State reports 151,749 new COVID cases for the week

Largest number of infections occurring in children 12 and under

With start of a new school year underway in most of Florida, state health officials reported more than 48,000 new COVID cases in children 19 or younger in the last seven days, and more than 85,000 in the last two weeks.

For the second week in a row, teenagers represent the highest positivity rate of any age group in the state (23.1%), and for the first time, children younger than 12 represent the age group with the most new cases.

Overall, new COVID cases continue to climb in the state. And the number of people who died increased by a staggering 1,727.

On Friday, the state health department reported 151,749 new cases for the week ending Aug. 26, compared with 150,118 a week ago. Nationwide, Florida is the state with the most new COVID cases for the last seven days, exceeding larger states like California and Texas, according to U.S. health data. A total of 3,179,714 people in the state have had COVID.

The state continues to break new records daily for new cases. Florida on Thursday reported another 27,584 positive cases of COVID-19, the highest single-day increase of the pandemic, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

Along with infecting Floridians, COVID continues to take lives. Florida reported a whopping increase in new deaths on Friday: 1,727 in the last seven days, compared with 1,486 the week prior. Seventeen months into the pandemic, Florida has reported a total of 43,979 deaths from the virus. The toll includes all ages: 256 deaths have occurred in people younger than 29, which is 38 more in the last seven days. Deaths can take several days or weeks to be reported to the state.

The recent surge fueled by the delta variant has been felt in the state hospitals, and while the number of admitted patients remains high, slightly fewer COVID patients were admitted Friday than a week ago — 16,457 compared to 17,198. However, ICU beds continue to remain in high use: 95% of them are full in Florida.

Even with hospitalization dropping slightly, Broward County ranks second in the country for new COVID hospital admissions, with 1,610 new patient admissions in the last seven days. The top spot