COVID-19 updates: More than 10,000 new deaths reported in US in 1 week

The U.S. daily death average has now surged to nearly 1,200 -- six times the death average of 191 from two months ago, according to federal data.

On Friday alone, the U.S. reported approximately 1,860 COVID-19 deaths -- the highest single-day figure in nearly seven months, though that figure may partially be the result of data backlogs from the holiday weekend.

Even with current data still skewed from last week's holiday, this summer's surge has far surpassed the figures from last summer, and national case metrics are about four times higher than one year ago, according to federal data.

Kentucky and West Virginia are seeing more new cases and hospitalizations than at any point in the pandemic. Other states like Georgia and Oklahoma also showing signs of exponential growth in cases and hospitalizations.

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos

More than 243,000 children tested positive for COVID-19 last week, marking the second-highest week ever for pediatric cases, according to a new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association.

Last week, children accounted for 28.9% of the cases. Children make up 22.2% of the population. 

Across the U.S., approximately 2,200 kids are in hospitals for COVID-19. Texas currently leads the country with 377 children receiving care, followed by Ohio with 258 children and Florida with 168 children.

Cases among kids rose "exponentially" this summer, the organizations wrote, and in the last month alone, the U.S. has reported more than 1 million pediatric cases.

More than 1.2 million children have tested positive since they returned to classrooms in late July.

Severe illness due to COVID-19 remains "uncommon" among children, the two organizations wrote in the report. The AAP and CHA, however, warned that there is an urgent need to collect more data on the long-term consequences of the pandemic on children, "including ways the virus may harm the long-term physical health of infected children, as well as its emotional and mental health effects."

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos

In New York City -- the largest school district in the U.S. -- students are returning to the classroom on Monday.

This marks the first day all students and staff are in-person since the pandemic began.

In Union County, North Carolina, the school board voted Monday to end quarantines and contact tracing, meaning students can go to school even if they've been in close contact with someone who tested positive, ABC Charlotte affiliate WSOC reported.

Students and staff can only stay home if they test positive or have symptoms, WSOC said.

-ABC News' Alexandra Faul