'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.

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Here's how the news is developing today. All times Eastern.
Jul 30, 2021, 1:00 PM EDT

Delta variant leaves vaccinated, unvaccinated with similarly high viral loads: CDC 

Data shows that the delta variant leaves vaccinated and unvaccinated people with similarly high viral loads, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said in a statement Friday. 

Health care workers check on a COVID-19 patient in the COVID ICU at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange, Calif., on July 21, 2021.
Orange County Register/MediaNews Group via Getty Images

"High viral loads suggest an increased risk of transmission and raised concern that, unlike with other variants, vaccinated people infected with Delta can transmit the virus," Walensky said. 

"This finding is concerning and was a pivotal discovery leading to CDC’s updated mask recommendation" this week, Walensky said. 

-ABC News’ Sony Salzman

Jul 30, 2021, 12:05 PM EDT

Florida gov. says parents can decide if their kids wear masks in school

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Friday that parents in the state can decide if their children will wear masks in school, despite the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendation this week that students wear masks.

DeSantis called the CDC’s guidance a "callous disregard for the physical, emotional and academic well-being of our children."

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during the American Legislative Exchange Council, July 28, 2021, in Salt Lake City.
Rick Bowmer/AP

DeSantis said, "Very soon I'll be signing an executive order which directs the Florida Department of Education and the Department of Health to issue emergency rules protecting the rights of parents to make this decision about wearing masks for their children."

The governor added that his children will not wear masks in school.

-ABC News’ Will McDuffie

Jul 30, 2021, 11:36 AM EDT

US sees highest number of newly vaccinated people since July 1

Of the more than 857,000 vaccine doses administered in the U.S. on Thursday, 563,000 were newly vaccinated people -- the highest number since July 1, Cyrus Shahpar, the White House's COVID-19 data director, tweeted Friday.

A nurse adjust the shirt of a patient after administering a dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at a three-day vaccination clinic at Providence Wilmington Wellness and Activity Center on July 29, 2021, in Wilmington, Calif.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

Over 190 million Americans have now had at least one dose, accounting for 69.6% of adults, he tweeted.

-ABC News’ Will Gretsky

Jul 30, 2021, 10:45 AM EDT

6 passengers test positive on cruise ship

Six passengers on Royal Caribbean’s Adventure of the Seas ship have tested positive for COVID-19 during routine testing, the cruise line said Friday.

In this March 31, 2020, file photo, the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Adventure of the Seas sits anchored off the coast of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
ZUMA Wire via Newscom, FILE

Four of the passengers -- who were not traveling together -- are vaccinated. The other two are unvaccinated minors who were traveling together, the cruise line said.

One person has mild symptoms. The other five have no symptoms, the cruise line said.

"The guests were immediately quarantined, and their immediate travel party and all close contacts were traced and all tested negative," Royal Caribbean said. "Each guest and their immediate travel parties disembarked in Freeport, The Bahamas, and separately traveled home via private transportation."

This cruise started in the Bahamas on July 25. Everyone over 16 must be fully vaccinated and test negative before boarding, the cruise line said.

-ABC News’ Sam Sweeney

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