COVID-19 cases in U.S. children soared in late July, report says

A child plays in the yard at New York Public School 321 in the Park Slope neighbourhood in Brooklyn, New York, U.S., August 7, 2020. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

(Reuters) - The number of new COVID-19 cases among children in the United States rose 40% in the last two weeks of July, according to a report released just weeks before tens of millions of American students are scheduled to begin the new school year.

Health experts are keeping an eye on coronavirus infections among kids and teenagers as officials struggle with the thorny question of whether to reopen schools for in-person classes, adopt a virtual learning model or a hybrid of the two.