2 Florida teens die of coronavirus complications

Two teenagers in Florida have died from COVID-19 complications, according to data posted by the Florida Department of Health. The teens were between the ages of 14 and 17, the department said.

This brings the total number of minors who have died in relation to the virus in Florida to seven. The others were a 9-year-old girl from Putnam County, an 11-year-old boy in Miami-Dade County, an 11-year-old girl in Broward County, a 16-year-old girl in Lee County, and a 17-year-old boy in Pasco County.

In a telephone interview with CNN’s Randi Kaye on Monday, Florida Education Association President Frederick Ingram says news that two additional teenagers died due to COVID-19 complications is “tragic” and “part of what we are going to have to deal with as well when you talk about student and children’s mental health.”

“Their classmates are getting deathly sick. Grieving for a child can be traumatizing, especially in a school setting. This is devastating for a child trying to make his or her way through grade school,” Ingram said.

Skyrocketing cases

To date, more than 38,000 minors have contracted COVID-19 in Florida, according to data released by the health department.

Florida, along with several other states including Texas, Arizona, and California, has become one of the COVID-19 hotspots in recent months, with new daily infections soaring from mid-June into July.

Last week, Florida reported a record number of cases for four consecutive days. Miami-Dade County has reported the second-most cases of any other county in the country, while Broward County also ranks in the top 10, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

So far, more than 4.6 million Americans have been infected and nearly 155,000 have died, Johns Hopkins reports.