Emotions are running high as school boards across the nation debate mask mandates. Some parents are pressuring local officials to require masks in defiance of state laws, while others use debunked science to argue masks should not be required. But as schools begin opening nationwide, it's clear that children are contracting COVID-19 at higher rates than earlier in the pandemic. There were 93,824 child COVID-19 cases nationwide reported July 29 through Aug. 5, or 15% of the total weekly reported cases, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. "After declining in early summer, child cases have steadily increased since the beginning of July," the academy reports. 📸: Brittany Murray, @ocregister via @apnews