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, 2:08 PM EDT

Florida superintendent refuses to allow mask opt-out required by health department

The superintendent of schools in Leon County, Florida, which includes Tallahassee, announced Monday that parents cannot opt their kids out of wearing masks when the school year begins Wednesday.

"The goal is to keep our children out of the hospital," superintendent Rocky Hanna said. "Why would you not air on the side of caution?"

An emergency order by the Florida Department of Health over the weekend allows districts to let parents opt out of mask mandates without giving a reason.

By defying state rules, Hanna risks consequences from the state. Gov. Ron DeSantis' executive order on July 30 gave the education commissioner the right to pull funds from schools that fail to protect "parents' rights ... to make healthcare decisions for their minor children."

Hanna issued sharp words about any attempt to deny money for his school district."Any time you take money away from schools, you hurt children," he said.

DeSantis' press secretary, Christina Pushaw, told ABC News after Hanna's announcement that the financial consequences of such a breach of state rules would likely mean withholding the salary of the superintendent or school board members -- not money from kids.

-ABC News' Will McDuffie

Aug 09, 2021, 1:08 PM EDT

Pentagon to require vaccine for military

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will request approval that the COVID-19 vaccine become mandatory for all U.S. military service members by mid-September, a U.S. official confirmed.

-ABC News' Luiz Martinez

Aug 09, 2021, 12:49 PM EDT

France's COVID health pass in effect

Starting Monday, France's residents and visitors must show a "Pass Sanitaire" -- or COVID health pass -- that gives the individual's vaccination status or negative test result. The pass is needed for long-distance travel by plane or train and to get into businesses including restaurants, malls and retirement homes.

A waiter checks a customer's COVID-19 health pass on a mobile phone at the entrance of a restaurant in Strasbourg, eastern France, on Aug. 9, 2021, the first day the pass is compulsory to access most public spaces or travel on an inter-city train.
Frederick Florin/AFP via Getty Images

The passes can be digital or in paper form. It's not required for kids under 12, but after Aug. 30, it will be required for those children ages 12 to 17.

-ABC News' Christine Theodorou

Aug 09, 2021, 11:57 AM EDT

72% of US counties reporting high community transmission

Across the U.S., 72.48% of counties are reporting high community transmission and 16.55% are reporting substantial community transmission, according to federal data. Less than 5% of counties are reporting low transmission.

Louisiana has the nation's highest case rate, followed by Florida, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Oklahoma, Missouri, Georgia and Tennessee, according to federal data.

Dr. Robert Peltier, the chief medical officer for North Oaks Health System, poses for a portrait as cases of COVID-19 surge in Hammond, Louisiana, Aug. 5, 2021.
Callaghan O'hare/Reuters

Nationally, the average number of new COVID-19 hospital admissions has surged to nearly 8,500 per day, up 306% in the last month, according to federal data.

In Mississippi, hospital admissions are up 375% in the last month, with only 35% of the state's total population fully vaccinated, according to federal data.

Hospital admissions in Arkansas jumped 158% in the last month.

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos