Children under threat as US battles current virus outbreak

As the United States recorded over 100,000 average daily coronavirus cases on Sunday, top US health official Francis Collin said "we are failing".

The death toll due to the virus in the United States has gone beyond 89 per cent as reports say young people are being hit by the virus.

Infectious diseases expert Anthony Fauci had earlier warned the failure to control the Delta variant could lead to the emergence of a new variant which could be "could be more problematic than Delta."

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Amid the surge of the virus, organizers of the New Orleans Jazz Fest announced that the event which was due to take place in October was being cancelled.

US health experts fear the virus could spread among children since kids below 12 are still not vaccinated and schools in the US are set to reopen in weeks.

"It will probably result in outbreaks in schools, and kids will have to go back to remote learning, which is the one thing we want to prevent," Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, said.

US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned that asymptomatic children can also spread the virus.

"Children 2 years or older should wear masks in public indoor settings, including schools," the CDC said.

Reports say children's hospitals in Florida is completely overwhelmed even as Republican Governor Ron DeSantis issued an order barring the state's school districts from mandating mask-wearing.

There were 72,000 pediatric cases in the week leading up to July 29 with Florida accounting for 20,000 cases. Florida has also accounted for the highest number of hospitalisations numbering 143 which is more than Texas.

The CDC has recommended students and staff in schools to wear masks regardless of vaccination status.

The United States is the worst-hit country due to the virus with 35 million coronavirus cases and over 616,800 deaths.

(With inputs from Agencies)