The United States is facing a COVID-19 surge this summer as the more contagious delta variant spreads.
More than 615,000 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 58.4% 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 last week, 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.
Here's how the news is developing today. All times Eastern.
Aug 05, 2021, 1:55 PM EDT
Education secretary tells Florida, Texas govs.: 'Politics doesn't have a role in this'
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said he’s ready to work with states like Texas and Florida when it comes to reopening schools safely, telling Governors Greg Abbott and Ron DeSantis, who have banned mask mandates in schools, that “politics doesn’t have a role in this.”
“Don't be the reason why schools are interrupted,” Cardona said at Thursday's White House press briefing. “Our kids have suffered enough."
A student wearing a facemask walks outside Condit Elementary School in Bellaire, outside Houston, Texas, Dec. 16, 2020.
Francois Picard/AFP via Getty Images, FILE
Cardona said “educators know what to do” and that it's “critically important” that he has direct conversations with governors and state leaders.
“We want to be an ally and make sure that we're supporting our students," he said.
-ABC News’ Justin Gomez
Aug 05, 2021, 11:35 AM EDT
US records highest number of daily vaccinations since July 3
The U.S. has seen 864,000 vaccinations in the last 24 hours, the highest daily number since July 3, White House coronavirus response coordinator Jeff Zients said Thursday.
Camora Taylor, 12, receives a COVID vaccine on August 04, 2021 in Ferguson, Mo. According to the latest numbers from the state's health department, only a little more than 4 in 10 Missourians have received the COVID vaccine as the pandemic continues to infect thousands of residents. Communities with high rates of unvaccinated residents have been hit especially hard by the Delta variant, the unvaccinated representing the overwhelming majority of hospitalized patients.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
A healthcare worker administers a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at West Philadelphia High School in Philadelphia, Aug. 4, 2021.
Hannah Beier/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Among those 864,000 vaccinations were 585,000 first shots -- the highest since July 1.
Zients said "Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Alabama, Oklahoma and Mississippi are now vaccinating people at a pace not seen since April."
A COVID-19 vaccine is administered to a person in Ferguson, Mo., Aug. 4, 2021.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Tennessee has seen a 90% increase in first shots over the past two weeks and Georgia has recorded a 66% increase in first shots in the last two weeks.
However, seven states -- Florida, Texas, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi – which have some of the lowest vaccination rates, "account for about half of new cases and hospitalizations in the past week, despite making up less than a quarter of the U.S. population," Zients said.
-ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett
Aug 05, 2021, 11:23 AM EDT
Yelp will show if businesses have vaccine requirements
Yelp now has a feature that will allow businesses to list if they have vaccine requirements.
The feature was mentioned at the White House's COVID-19 briefing Thursday.
-ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett
Aug 05, 2021, 10:06 AM EDT
Arkansas governor reverses course on masks in schools
In Arkansas, one of the states hit hardest by the delta variant, Gov. Asa Hutchinson has reversed course, asking the legislature to meet for a special session to lift a previously signed ban on mask mandates.
Hutchinson told "Good Morning America" Thursday that masks are not needed in schools if students are vaccinated but he's "particularly concerned" about kids under 12 who are too young to get the shot.
In those cases, he said, schools should have the option to enforce masks.
A child gets his temperature checked by a school nurse before entering Stephens Elementary School in Little Rock, Ark., Aug. 24, 2020.
Tommy Metthe/AP, FILE
The governor added that he's pushing vaccine efforts with high school students and "making sure the faculty is vaccinated."
