Apr 18, 2020 - Health

25 children test positive for coronavirus in Virginia juvenile center

Orion Rummler

This image is a close up of the coronavirus — Transmission electron microscopic image of an isolate from the first U.S. case of COVID-19. Photo: Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images, courtesy of CDC/Hannah A Bullock, Azaibi Tamin.

At least 25 children in the Bon Air Juvenile Correctional Center in Virginia have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports, citing officials from the Department of Juvenile Justice.

The big picture: Children in juvenile centers can face heightened risk from COVID-19 just as adults in federal and state prisons, which have acted as petri dishes for the virus in the U.S.

Inmates face overcrowding and often unsanitary conditions that can make social distancing and recommended hygiene nearly impossible.

Driving the news: Lawyers have sought the mass release of minors with underlying health conditions and those who do not pose a danger to society from juvenile facilities in Texas, Maryland and Pennsylvania, the N.Y. Times reports.

Background: Data from China suggests children who have contracted COVID-19 will experience milder or different symptoms than adults, the CDC reports.

Nearly 9,000 minors have contracted the virus across the U.S., while fewer than 20 have died as a result, the CDC reports.

Go deeper... UN: Millions of children at risk of poverty and malnutrition due to coronavirus

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25 children test positive for coronavirus in Virginia juvenile center

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