#Number of children infected with COVID-19 is on the rise, CDC says

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Samantha Robles Villa, 9, right, is given a coronavirus test at a walk-up testing center in Annapolis, Maryland.
Julio Cortez/AP

The number of children infected with the coronavirus is on the rise, according to alarming new data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Kids now comprise more than 7% of all COVID-19 cases in the country and those statistics have been “steadily increasing” from March to July, CNN reported Saturday.

“Recent evidence suggests that children likely have the same or higher viral loads in their nasopharynx compared with adults and that children can spread the virus effectively in households and camp settings,” the CDC said.

The number of children being hospitalized is also increasing, officials said. Among those hospitalized, one in three children are admitted to intensive care, the same rate as adults.

With schools and colleges re-opening, the uptick in young people contracting the virus could intensify. The CDC said that transmission of the virus among children may have decreased in the spring and early summer because of sheltering in place orders and school closures.

Children can develop severe illness and complications from the virus even if they are at less risk than adults, the CDC said.

More than 5.3 million people have been infected with the virus in the US and at least 168,446 have died.