'Steady increase' in vaccines in past month, White House says

The U.S. saw its largest single-day increase in nearly nine months Friday.

ByEmily Shapiro, Ivan Pereira, Meredith Deliso, Morgan Winsor, and Marlene Lenthang
Last Updated: August 2, 2021, 7:10 AM EDT

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

More than 613,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 and over 4.2 million people have died worldwide, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

Just 57.9% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC on Tuesday, citing new science on the transmissibility of the delta variant, changed its mask guidance to now recommend everyone in areas with substantial or high levels of transmission -- vaccinated or not -- wear a face covering in public, indoor settings.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing today. All times Eastern.
Jul 26, 2021, 11:23 AM EDT

Savannah reinstates mask mandate indoors

An indoor mask mandate has been reinstated in Savannah, Georgia, effective immediately, amid a steep rise in the daily number of COVID-19 cases, Mayor Van Johnson said.

Tourists enjoy downtown Savannah, Georgia on March 3, 2021 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images

The increase is likely due to the delta variant, relatively low vaccination rates and gatherings where people let their guard down, officials said.

"Are we effectively punishing those who did the right thing who took the vaccine?" the mayor said. "Yes, we probably are."

To those still hesitant to get the vaccine, Johnson said, "The wait and see time is over."

-ABC News’ Alexandra Faul

Jul 26, 2021, 10:49 AM EDT

Orlando area in ‘crisis mode’ as cases skyrocket

Orange County, Florida, which includes the city of Orlando, is in "crisis mode" as COVID-19 cases skyrocket, Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said Monday.

The county is now seeing 1,000 new cases per day – which is what was recorded there during the highest peak in 2020, Demings said.

-ABC News’ Ben Stein

Jul 26, 2021, 10:35 AM EDT

US not lifting travel restrictions due to surge in delta variant cases

The White House will leave in place existing travel restrictions due to the surge in cases from the delta variant, a White House official confirmed to ABC News.

This news was first reported by Reuters Monday morning.

The official said the "reopening process is guided by the science and public health," adding that cases of the delta variant are rising in the U.S. and globally, mostly among the unvaccinated, and "appear likely to continue [to] increase in the weeks ahead."

-ABC News’ Justin Gomez

Jul 26, 2021, 9:13 AM EDT

Symptomatic breakthrough infections rare, CDC data estimates

New data shows how rare COVID-19 breakthrough infections likely are.

With more than 156 million Americans fully vaccinated, about 153,000 symptomatic breakthrough cases are estimated to have occurred as of last week, representing approximately 0.098% of those fully vaccinated, according to an unpublished internal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention document obtained by ABC News. These estimates reflect only the adult population and do not include asymptomatic breakthrough infections.

A patient is helped into the Houston Methodist Hospital on July 16, 2021 in Houston, Texas. The Houston metropolitan area has seen an upward increase of Delta infections.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images

But in Provincetown, on Massachusetts’ Cape Cod, at least 551 COVID-19 infections, many of them breakthroughs, were confirmed after the July Fourth weekend. Of the Massachusetts residents who tested positive as a result of the Provincetown cluster, 69% reported to be fully vaccinated, according to local officials.

Most people were symptomatic. Apart from three hospitalizations, symptoms from cases associated with this cluster were known to be mild and without complication, said Alex Morse, the town manager for Provincetown.

-ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos

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