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Right now, the government is thinking about whether to go back to school in the second semester after the vacation is over. It is expected to announce what it will do next week, but a study showed that the number of children diagnosed with a delta mutation is skyrocketing in the United States, where the number of cases is rising again.
Correspondent Kim Jong-won from New York.
<Reporter> The
number of new coronavirus cases in the United States in the last week stood at 90,000, a surge of more than 40% in just one week.
A third of the new cases come from Texas and Florida, in the southern United States, where vaccination rates are low.
The spread of the delta mutation is also increasing the number of breakthrough infections, but still unvaccinated people are much more vulnerable.
[Rochelle Wallensky / US CDC Director: New cases and hospitalizations are increasing in all age groups. People who have not yet been vaccinated are particularly at high risk.] The
problem is children under 12 who want to get a vaccine but cannot because they have not yet been licensed.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has released a study that found that the number of children and teens with coronavirus has surged by more than 80% in the past week.
[CNN reports: In the past week, 72,000 children and teenagers have been confirmed. This is an increase of 84% from a week ago.] The
total number of children diagnosed so far is 4.2 million, or 14% of all corona patients in the United States.
Ahead of the start of the new school year in September, U.S. health officials are strongly recommending that children 12 years and older be vaccinated and that children under the age of 12 wear masks.