Saginaw Doctor Says She's Seen More COVID Cases In Children The Last Two Weeks Than Ever Before

(CBS)- COVID cases across the state of Michigan have continued to rise over the last month causing state officials to request help from the Biden administration earlier this week. The number of children admitted to the hospital with COVID symptoms has been particularly concerning for Dr. Nicole Sinclair of Covenant Healthcare in Saginaw. She says her hospital has seen an all-time high of kids with the virus.

"In the last two weeks, we've seen more than we've seen in all of 2020," Sinclair said to CBS affiliate WNEM.

According to Sinclair, 27% of the hospital's ICU floor was made up of kids under the age of 18 as of Tuesday. She noted that the main symptoms she has seen is a need for supplemental oxygen and inflammation across systems in the children.

"A few have been respiratory symptoms, needing oxygen. The other have been multi system inflammatory syndrome in children. Across the state, colleagues are seeing an increase too," Sinclair said.

According to CBS Evening News with Norah O'Donnell, high school kids in Michigan are more likely than any other age group to be infected with over one in four testing positive.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer urged a two week pause on indoor dining, in-person learning for high schools and youth sports on Monday in an attempt to slow the spread of the virus within the state. The U.K. variant of the disease is becoming the dominant one in the state with researchers finding that it is 35% more transmissible.