Positive COVID-19 tests fall for everyone but kids: 4 CDC updates

Mackenzie Bean (Twitter) -

Public and commercial laboratories are seeing a slight uptick in positive COVID-19 tests from children under 18, according to the CDC's weekly COVIDView report

Four things to know:

1. Public, commercial and clinical labs all reported a drop in positive COVID-19 tests for the week ending May 9. Only 5 percent of all specimens tested in public health and commercial labs are from children. However, the amount of positive test results for this age group has increased or remained stable, while these numbers have fallen for other age groups. 

2. About 12.8 percent of deaths nationwide were attributed to flu, pneumonia or COVID-19 in the week ending May 9, down from 17.8 percent a week prior. This percentage still falls above the epidemic threshold of 6.8 percent and may change as additional death certificates are processed, the CDC noted.

3. The cumulative hospitalization rate for all age groups increased to 60.5 hospitalizations per 100,000 population. The CDC received 19,637 reports of hospitalizations involving confirmed COVID-19 cases between March 1 and May 9.

4. Emergency department and outpatient visits for symptoms related to COVID-19 continued to decrease. Outpatient visits for flu-like illness are now below baseline nationwide. The CDC notes this drop may be due, in part, to widespread social distancing efforts and changes in how people access healthcare. 

 

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