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The average daily number of new coronavirus cases in the US has surged more than 300 percent in the past three weeks — with hotspot states including Florida and Louisiana seeing major spikes in infections and hospitalizations. The country notched a daily seven-day rolling average of 79,951 new cases Sunday, or a 312 percent jump over the 19,400 rolling-average figure three weeks ago, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Most of the new infections appear to be in unvaccinated people, as so-called breakthrough cases in people who are inoculated are not common. Research shows the vast majority of breakthrough...

WH official this am: “B lockdown speech being drawn up this week…they’re planning to make it sound like one of the most solemn in history, real Bush on the night of 9/11 type stuff. Would start stocking up if I were y’all”

White House principal deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Thursday that the Biden administration will continue to "listen to the scientists" when it comes to potential future lockdowns and school closures. -snip- Doocy pressed Jean-Pierre on future closures, asking if the administration would support new lockdowns if the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended it. "Well, like I said, we listen to the CDC and the experts and their guidance," she responded. "The CDC is a body that is very well respected, and again, we follow their guidance."

There are 716 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19, up from 452 on July 16, officials said. The county also reported four new deaths, bringing the total to 24,628 fatalities since the pandemic began early last year. On Saturday, L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer warned that the Delta variant was "one of the most aggressive and infectious respiratory diseases known and currently makes up over 80% of sequenced cases in L.A. County." Although cases remain at a lower point than they have been during any of the previous surges, the rate of increase between July 3 and 16 was...

The delta variant is driving up coronavirus cases in California, landing the Bay Area on a federal “hot spot” watch list and spurring renewed urgency to get shots into the arms of people who haven’t been vaccinated, even in areas where immunization rates are already high. In San Francisco, public health officials are now requiring all workers at hospitals, nursing homes, jails and shelters to be vaccinated by Sept. 15. That’s a shift from an earlier order that mandated vaccination only after at least one vaccine was fully approved by the Food and Drug Administration, which now allows the shots...

As the highly transmissible delta Covid variant continues to spread rapidly across the United States and elsewhere around the world, scientists and other health experts are warning that indoor mask mandates and other public health measures will likely make a return in the U.S. this fall. The country, which just celebrated the Fourth of July with some of its first large gatherings in more than a year, is headed toward a "dangerous" fall season when delta is expected to cause another surge in new coronavirus cases, health experts say. Already the dominant variant in the U.S., delta will hit the...

A startling new surge in cases suggests that Delta is established in Louisiana and the previously beaten-back virus is once again on the rise... Over the last week, cases have increased by 3,360, the biggest spike since March 4, the tail-end of the winter surge. Cases have more than doubled over the last 14 days, likely an effect of the more contagious Delta variant making its way into unvaccinated hosts. Delta is now the dominant strain in the U.S., making up 52% of new cases. In Louisiana and neighboring states, it is responsible for up 59% of new cases. With...

With new mutations discovered every few weeks, many scientists now predict that Covid will continue circulating around the world for at least the next two to three years, requiring nations to reinstitute public health measures on an ad hoc basis for the foreseeable future

(CNN)Twenty four states have seen an uptick of at least 10% in Covid-19 cases over the past week as health experts and the federal government keep pressing for more people to get vaccinated. The rapid spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus has only ratcheted up the pressure. We should think about the Delta variant as the 2020 version of Covid-19 on steroids," Andy Slavitt, a former senior adviser to Joe Biden's Covid Response Team, told CNN on Wednesday. "It's twice as infectious. Fortunately, unlike 2020, we actually have a tool that stops the Delta variant in its tracks:...

Dozens of children and adults have tested positive for COVID-19 after attending a Texas church camp. Three tested positive for the highly contagious delta variant. Fifty-seven adults and youths from Galveston County tested positive, including six patients who were fully vaccinated against COVID-19, said Dr. Philip Keiser, the county’s local health authority. More than 90 others, including some from outside the county, have reported positive test results to Galveston County health officials, he said. More than 450 adults and grade-six-to-12 youths attended the camp organized near Giddings, Texas