The Tennessee state health commissioner says children now account for more than a third of the state's Covid-19 cases, a sharp rise from earlier as the delta variant of the coronavirus continues to spread.
Health Commissioner Lisa Piercey said Wednesday that Tennessee had 14,000 paediatric cases in the previous seven days, which she said was 57 per cent more than the previous week. She says such cases now make up 36 per cent of total Covid-19 cases, "when it's historically been in the 10 to 15 per cent range."
The spike in cases among school-age children has brought calls from some health officials for more forceful protective measures such as mask mandates at schools.
