Texas hospital sees spike in child abuses cases, possible link to coronavirus
by Mike Brest
| March 21, 2020 01:34 PM
A hospital in northern Texas witnessed a dramatic spike in child abuse cases, and they believe the cases are tied to the stress of the coronavirus pandemic.
Cook Children’s Hospital reported six severe child abuse cases this week in which all of the apparent victims were under 4 years old. It's the same number of cases the hospital normally sees in a month.
“We knew an increase in abuse was going to occur, but this happened faster than we ever imagined,” said Christi Thornhill, director of the Trauma Program, the CARE Team and Fostering Health at Cook Children’s, according to CBS DFW. “I mean, this happened in a week, and these are really bad abuse cases.”
“We worry about who will see abuse and report it right now,” Thornhill added. “That’s where we need neighbors and other family members to pay attention. If you hear the child next door screaming, call for help. All of us need to be involved. As much as most of us don’t want to, we all must make it our business.”
The spike in child abuse cases arose as people are being forced to stay in their homes as health officials try to squash the spread of the virus. In order to do so, most public schools have been canceled for the time being, while some have gone as far as to cancel school for the rest of the year….
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