LOS ANGELES (KNX) — Though it may be small, an increase in children being hospitalized with COVID-19 has Los Angeles County Public Health officials on alert.
"Pediatric hospitalizations increased by nearly 190% between Dec. 4 and 25," the department said in a statement. "While the numbers [of hospitalized children] remain very small, those 0-4 years old saw the biggest rates, with a 3.25-fold increase."
During the same December timeframe, hospitalizations increased 3-fold for children between 12 and 17 years old and 1.5-fold for children between five and 11 years old.
"With pediatric cases and hospitalizations rising and many children returning to in-person learning this week, Public Health asks that everyone focus on following the public health safety measures...including wearing a medical grade mask indoors and in outdoor crowded spaces," the department said in a statement, adding that all staff and students should test for COVID-19 before returning to campus.
In an effort to help stop the spready, the L.A. County Department of Public Health is working to distribute state-provided at-home testing kits for all 1.4 million of the county's students.
For students and staff in the Los Angeles Unified School District testing will be required, regardless of their vaccination status, to return to school for the spring semester.
"I send my heartfelt condolences to everyone mourning the loss of a loved one to COVID-19," said Barbara Ferrer, director of Public Health.
"Because higher community transmission creates additional challenges at our schools, everyone needs to do their part to slow the spread of the virus."
County health officials maintain that vaccinations and boosters are the best way to prevent serious illness brought on by all variants of COVID-19.
On Monday, L.A. County health officials confirmed 16,269 new cases of COVID-19 and eight new deaths and said the lower numbers reflect the "weekend reporting delays."
"Public Health has identified a total 1,757,522 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County. Today’s positivity rate is 22.5%," health officials said.
"There are 1,792 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. Testing results are available for more than 10,113,300 individuals, with 16% of people testing positive."
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