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

Arkansas saw its highest number of people hospitalized with the coronavirus since the pandemic began, according to state health data.

The number of hospitalizations rose by 103, its biggest one-day increase, to 1,376, which is five hospitalizations higher than the previous record set in January, the state health data showed.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson tweeted that only eight ICU beds remained in the entire state. He encouraged more people to get a vaccine.

As of Monday, 49.3% of eligible residents in Arkansas have received one vaccine shot, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced Monday that he has ordered that all state employees must be vaccinated or face termination.

Inslee cited increased hospitalizations and cases throughout the state, which have mostly affected the unvaccinated, as the factor for his executive order.

"We do so to protect our vulnerable communities, to prevent further calamity to our state and to be further on the path to recovery," he said at a news conference.

The deadline for the vaccine mandate is Oct. 18. Inslee's executive order does provide medical and religious exemptions.

As of Aug. 2, 69.6% of Washingtonians 12 and older have received at least one dose of a vaccine, according to the state's health department.

"We need more people to roll up their sleeves," Inslee said.

In Louisiana, there are "major concerns about potential massive influx of patients" and significant staffing shortages, according to a Department of Health and Human Services planning document.

American Medical Response, a private ambulance company, sent 50 paramedics and 25 trucks to the hard-hit state on Friday, the document said.

A 13-person team from the Public Health Service Commissioner Corps is headed to Hammond, Louisiana, on Monday and a 14-person team is headed to Children's Hospital New Orleans, the document said.

Louisiana has also requested support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for entry screenings at colleges and universities.

-ABC News' Brian Hartman

Pediatric COVID-19-related hospital admissions in the U.S. have now seen their steepest and most significant increase since the onset of the pandemic, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The hospital rate is now equal to the highest point of the pandemic (January 2021).

Florida has the highest number of COVID-19-related pediatric hospitalizations, with 179 patients receiving care, according to federal data. Texas follows closely behind with 161 confirmed pediatric patients.

Severe illness due to COVID-19 remains "uncommon" among children, according to a weekly report from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Children’s Hospital Association (CHA). However, the two organizations warned that there is an urgent need to collect more data on long-term impacts of the pandemic on children, "including ways the virus may harm the long-term physical health of infected children, as well as its emotional and mental health effects."

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos