VIRGINIA, USA — 17 children are hospitalized with COVID-19 — as of Tuesday — at Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters (CHKD) in Norfolk, according to Medical Director of Infection Prevention and Control Dr. Laura Sass.
Seven of them are in the ICU. Sass said some of the children have underlying medical conditions, "those children tend to be in the intensive care unit a little bit longer."
Sass previously told 13News Now that CHKD's last surge in the fall marked about 20 patients hospitalized with coronavirus at one time.
Of the 17 children in their hospital on Tuesday, Sass said only one is vaccinated. That patient also has an underlying medical condition.
"I wouldn't necessarily say that this variant is causing children to be sicker. We're just seeing such a substantial volume [of community spread]," said Sass.
Between January 1 and 7, Sass recorded close to 5,300 COVID tests processed through CHKD's urgent cares, practices and main hospital.
45% came back positive. “We’ve never had that amount of positivity rate before in a one-week period," said Sass.
"My recommendations are to continue good handwashing, continue wearing your mask, try to protect yourself and think about where you're going in your daily life, think about what your activities are," Sass added.
It's those kinds of precautions, along with vaccinations, boosters and distancing, that Chesapeake parents Kathryn Kain and Christine Thompson told 13News Now they take to heart.
"We've missed a lot of things that we would have like to have attended, but we all understand that's just what we do right now," said Thompson.
She shared that her biggest concern is protecting herself and her family on a day-to-day basis, "the risk has become so much greater."
As for Kain, she worries what an overwhelmed hospital system could potentially lead to — in case her youngest daughter, Ava, needs to go to the hospital.
Kaid said that Ava is significantly medically complex, "if she needs to go in-patient, she almost always needs an ICU bed. And so, my concern is even if it’s not COVID, she may not have access to the care she would need should she need to be hospitalized."
Both parents urged other families to continue following COVID-19 safety measures while out in the community and at school.
“When you are feeling frustrated, remember that there are families with disabled people in the community. It matters just as it does to us as it does to you and your own family when you take the steps to do what you can to stop the spread," Kain added.