A nine-year-old girl died of the coronavirus in Florida, making her the fifth and youngest to die of infection in the state.
According to data from the Florida Department of Health, the girl had not recently traveled or had contact with someone who had the virus.
It is unclear if the child had any underlying medical conditions.
The boy is the fifth child to die in Florida. Two 11-year-olds, one 16-year-old and one 17-year-old also died from the virus.
A nine-year-old girl died of the coronavirus in Florida (file image), making her the fifth and youngest to die from the infection in the state. The boy is the fifth child to die in Florida. Two 11-year-olds, one 16-year-old and one 17-year-old also died from the virus.
Florida (testing in Miami Beach) on Thursday reported a record one-day increase in COVID-19 deaths with 173 lives lost, according to the state health department. The state has reported 379,619 infections and 5,345 deaths.
No other information was available on the girl’s death and the boy has not been identified.
But as of Friday, more than 23,000 minors have tested positive for the virus throughout Florida. Health officials said the positivity rate for the children tested is 13.4 percent.
Florida on Thursday reported a record one-day increase in COVID-19 deaths with 173 lives lost, according to the state health department. The state has reported 379,619 infections and 5,345 deaths.
The total number of reported coronavirus cases in the United States exceeded 4 million on Thursday, reflecting a rapid acceleration of infections detected in the country since the first case was recorded on January 21, according to a Reuters count.
According to the count, it took the country 98 days to reach 1 million cases, but only 16 days to go from 3 million to 4 million.
The average number of new cases in the US now increases by more than 2,600 per hour, the highest rate in the world.
As the pandemic has spread widely across the country, from New York’s early epicenter to the south and west, federal, state, and local officials have clashed over how to combat it, including how and when to ease restrictions social and economic resources designed to curb the infection rate.
Whether it is to order the use of masks, a common practice in the rest of the world and recommended by the federal government’s own health experts, it has become highly politicized, and some Republican governors in the most affected states are particularly resistant.
Coronavirus cases in the United States approach 4 million as of Thursday
President Donald Trump, who is facing falling poll numbers for his handling of the health crisis ahead of the November election, has balked at wearing a mask, but this week he encouraged Americans to do so.
“It will probably get worse before it gets better,” Trump said from the White House on Tuesday.
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said Thursday that he believes his city’s strict mask-wearing rule is making a difference, citing improved numbers there.
“The remediation efforts we have taken, including the mask in the public domain, are working,” he told CNN.
Another partisan point of discussion is whether schools should start to fully open in August despite concerns that doing so could cause an increase in infections.
Trump has threatened to withhold federal funds if schools don’t reopen, but said at a press conference on Wednesday that the decision would ultimately rest with state governors.
On Wednesday, COVID-19 deaths increased by more than 1,100 for the second consecutive day, including record increases in single-day deaths in Alabama, California, Nevada and Texas.
The daily death count is still well below levels seen in April, when on average 2,000 people a day died from the virus.
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