According to the latest data from the Florida Department of Health, children and adolescents now have a higher rate of coronavirus positive than any other population in Florida.
As the highly contagious Delta variant of the virus continues to wreak havoc in the United States, Florida data shows that one in four new infections involves people 19 years of age or younger.
According to the most recent weekly report, the positive rate for children 12 years and younger is 23%. For adolescents aged 12 to 19, the positive rate is close to 25%. For both age groups, there were 37,641 new cases in the past week.
In contrast, Florida has the second highest positive rate for adults aged 20 to 29, at 21%, while the lowest positive rate is for adults 65 years of age or older, at only 14%.
The data was compiled from August 13 to 19, after Florida recently reported that Highest hospitalization rate Among children in the United States, there are more More than 50 new patients every day. In general, Florida is one of the hardest-hit states in terms of coronavirus infection and hospitalization.
The U.S. Department of Human and Health Services said on Sunday that 17,253 patients in Florida were hospitalized due to COVID-19, an increase of more than 1,300 from the previous week.The state’s hospitalizations now account for One in five COVID-19 patients in the country.
According to a WFTV report, on Monday, nine hospitals in central Florida reported that the intensive care unit was operating at full capacity, and at least two were overloaded.The Florida Hospital Association predicts that 75% of hospitals in the state are expected to face “Serious staff shortage” this week.
CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP/Getty Images
But despite the surge in cases and hospitalizations, Republican governors Ron DeSantis The state has banned wearing masks and vaccinations, as well as further lockdowns. He also signed an executive order on July 30, prohibiting school officials from issuing instructions for masks.
However, as of Monday morning, at least seven Florida school districts are responsible for more than 1 million students, ignoring DeSantis’ orders.Now a A three-day hearing to consider a lawsuit filed by Florida parents State courts are challenging DeSantis’ order. The hearing began on Monday.
The former judge, Charles Dodson, who represented the parents in the lawsuit, said: “Because of the Delta variant, our school is not safe unless everyone wears a mask.” “This is of course an emergency.”
In response, DeSantis’ attorneys and state officials, who were listed as defendants in the lawsuit, argued that the parents had no legal standing to sue the governor over issues between the state and Florida’s dozens of school boards.
Weekly newspaper Contacted DeSantis’ office for more comments, but did not reply in time for publication.
