Children under 12 years old had the highest number of new coronavirus cases for the week ending Thursday, according to data from the Florida Department of health.
There were 26,475 cases in children under 12 during the week. The next highest number was 24,000 cases in the age group of 30-39.
Vaccinations have not yet been approved for children 11 and younger. They completed their third week of elementary school this week, with many living in districts that do not require masks in school.
On Friday, a judge struck down an executive order by Gov. Ron DeSantis that forbid mask mandates in schools.
For the week ending on Thursday, the state reported an additional 151,749 cases of the coronavirus — the highest weekly total yet.
On Friday, the state recorded 27,584 new coronavirus cases, according to information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC's daily figures also show the state recorded another eight deaths.
Though the cases and deaths were reported on Friday, they may have happened days or weeks prior.
Hospitalizations for COVID-19 in Florida dropped by 376 from the previous day to 16,457.
Of those hospitalized, 3,657 were in intensive care, a decrease of 86 from the previous day. Nearly 95 percent of Florida's staffed ICU beds were occupied.
Each week, the Florida Department of Health will provide updates on the number of coronavirus cases, changes in positivity rate, vaccinations, and other statewide and county-by-county data.
The following is a summary from Aug. 20-26, 2021.
Cases: 3,179,714 positive cases, an increase of 151,749 from the previous week.
Vaccinations: 12,691,414 Florida residents have been vaccinated, a weekly increase of 461,034. In all, 68% of Florida’s population over the age of 12 has received at least one dose of vaccine.
Positivity Rate: The positivity rate for new cases was 16.8%, down from 19.8% the previous week.
Deaths: A total of 43,979 Florida residents have died from a primary diagnosis of COVID-19, an increase of 1,727 from the previous week.
(NOTE: Cases and deaths in the report may have happened days or weeks earlier, according to state officials. The state is also now only counting deaths involving Florida residents.)
ABOUT THE DATA: As of June 4, 2021, the Florida Department of Health no longer offers daily updates on coronavirus data, and instead issues a county-by-county and statewide weekly breakdown on about COVID-19 cases, deaths, and other information. Cases and deaths in the report may have happened days or weeks earlier, according to state officials. The state is also now only counting deaths involving Florida residents.
