Nearly 600 patients wait for hospital beds in Houston following surge in COVID cases

According to the CDC, 46% of Texans have been fully vaccinated.

ByEmily Shapiro, Ivan Pereira, Meredith Deliso, and Marlene Lenthang
Last Updated: August 16, 2021, 12:25 AM EDT

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

More than 620,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 and over 4.3 million people have died worldwide, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

Just 59.1% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing today. All times Eastern.
Aug 09, 2021, 11:12 AM EDT

No indications hard-hit Louisiana has reached peak: Governor

In hard-hit Louisiana, where the positivity rate is about 15%, Gov. John Bel Edwards told "GMA 3"there's no indication the state has reached the peak of this surge.

Louisiana has more than 2,700 COVID-19 patients in hospitals, the governor said, noting that during the previous surge's peak, hospitalizations only reached 2,100.

PHOTO: Sara Elledge, a respiratory therapist from Coleman, Ala., arrives with nearly three dozen healthcare workers from around the country to help supplement the staff at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge, La., Aug. 2, 2021.
Sara Elledge, a respiratory therapist from Coleman, Ala., arrives with nearly three dozen healthcare workers from around the country to help supplement the staff at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge, La., Aug. 2, 2021. Louisiana has one of the lowest coronavirus vaccination rates in the nation and is seeing one of the country's worst COVID-19 spikes.
Ted Jackson/AP

"We are having the worst situation in terms of the pandemic across the board here in Louisiana. And unfortunately, we don't see anything that indicates that we have peaked," he said. "Cases continue to go up, hospitalizations, and 20% of new infections over the past couple of weeks have been in children under 18."

The governor has reinstated a mask mandate for August as cases skyrocket.

Edwards noted that "the two sectors of the economy hit hardest by COVID related to oil and gas because the demand fell so much for those products, and then to tourism because people stopped traveling."

PHOTO: A sign at a counter in Cowbell restaurant on Aug. 6, 2021 in New Orleans, 2021, informs customers that they can eat indoors if they have proof of vaccination against COVID-19.
A sign at a counter in Cowbell restaurant on Aug. 6, 2021 in New Orleans, 2021, informs customers that they can eat indoors if they have proof of vaccination against COVID-19. The eatery is among the first in New Orleans to require proof of vaccination against COVID-19 for indoor diners.
Kevin Mcgill/AP

"This is a very serious blow. But we believe and hope that this is going to be a relatively temporary change, not unlike the one that we had last March, and that sometime over the next several weeks, we will get past this surge and then continue to get people vaccinated and that the confidence will increase," he said.

Aug 09, 2021, 10:16 AM EDT

10 kids among 78 new COVID-19 patients admitted to Florida hospital

Ten children were among the 78 new COVID-19 patients admitted to Baptist Health in Jacksonville, Florida, on Sunday, the hospital said.

The hospital has 584 COVID-19 patients as of Monday. Twenty-one of those patients are children, including six kids who are in intensive care, the hospital said.

-ABC News' Alexandra Faul

Aug 09, 2021, 8:31 AM EDT

Canada opens back up to American tourists

Monday marks the first day Canada is reopening to American visitors since the COVID-19 shutdown.

Tourists must provide proof of vaccination and a negative test.

Travelers line up to enter Canada after border restrictions were loosened to allow fully vaccinated U.S. residents,following an unprecedented 16-month ban due to COVID-19, at the Thousand Islands Bridge crossing in Lansdowne, Ontario, Canada, Aug 9, 2021.
Travelers line up to enter Canada after border restrictions were loosened to allow fully vaccinated U.S. residents, following an unprecedented 16-month ban due to COVID-19, at the Thousand Islands Bridge crossing in Lansdowne, Ontario, Canada, Aug 9, 2021.
Alex Filipe/Reuters

Fifteen million Americans visited Canada in 2019, according to the government agency Destination Canada. The number of travelers dropped to 1.9 million in 2020, with the Canadian economy losing $11 billion in the process, according to Destination Canada.

Aug 09, 2021, 7:55 AM EDT

5-point strategy to get kids back to school safely

Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, told "Good Morning America" Monday that he has a five-point strategy to get kids back to school safely: 

  1. Vaccinated everyone who is able to get vaccinated
  2. Upgrade ventilation in schools
  3. Test in schools
  4. Wear masks
  5. Avoid super-crowded events like assemblies
PHOTO: A student colors in a book at Tussahaw Elementary school on Aug. 4, 2021, in McDonough, Ga.
A student colors in a book at Tussahaw Elementary school on Aug. 4, 2021, in McDonough, Ga. Schools have begun reopening in the U.S. with most states leaving it up to local schools to decide whether to require masks.
Brynn Anderson/AP

When asked if the latest surge has peaked, Jha said, "We're hopeful, but we don’t know."

"The numbers are still increasing across much of the country. There are a few states that look like they may be turning" like Louisiana, he said.

-ABC News' Alexandra Faul