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 10, 2021, 12:20 PM EDT

Florida, Louisiana, Arkansas, Alabama leading nation in cases

Florida currently has the nation's highest COVID-19 case rate, followed by Louisiana, Arkansas, Alabama, Missouri, Mississippi and Texas, according to federal data.

Across the country, 90% of counties -- home to 98% of the U.S. population -- have reported high (a seven-day new case rate ≥100) or substantial (a seven-day new case rate between 50-99.99) community transmission in the last week.

Floyd Talley prepares to administer a COVID-19 test at Floyd's Family Pharmacy as cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) surge in Ponchatoula, Louisiana, Aug. 5, 2021.
Callaghan O'Hare/Reuters

According to federal data, these states have high or substantial transmission in every county: Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos

Aug 10, 2021, 11:04 AM EDT

New Americans getting vaccinated at the highest rate in over 2 months

New Americans are getting vaccinated at the highest rate in over two months, White House COVID-19 data director Cyrus Shahpar tweeted.

There are currently 166,524,108 Americans ages 12 and up who are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.

Aug 10, 2021, 10:44 AM EDT

US hospitalizations could quadruple by Labor Day

More than 8,300 Americans are currently being admitted to hospitals each day for COVID-19.

The COVID19 Forecast Hub at U Mass Amherst, used by the CDC, predicts that hospital admissions could skyrocket to as high as 33,300 per day by Sept. 4.

A construction crew works to set up tents that hospital officials plan to use with an overflow of COVID-19 patients outside of Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital, Aug. 9, 2021, in Houston.
Godofredo A. Vasquez/Houston Chronicle via AP

Even the lowest end of the forecast -- 9,600 hospital admissions per day -- is much higher than where we are now. 

-ABC News' Brian Hartman

Aug 10, 2021, 8:59 AM EDT

Dallas, Austin school districts to require masks

The Dallas Independent School District, the second largest in Texas, said it's temporarily requiring face masks for all students, staff and visitors as of Tuesday.

It's not clear how long the mask mandate will last.

In the Austin Independent School District, students, staff and visitors must wear face masks beginning Wednesday.

This comes after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott imposed a ban on mask mandates.

In Houston, Texas' biggest school district, the board of education will vote this week on a proposed mask requirement, according to ABC Dallas affiliate WFAA.