Dr Ryan Hes, a paediatrician with New York City’s Gramercy Pediatrics, painted the grim figures to CBS.
She said that it’s possible 80 percent of kids may be infected as they have not gotten tested.
Dr Hes said: “We have zero tests for children.
“We have zero swabs.
“I’ve had patients whose parents have COVID, child has a 102.5 fever.
“At the beginning when we were doing this, we were sending them to the ER.
“They got turned away. They were not tested because we do not have enough tests and the kids are doing well.”
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A PEDIATRICIAN said that 80 percent of New York children may be infected with coronavirus. (Image: PA)
Dr Ryan Hes, a pediatrician with New York City’s Gramercy Pediatrics, painted the grim figures to CBS. (Image: PA)
As of April 2, 1.7 percent of coronavirus cases reported in the US were under the age of 18.
At least 147 children have been hospitalised by the virus.
Of that number, 59 were hospitalised under the age of one.
As of 15 April, three children have died.
US President Donald Trump has previously stated his desire to reopen the economy, which would involve reopening schools. (Image: PA)
Dr Hes believes that the real number of children cases are actually much higher.
She said: “I don’t mean to be rude, but the numbers are totally wrong, I think that probably 80 percent of the children have coronavirus. (…)
“Most of them, probably 80 to 90 percent of them, are asymptomatic.
“So, these numbers are so skewed.
“I think that the mortality rate is way, way less than 0.5 percent for children who have it because it is so prevalent.
“You have to remember thousands of kids die from flu a year. This is much, much less virulent in children.”
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US President Donald Trump has previously stated his desire to reopen the economy, which would involve reopening schools.
A leaked strategy devised by government officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has revealed the government is lobbying to re-open parts of the US by May 1, beginning with schools and churches.
President Trump hinted afterward that the plans to reopen the country were nearly complete.
He said at a press conference: “We think we’re going to be able to get them open very quickly.
‘We will hold the governors accountable.
“But again, we’re going to be working with them to make sure it works very well.”
The US has seen 642,201 confirmed cases of coronavirus. (Image: Getty)
The CDC published a report last week, which focused on the pandemic’s impact on children.
It found that: “(While) most cases reported among children to date have not been severe, clinicians should maintain a high index of suspicion for COVID-19 infection in children and monitor for progression of illness, particularly among infants and children with underlying conditions.”
The US has seen 642,201 confirmed cases of coronavirus.
As of Wednesday evening, 28,484 have died, with 11,586 of those coming from New York.