
South Africa investigates "sharp increase" in hospitalized children with COVID
CBSN
South African health officials said Friday they are investigating a recent surge in cases among younger age groups not seen in previous waves of the virus, as the country battles an "unprecedented" surge of COVID-19 cases it believes is fueled by the Omicron variant.
Officials in South Africa are not saying that there's any evidence the variant poses a greater danger to the youngest children, compared to previous variants - all ages in South Africa are seeing a "steep increase" in infections and hospitalizations.
Instead, some may have incidentally tested positive for COVID-19 after being hospitalized for other reasons, or are being admitted by health care providers as a precaution.

In the past year, over 135 million passengers traveled to the U.S. from other countries. To infectious disease experts, that represents 135 million chances for an outbreak to begin. To identify and stop the next potential pandemic, government disease detectives have been discreetly searching for viral pathogens in wastewater from airplanes. Experts are worried that these efforts may not be enough.