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

That number was up from 282 on Thursday.

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.

Sep 04, 2021, 11:58 AM EDT

Stillwater, Oklahoma, declares state of emergency, overflow tents set up

The mayor of Stillwater, Oklahoma, declared a state of emergency for the city that started Friday due to a soaring number of hospital patients and a shortage of medical staff. 

Overflow tents have been set up outside the Stillwater Medical Center Emergency Department to deal with the influx. 

The state’s department of health is deploying the Medical Reserve Corps. and additional medical professionals to help in overflow tents.

“Our health professionals have incessantly warned us that we may reach the point when much-needed medical attention, COVID or non-COVID related, may not be available,” Mayor Will Joyce said in a release. “We have now reached that critical threshold where our hospital no longer has available staffed beds.”

Emergency tents are erected outside the Stillwater Medical Center to compensate for the lack of room in the hospital which has been taxed by Covid-19 cases in Stillwater, Okla., Sept. 4, 2021.
KOKO

“It is critical that each of us become fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and wear masks when possible,” he added.

Officials said Stillwater Medical, which serves in a six-county area, is at full capacity. 

In the crisis, residents and visitors who go to the hospital for treatment over the weekend may be diverted to nearby or out-of-state facilities. 

There are zero ICU beds available across the four largest hospital systems in Oklahoma City, ABC local affiliate in Oklahoma City KOCO reported. 

Concerns are mounting especially as Stillwater hosts events and activities that kick off Saturday and have the potential to attract an influx of 40,000 visitors.

Sep 03, 2021, 6:46 PM EDT

Oscar De La Hoya hospitalized with COVID-19, will miss comeback fight

Hall of Fame boxer Oscar De La Hoya said on social media Friday he is hospitalized with COVID-19.

Due to his illness, he won't be able to fight former UFC champion Vitor Belfort on Sept. 11 in Los Angeles, which would have been De La Hoya's first bout since 2008. 

Oscar De La Hoya attends an open to the public media workout hosted by boxing legend "The Golden Boy" Oscar De La Hoya at XBOX Plaza, Aug. 24, 2021, in Los Angeles.
Amy Sussman/Getty Images

 

"Preparing for this comeback has been everything to me over the last months, and I want to thank everyone for their tremendous support," De La Hoya, 48, said in an Instagram post, noting that he is fully vaccinated. "I am currently in the hospital getting treatment and am confident I will be back in the ring before the year is up. God bless everyone and stay safe."

Sep 03, 2021, 4:06 PM EDT

Florida Governor appeals court ruling invalidating his ban on student mask mandates

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis filed an appeal against a court ruling invalidating his ban on student mask mandates Thursday evening.

The governor had banned school districts from implementing mask mandates without a parent opt-out. 

The move unleashed a stay of proceedings that enables the state to continue punishing districts, at least until Wednesday, when a judge will decide whether to vacate the stay. 

A mother walks her daughter on the first day of school at West Tampa Elementary School in Tampa, Fla., Aug. 10, 2021.
Octavio Jones/Reuters

In the meantime, school board members across the state could continue to lose their salaries if their schools set mask mandates -- a punishment given to board members in two counties and threatened to those in eight others.

The appeal comes a week after Judge John C. Cooper found that a blanket ban on face masks in schools "does not meet constitutional muster.”

-ABC News' Will McDuffie

Sep 03, 2021, 3:22 PM EDT

1 out of 8 Americans has tested positive for COVID-19, 1 out of 510 Americans has died from the virus

The country’s COVID death toll has risen to more than 643,000 and the number of cases stands at 39.5 million, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

That means 1 out of 8 Americans has tested positive for COVID-19 and 1 out of 510 Americans has died of the virus. 

Heading into Labor Day weekend health experts are urging the public, especially the unvaccinated, to act responsibly as the delta variant continues to fuel infections. 

Holidays have proven to be a catalyst for virus spread in the U.S. 

Passengers wait at the concourse of Union Station Sept. 3, 2021 in Washington, D.C.
Alex Wong/Getty Images

Last summer, shortly after Labor Day, the U.S. fell into its most significant viral surge of the pandemic. 

Between the week following last Labor Day and Thanksgiving alone, the nation's daily case average surged by more than 400%.

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos

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