COVID-19 claims first Florida patient under age 18

COVID-19 claimed its first Florida fatality under the age of 18.

A Saturday report from the Department of Health shows that among 40 new recorded deaths was a 17-year-old boy in Pasco County. Health officials do not know what contact he had with other infected individuals. He only tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday. The infection was not reported as travel-related.

No other details about the patient have been publicly reported at this time.

The youngest COVID-19 fatality in the state previously was age 22. The coronavirus crisis notably has posed the greatest threat among those age 65 and older.

Gov. Ron DeSantis stressed at a press conference on Saturday that the number of Floridians over the age of 90 who have died from COVID-19 still outnumbers those under age 65.

He did acknowledge growing concerns in recent days about the spread of the coronavirus among younger people.

The median age has declined substantially since the start of the pandemic. That’s partly because early on only the sickest patients were being tested, and the state has greatly expanded testing in recent weeks.

The Governor stressed the virus poses a health threat, including among those in younger demographics.

“Just because it fell off the front pages doesn’t mean it disappeared,” he said. “At least it’s out there and people are thinking about it again.”

But the Pasco teen’s death marks the end of the period when Florida could claim no children here had died.

While the virus has claimed youth before, notably medical cannabis poster child Charlotte Figi, DeSantis has repeatedly stressed the virus posed less threat to children.

He caught national flak for wrongly claiming in April that no children had been killed by the virus, but defended the statement at the time on ground no Floridian under the age of 25 had passed from COVID-19.

In the wake of the first minor’s death, there’s no indication yet of reversing course on reopening youth sports and summer camps or plans to reopen schools in the fall.