The number of Coronavirus cases among juveniles in the tri-county area has started to increase.
As of Monday, statistics provided by the Florida Department of Health showed that 47 children under the age of 18 had tested positive for the potentially deadly virus. Those represent just 3.2 percent of the 1,461 cases that have been reported in Sumter, Lake and Marion counties. But it also shows an increase of 15 juvenile patients in a seven-day period.
So far, 24 minors in Lake County have tested positive, while 19 have been identified in Marion County and just four cases have been reported in Sumter County. A total of 1,090 juveniles have been tested in the tri-county area.
Across Florida, there have been 4,809 positive results among the 39,070 minors who have been tested. That amounts to a positivity rate of 12.3 percent.
There have been no deaths among children in the Sunshine State and only 131 have been hospitalized. The breakdown by age is:
- Under 1 years old: 303 cases;
- 1-4 years old: 841 cases;
- 5-9 years old: 1,082 cases;
- 10-14 years old: 1,356 cases; and
- 15-17 years old: 1,227 cases.