US COVID-19 cases hit six month high as Florida deals with surge

According to a Reuters tally, the United States hit a six-month high for new COVID cases with over 100,000 infections reported on Wednesday, as the Delta variant ravages areas where people did not get vaccinated.

The country reports over 94,819 cases on a seven-day average, a five-fold increase in less than a month, Reuters data through Wednesday showed. The seven-day average provides the most accurate picture of how fast cases are rising since some states only report infections once a week or only on weekdays.

In the coming weeks, cases could double to 200,000 per day due to the highly contagious Delta variant, said top U.S. infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci on Wednesday.

“If another one comes along that has an equally high capability of transmitting but also is much more severe, then we could really be in trouble,” Fauci said in an interview with McClatchy. “People who are not getting vaccinated mistakenly think it’s only about them. But it isn’t. It’s about everybody else, also.”

Healthcare personnel work in a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) intensive care unit dealing with a surge in cases of the Delta variant at Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, Utah, U.S., in this handout photo provided July 23, 2021. Courtesy of Intermountain Health/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo

The Delta variant, first detected in India, accounts for 83% of all new cases reported in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Vaccination rates vary widely from a high of 76% of Vermont residents receiving the first dose to a low of 40% in Mississippi, with polls showing Republicans are far less likely than Democrats to get vaccinated.

Unvaccinated people represent nearly 97% of severe cases, according to the White House COVID-19 Response Team.

According to the analysis, deaths, a lagging indicator, jumped 33% over the past week, with about 377 deaths per day on average.

FLORIDA SURGE

Southern states, which have some of the nation’s lowest vaccination rates, report the most COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. According to a Reuters analysis, Florida, Texas, and Louisiana were reporting the highest total number of new cases in the region over the last week.

US COVID-19 cases hit six months high as Florida deals with a surge

Florida has emerged as the nationwide hotbed of new infections and set yet another grim hospitalization record on Thursday with 12,373 confirmed COVID-19 patients in its hospitals, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

HHS data shows that more children are hospitalized with the virus in Florida than in any other U.S. state.

“23% of new COVID hospitalizations in the U.S are in Florida, and their hospitals are being overwhelmed again,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said on Wednesday. Psaki urged the state’s governor, Republican Ron DeSantis, to “join us in this fight” after DeSantis accused Biden of singling out his state.

According to a Reuters tally, Louisiana and Arkansas are also grappling with a record or near-record numbers of coronavirus patients occupying beds.

President Joe Biden on Tuesday urged Republican leaders in Florida and Texas – home to roughly a third of all new U.S. COVID-19 cases – to follow public health guidelines on the pandemic or “get out of the way.”

To stop the spread of the virus, New York City will require proof of vaccination at restaurants, gyms, and other businesses.

Some private companies are also mandating vaccines for employees and customers.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration plans to give full approval for the Pfizer COVID vaccine by early September, the New York Times reported on Tuesday, which could prompt more Americans to get the vaccine to reduce their fears about the safety of the safety the shot.

(Reporting by Roshan Abraham in Bengaluru and Maria Caspani in New York; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)