WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) – The number of positive COVID-19 cases has more than doubled since July, according to North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services wastewater monitoring, and rates remain elevated as kids prepare to head back to school.

This month the CDC reported that 18% of COVID-19 tests are positive. In May that number was closer to 3%. Dr. Erin Adonnino, a pediatrician at Wilmington Health, says she has seen the increase firsthand in her practice.

“When we start having large groups of people coming together, it just makes it so much easier for viruses to spread,” said Dr. Adonnino. “As the summer is coming to an end and school and things are beginning again more and more people are hanging out in the same area,” she added.

As children head into the classrooms, she encourages parents to teach kids basic hygiene. Children should know how to properly wash their hands and do so often. She says children should also learn to cough into their elbows and not their hands.

Kids with fevers should not go to school. Dr. Adonnino says the fever should be gone for at least 24 with no medication before the child returns to classrooms to help prevent the spread of the virus.

She says parents should be mindful of COVID-19, but sending children to school is still the best option.

“I think that it’s honestly best to keep your kids going to school, even with the small risk of contracting COVID right now. I think the benefits of going to school and getting a good education, being able to socialize, and the structure and routine that school gives us, really outweigh any of the risks right now of getting COVID,” said Dr. Adonnino.

Copyright 2024 WECT. All rights reserved.