Child COVID-19 hospitalizations rise 23 percent in Florida

Coronavirus hospitalizations among children are on the rise in Florida weeks ahead of the reopening of schools.

Over the course of eight days this month, Florida experienced a 23 percent increase in the number of children 17 and under hospitalized with COVID-19, CNN reports. Child COVID-19 hospitalizations rose from 246 on July 16 to 303 on July 24, data from the Florida Department of Health shows.

Additionally, there had been about 23,000 total cases of COVID-19 among children in Florida during the pandemic on July 16, but the number of cases has risen 34 percent to about 31,000 as of July 24, CNN reports. The test positivity rate among kids has also risen from 13.4 percent to 14.4 percent. A majority, 34 percent, of the children hospitalized are between the ages of 14 and 17, Axios reports.

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Florida has been experiencing rising COVID-19 cases in recent weeks, with Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus task force response coordinator, comparing its surge to the one New York experienced earlier this year. Birx also noted in a recent interview that some children who contract COVID-19 can "suffer terrible consequences if they have underlying conditions." She added that it's still an "open question" whether children under 10 spread COVID-19 as rapidly as children over 10 do.

Florida has ordered schools to reopen in person, and according to CNN, "in some districts, that means sending children to school in as soon as two weeks."