Mask mandate debate heats up in Florida as more children are being hospitalized with COVID

Many children in Florida returned to school Tuesday without masks despite the surging number of COVID cases and hospitalizations. Florida leads the nation in pediatric hospitalizations, with more than 300 reported in the last week.

Pediatric doctor Pia Myers got emotional as she recorded a video message for the public about the challenges she sees in Collier County Hospitals. "I encourage everybody to please take this Delta variant very seriously due to the transmissibility. It is incredibly contagious, and our children are getting sick. I can't do this," she said.