%. This shows that the registration in children since the last three weeks is above the national average, a situation that had not been previously registered.
