Doctor claims that as many as 8 in 10 sick children in NYC may have coronavirus

NEW YORK -- According to some doctors, as many as 8 in 10 children currently sick in New York City likely have coronavirus.

Dr. Dyan Hes, a pediatrician, says that while she believes the data showing the high infection rates, it’s impossible to know for sure because kids are not being tested, in part because there aren’t enough tests and pediatricians don’t have enough PPE.

In New York City’s official accounting of COVID-19 cases, just two percent of all the city’s positive cases are in children under the age of 18, and almost all have been spared the worst of the virus.

Dr. Hes also says that the data from New York City shows 50 percent of new mothers are COVID-19 positive, but the babies appear to be doing well. She believes that because so many children are either sick with coronavirus or asymptomatic, that the best thing to do is to have them wear a face mask at home so they will be used to wearing it outside.