The Virginia Department of Health announced the first death of a child with COVID-19 in the Northern Virginia area on Thursday.

“Our hearts go out to the family and friends of this child for their tragic loss,” said State Health Commissioner M. Norman Oliver in a statement.

The child was younger than 10 years old and died in Fairfax County. Officials could not provide further information about their identity to protect the privacy of the bereaved family.

“We were deeply saddened to learn of the loss of a child in our district due to COVID-19. On behalf of the Fairfax County Health Department, I extend our condolences to the child’s family,” said Fairfax County Health Director, Dr. Gloria Addo-Ayensu. “The loss of a child is heartbreaking. We must continue to do all that we can to protect vulnerable members of our community such as those who are still too young to be vaccinated. Everyone who is eligible to get vaccinated is strongly encouraged to do so.”

D.C. data indicates that no Washingtonians under age 19 have died of the coronavirus so far. In Maryland, four children who tested positive for COVID-19 have died.

Children under 12 are not yet eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, though a federal authorization of the shot for younger children is expected in the coming months.

It has been reportedly rare for children to experience serious illness from COVID-19, but public health officials and pediatricians believe the rise of the highly transmissible delta variant is leading to a greater volume of children getting sick — some with severe cases. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, COVID-19 cases in children nationally have increased four-fold since the week of July 22, skyrocketing from 38,000 cases per week to 180,000 last week.

Local hospitals are also seeing an increase in pediatric COVID-19 cases. Last week, Children’s National Hospital reported 14 children currently hospitalized for the disease, close to the hospital’s all-time high of 18 during the winter surge, a spokeswoman said. Throughout the pandemic, 600 children have been hospitalized at Children’s National, with one-third needing intensive care.

The death of the child in Fairfax County and the uptick in coronavirus cases in children locally comes just as area school systems begin to return to five-day in-person instruction for the fall — a situation public health experts believe may continue to fuel the delta surge in the region.

Locally and nationally, pediatric hospitals also are reporting an uptick in other respiratory viruses that don’t usually peak until the fall and winter, like respiratory syncytial virus, rhinovirus and enterovirus, according to the spokeswoman.