Children ages 5-14 make up the largest cluster of COVID cases in Orange County

ORANGE COUNTY, Florida. – Orange County officials announced on Monday that pediatric cases in children aged 5 to 14 made up about 20% of all new COVID-19 cases in the county, making it the age group contributing the most to new infections in the region.

The announcement was made by Alvina Chu, an epidemiologist with the Florida Department of Health in Orange County, during a press conference on the county’s COVID-19 response.

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“It’s a change from the previous image of what we saw,” Chu said. “The 25 to 44 year olds (age group) remain very high (in contributions to new infections), but in the last few days, the largest age group contributing to the most recent cases is that of 5 to 14 years old.”

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Based on data from HHS.gov, there were 257 confirmed and / or suspected pediatric cases of COVID-19 in Florida hospitals as of Monday. There have been 176 children hospitalized in Florida with confirmation of COVID-19, the data shows. The numbers are reported daily to the CDC by hospitals in Florida.

Chu added that the delta variant continues to be the dominant source of COVID cases in Orange County.

“It also reflects what is happening in the United States, where the predominant strain that is currently occurring is the highly contagious delta variant,” Chu said. “The age range for these cases is 0 to 97, with a median (age) of 34.”

Despite the increase in pediatric cases, the number of new infections remains fairly stable. Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings reiterated his suspicions that the county infections may have plateaued.

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“The 14-day positive new case rate in our community is still around the 20% mark and has been at that level for the past few weeks,” said Demings. “At 20%, we may have hit a plateau. The good news – if there is any – is that the number is not increasing, but it remains roughly the same. It’s still high. It is much higher than what we want to see in our community.

Chu added that Orange County remains at a high level of transmission, as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. According to Chu, that threshold is 100 new infections per 100,000 people in the county and a sliding seven-day positivity rate of over 10%.

Chu said the county is currently registering 555 new infections per 100,000 people in the county and a sliding 19% seven-day positivity rate.

According to the county, 66.07% of the eligible population has now received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

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The county has a list of places online where people can receive a COVID-19 vaccine, including the county-run site at Camping World Stadium. You can find it in click here.

The county now has three county-run test sites – Barnett Park, Econ Soccer Complex and the old Clarcona Primary School. Each site is open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. More information about these test sites can be found here.