New U.S. COVID virus cases top 100,000 a day

On Aug 8, 2021

US: The seven-day average for new daily COVID-19 infections has surpassed 100,000 in the US, returning to levels not seen since the winter surge.

Cases and hospitalisations have skyrocketed in the last month, driven by the highly contagious delta variant. The country was averaging about 11,000 cases a day in late June. Now the number is 107,143.

The virus is spreading quickly through unvaccinated populations, especially in the Deep South. Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi have had hospitals overrun with patients.

The US first crossed the 100,000 average number in November and peaked at about 250,000 in early January before bottoming out in late June.

Meanwhile, Half of the US population is now fully vaccinated against COVID-19, the White House said, as inoculations rise in response to the surging Delta variant of the novel coronavirus.

“50% of Americans (all ages) are now fully vaccinated. Keep going!,” Cyrus Shahpar, White House COVID-19 data director, said in a tweet.

That means more than 165 million people have received either the two-dose Moderna or Pfizer vaccine or the one-and-done Johnson & Johnson shot.The United States is the nation hardest hit by the pandemic with 615,000 deaths.

– THE HINDUSTAN TIMES