After-school activities create clusters where coronavirus can spread among children, said dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said.
“We know that these increases are due in part to more transferable variants, which we are closely monitoring,” Walensky said Monday at the White House’s COVID-19 Response Team briefing.
Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, warned about the spread of Covid-19 among children participating in youth sports.
Stay safe on the field
There is a higher risk of Covid-19 transmission in informal environments, such as after-school activities and sports, compared to formal environments, because people are more likely to stand their ground, Drs. Leana Wen, CNN’s medical analyst said.
She recommends that children play outdoors where possible and not share water bottles. Children should also be vigilant in locker rooms and locker rooms.
Parents need to teach themselves about the protocol of their sports league if a player tests positive, Wen said. Some questions his parents ask are: “Will they be contacted immediately if there is a positive case? How is contact tracing done?”
“With a more contagious variant, it means the activities we thought were safer are now going to have a higher risk,” Wen said.
CNN’s Jen Christensen and Naomi Thomas contributed to this report.