The United States is facing a COVID-19 surge this summer as the more contagious delta variant spreads.
More than 655,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 while over 4.6 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 62.7% 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.
Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Sep 11, 2021, 3:01 PM EDT
74 million in US eligible for vaccine but remain unvaccinated
Some 74 million Americans eligible for the vaccine still aren't vaccinated, White House COVID-19 Data Director Cyrus Shahpar said Saturday.
Susana Sanchez, a Nurse Practitioner, administers a flu vaccination to Ana Maria Flores in Miami, Sept. 10, 2021.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Still, many are flocking to get their shots with “+903K doses reported administered over yesterday’s total,” Shahpar said, with 395,000 of them being new vaccinations.
Sep 10, 2021, 9:13 PM EDT
Texas suing 6 school districts over mask mandates
The Texas attorney general has filed lawsuits against six school districts that mandate masks, the office said Friday.
The lawsuits target the school districts of Richardson, Round Rock, Galveston, Elgin, Spring and Sherman for flouting Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order prohibiting local entities from requiring masks -- what Texas Attorney General Ken Paxon referred to in a statement as "acts of political defiance."
In a statement to ABC News, Sylvia Wood, a spokesperson for Spring Independent School District, said the district had yet to be served and had no details about the lawsuit beyond a press release.
"Spring ISD will let the legal process unfold and allow the courts to decide the merits of the case," Wood said.
Elgin Independent School District Superintendent Jodi Duron also told ABC News the school district had not been served yet, and that schools in Travis County, part of Elgin ISD, are required to have students wear masks. "To the District’s knowledge, the Travis County Order has not been suspended," she said.
Round Rock Independent School District spokesperson Jenny LaCoste-Caputo told ABC News the school district is following Texas Education Agency guidance that allows for mask requirements "for adults or students for whom it is developmentally appropriate" and is working with local authorities "who advise us that masks remain an essential tool in stemming the spread of COVID-19 in our classrooms."
Sherman Independent School District told ABC News in a statement that it had not received any information on the lawsuit yet and for now "will continue to focus on promoting a safe and healthy learning environment for our students and staff."
ABC News has reached out to the other school districts for comment.
Atkinson Elementary School students wear paper cowboy hats as they line up to take a look at the covered wagons and horses stopping at the school during the 3rd Annual Pasadena Rodeo Round-Up Ride, Sept. 9, 2021, in Houston.
Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP
Nearly 90 school districts currently have mask mandates, according to a list compiled by Paxton's office. The attorney general anticipates more lawsuits if school districts "continue to defy state law," his office said in a statement.
Several school districts have sued the state to challenge the ban on mask mandates.
Last week, the Texas Education Agency said it is not enforcing the governor's executive order "as the result of ongoing litigation."
Sep 10, 2021, 4:04 PM EDT
Child under 5 dies in Southern California
A child under the age of 5 has died from COVID-19 in Orange County, California, the OC Health Care Agency said. Additional information about the child wasn't released.
"This is an urgent reminder that we must do everything we can to protect our little ones, the children and infants in our community who are not yet eligible for a vaccination," HCA director and county health officer Dr. Clayton Chausaid in a statement.
Sep 10, 2021, 3:34 PM EDT
South Carolina, Kentucky leading nation in cases
The daily death average in the U.S. has climbed to about 1,100, which is a 65.5% jump in the last month, according to federal data.
The daily case average in the U.S. is around 140,000, which is nearly four times higher than it was one year ago, according to federal data.
A healthcare worker tends to a patient on a ventilator in the Intensive Care Unit of Baptist Health Floyd on Sept. 7, 2021, in New Albany, Ind.
Jon Cherry/Getty Images
South Carolina and Kentucky have the highest case rate in the nation, followed by West Virginia, Wyoming, Alaska, Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi, according to federal data.
But some states are seeing progress. In Florida, daily cases are down by about 33% in the last two weeks.