For the first time in months, British Columbians under the age of 20 with COVID-19 were treated in intensive care.
According to the COVID-19 Situation report released by the province weekly, three people 10 to 19 years of age visited the ICU to be treated for COVID-19 from Jan. 3 to Jan. 9. In the same time period, two children from birth to 10 years old were admitted to the ICU. None of the young people sent to ICU to deal with the virus died.
The hospitalization rates among young people also have gone up. There were 36 hospitalizations for children aged 0 to 10 between Jan. 3 and Jan. 9, compared to 21 from Dec. 6 to 12.
There is no evidence the cases are linked to transmission in schools, especially considering the date comes at the tail end of students having two weeks off for winter break.
There were zero people under the age of 20 sent to ICU in November or December in British Columbia with COVID-19, the report states.
But even with the recent rise in ICU visits and hospitalizations, the instances of young people going to hospital or to ICU continues to be much lower than other age demographics. In the reporting period kids and teens made up just five of the 776 ICU visits, less than one per cent.
“Children <20 years are under-represented overall among COVID-19 cases (13%) as well as severe outcomes (2% or less), relative to their share of the B.C. general population (19%),” the report reads.
According to the BC CDC data, there were four COVID-19 related deaths among those aged 30 to 39 years old. This is up from one death in the age bracket from the last reporting period.
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