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Almost one-third of Florida children tested are positive for the coronavirus
Florida health officials have identified a troubling trend; approximately 31 percent, or one-third, of children in Florida tested for COVID-19 yield positive results, according to the Sun Sentinel.
State data indicates that out of 54,022 Florida children tested, 31.1 percent have returned positive results on average. This is higher than the statewide positivity rate, which reads in at about 11 percent.
Aside from the staggering figure indicating the transmission of the virus, health experts fear it can cause potential lifelong damage in children. Alina Alonso, the health department director of Palm Beach County, reportedly told county commissioners on Tuesday that the long-term consequences of coronavirus in children are unknown.
Alonso described X-rays that reveal damage caused to human lungs by the coronavirus, even for people without severe symptoms.
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Fertility rate: 'Jaw-dropping' global crash in children being born
Falling fertility rates mean nearly every country could have shrinking populations by the end of the century.
And 23 nations - including Spain and Japan - are expected to see their populations halve by 2100.
Countries will also age dramatically, with as many people turning 80 as there are being born.
What is going on?
The fertility rate - the average number of children a woman gives birth to - is falling.
If the number falls below approximately 2.1, then the size of the population starts to fall.
In 1950, women were having an average of 4.7 children in their lifetime.
Researchers at the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation showed the global fertility rate nearly halved to 2.4 in 2017 - and their study, published in the Lancet, projects it will fall below 1.7 by 2100.
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California has 2nd highest day in coronavirus cases, deaths
California has reported its second-highest daily total of new coronavirus cases and equalled its second worst day for deaths amid an ongoing surge in the United States.
More than 11,000 new cases were recorded by state officials Tuesday, a rise of 3.3 per cent. California also recorded 140 deaths, tying a recent tally for its second-highest daily figure.
The number of tests and the rate of those testing positive also rose. The positivity rate over the past two weeks has now topped seven per cent, while in hard-hit Los Angeles County, with a quarter of California's population, that rate has soared to nearly 10 per cent.
Public health director Barbara Ferrer said Wednesday that the county is in "an alarming and dangerous phase" that could overwhelm intensive care units and prompt sweeping closure orders if not reversed.
Also on Wednesday, Texas set a record for confirmed new coronavirus cases in a single day with nearly 10,800, and Florida reported 10,181 new confirmed cases, reaching 300,000 total infections since the outbreak began there on March 1.
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Refrigerated trucks requested in Texas and Arizona as morgues fill up due to coronavirus deaths
Refrigerated trucks have been requested in Texas and Arizona as coronavirus deaths continue to rise. They are among the states that have recently seen a surge in COVID-19 cases.
In San Antonio, Texas, there is an issue of morgue space at hospitals, so refrigerated trucks are at the ready, Bruce Davidson, director of communications for the San Antonio mayor's office, told CBS News on Tuesday.
During a meeting on COVID-19 with San Antonio and Bexar County officials on Monday, San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg also said refrigerated trucks were requested, adding that just 10 percent of hospital beds in the county were available.
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