More than 1,200 kids in Manatee have tested positive for the coronavirus, state says

More than 1,200 children in Manatee County have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, according to the Florida Department of Health.

In a report updated Friday, the health department said 1,260 of the 9,668 Manatee residents between the ages of 0 and 17 who had been tested were founded to be infected with the coronavirus, which causes the COVID-19 respiratory disease. Manatee ranks 11th out of 67 Florida counties in the number of coronvirus infections among children.

The positivity rate of 13% for Manatee children is lower than the state rate, 14.6%, but higher than the county’s overall rate, 10.8%.

Manatee County public schools reopened Aug. 17 and as of Friday, 43 people associated with 25 campuses have tested positive, according to the Manatee County School District. To date, the district has not designated how many of those cases were students and how many were staff.

In Sarasota County, 533 out of 5,477 children tested were found to be infected with the coronavirus, for a positivity rate of 9.7%, according to the state health department.

Statewide, 52,292 children have tested positive for the coronavirus, and eight — include a Manatee County teenager — have died.

This story was originally published September 5, 2020 at 1:05 PM.