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 12, 2021, 4:05 PM EDT

Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi reporting most cases ever

As the delta variant surges throughout the U.S., states including Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana and Mississippi are now averaging more daily cases than at any point in the pandemic.

Overnight, the U.S. recorded its highest single-day total since January, with over 130,000 new cases, according to federal data.

About 91% of counties in the nation now have high or substantial community transmission.

Nearly 9,700 patients are being admitted to hospitals each day, up by 31.3% in the last week and marking the highest number of patients seeking care since February, federal data shows.

As of Aug. 7, Americans between the ages of 18 and 49 made up more than 40% of COVID-19 patients in hospitals.

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos

Aug 12, 2021, 3:02 PM EDT

San Francisco announces vaccine requirement for patrons, staff

Proof of vaccination will soon be required for patrons and staff at San Francisco's bars, restaurants, clubs and gyms, Mayor London Breed announced. Patrons must be vaccinated as of Aug. 20 and staff by Oct. 13.

A bartender wearing a protective mask serves drinks in a bar in San Francisco, May 6, 2021.
Bloomberg via Getty Images, FILE

Vaccines will also be required for certain health care providers, including workers at adult day centers, residential care facilities, dental offices, home health aides and pharmacists. This goes into effect Oct. 13.

San Francisco already has a 71% vaccination rate, according to government data.

Aug 12, 2021, 2:29 PM EDT

Biden says he stands with officials defying state mandates barring masks in schools

President Joe Biden said he stands with the local leaders in Texas and Florida who are implementing masks in classrooms despite orders from their governors banning mask mandates in schools.

President Joe Biden speaks about prescription drug prices and his "Build Back Better" agenda from the East Room of the White House, Aug. 12, 2021.
Evan Vucci/AP

"To the mayors, school superintendents, educators, local leaders, who are standing up to the governors politicizing mask protection for our kids, thank you," he said Thursday. "Thank God that we have heroes like you. And I stand with you all, and America should as well."

Biden said "there are a lot of people" trying to turn masks in schools into a "political dispute," but that these protections are about "keeping children safe" and "isn’t about politics."

-ABC News' Justin Ryan Gomez

Aug 12, 2021, 2:04 PM EDT

Florida has more cases than 30 states combined

In the last week, "Florida has had more COVID-19 cases than all 30 states with the lowest case rates combined," White House COVID coordinator Jeff Zients said at Thursday's White House briefing.

PHOTO: A healthcare worker administers a dose of a Covid-19 vaccine during an event hosted by the Miami Heat at the FTX Arena in Miami, Aug. 5, 2021.
A healthcare worker administers a dose of a Covid-19 vaccine during an event hosted by the Miami Heat at the FTX Arena in Miami, Aug. 5, 2021.
Bloomberg via Getty Images

People wearing facemasks enter a COVID-19 testing site at Orlando International Airport in Orlando, Fla., Aug. 6, 2021.
SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

He added, "Florida and Texas alone have accounted for nearly 40% of new hospitalizations across the country."

Elizabeth Gonzales comforts her 14-year-old daughter, Cerena, as she recoveres from being put on a ventilator in the pediatric intensive care unit of the Children's Hospital of San Antonio, Texas, Aug. 10, 2021.
Meridith Kohut/The New York Times via Redux

But the surge is driving up vaccinations and he said the most significant vaccine progress is in states with the most COVID-19 cases.

"In the past month, we've nearly tripled the average number of shots each day in Arkansas and quadrupled in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi," Zients said. 

-ABC News' Cheyenne Haslett