COVID-19 updates: 345 children currently hospitalized with coronavirus in Texas

That number was up from 282 on Thursday.

ByJulia Jacobo, Ivan Pereira, Emily Shapiro, Meredith Deliso, Morgan Winsor, Catherine Thorbecke, and Marlene Lenthang
Last Updated: September 1, 2021, 9:52 AM EDT

The United States is facing a COVID-19 surge this summer as the more contagious delta variant spreads.

More than 643,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 while over 4.5 million people have died from the disease worldwide, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

Just 61.7% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news was developing. All times Eastern.
Sep 01, 2021, 9:52 AM EDT

Virginia Tech disenrolls 134 students who didn't meet vaccination policy

Virginia Tech says 134 students have been disenrolled after they didn't comply with COVID-19 vaccine requirements.

The university's roughly 37,000 students were required to submit vaccination documentation or receive a medical or religious exemption, Virginia Tech said.

"The university does not know whether any of these [134] students were not planning to return for reasons unrelated to the COVID-19 vaccine requirement," Virginia Tech said.

-ABC News' Chad Murray

Sep 01, 2021, 9:19 AM EDT

TSA screens lowest number of travelers since May

Just 1,345,064 travelers were screened at U.S. airports on Tuesday, the lowest since May 18 when 1,408,017 were screened, the TSA said.

United CEO Scott Kirby said Monday he thinks holiday travel will return to normal.

-ABC News' Sam Sweeney

Sep 01, 2021, 8:52 AM EDT

San Diego County declares medical misinformation a public health crisis

San Diego has become the first county in the U.S. to declare that health misinformation is causing a public health crisis in its community. This follows the County Board of Supervisors' 3-2 vote Tuesday night.

Changes to county strategy to combat the pandemic will include: labeling health misinformation and providing timely health information to counter it; modernizing public health communications; investigating in digital resources and training for health practitioners and health workers; and developing a website to be a central resource for fighting health misinformation.

People wearing protective masks wait to enter a Covid-19 testing site operated by the County of San Diego inside a former Sears store in Chula Vista, Calif., Jan. 26, 2021.
Bing Guan/Bloomberg via Getty Images, FILE

The new policy was introduced when 96.7% of hospitalizations in San Diego County were residents who were not fully vaccinated.

Aug 31, 2021, 8:01 PM EDT

Gene Simmons tests positive for COVID, KISS postpones shows

KISS co-lead singer Gene Simmons tested positive for COVID-19, the band shared on its Twitter page Tuesday evening.

In a statement, the band said the 72-year-old was experiencing "mild symptoms."

Gene Simmons makes his way on to the field to sing the National Anthem before the game between the Atlanta Braves and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium, May 7, 2019, in Los Angeles.
Harry How/Getty Images

His diagnoses comes less than a week after co-lead singer Paul Stanley, 69, tested positive for COVID-19 as well.

In a statement released on Aug. 26, the band said that, "everyone on the entire tour, both band and crew, are fully vaccinated."

KISS has postponed four of its "End of the Road" tour shows from Sept. 1 to Sept. 5.

"The band and crew will remain at home and isolate for the next 10 days," the band said in a statement.

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