as we're going into the fall, into the school season. this is very serious business. >> reporter: and the concern for the young only growing. after falling for months, the number of children being hospitalized with covid spiking to its highest point on record. in st. petersburg, florida, sarina soloman's 7-year-old son, bryce, was supposed to start second grade tomorrow, but he started feeling feverish and was rushed to the e.r. he's now in isolation with covid. >> i feel like masks should be mandated in the schools, because the kids are catching it as quick and as rapidly as adults. >> reporter: tonight, a new projection from the cdc shows the number of covid patients flowing into hospitals could soar as high as 33,000 a day by early september. hospitals under siege. austin has just two icu beds for more than 2 million people. and critics pointing out an irony. while governor abbott is looking for help from other states, he