Jesse Jackson, wife hospitalized with COVID-19

The civil rights pioneer was vaccinated in January.

ByEmily Shapiro, Julia Jacobo, Morgan Winsor, Erin Schumaker, and Meredith Deliso
Last Updated: August 17, 2021, 4:13 PM EDT

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

More than 628,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 while over 4.4 million people have died from the disease worldwide, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

Just 59.9% 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 17, 2021, 4:08 PM EDT

Mask mandate for US travel extended into January

The mask mandate for travelers on planes, trains and buses will be extended into January, according to a Department of Homeland Security source.

-ABC News' Sam Sweeney

Aug 17, 2021, 3:44 PM EDT

Most Florida hospitals expect 'critical staff shortages'

Three out of every four Florida hospitals "expect to face critical staff shortages" in the next week as hospitalizations likely continue to rise, Florida Hospital Association President and CEO Mary Mayhew said in a statement Tuesday.

"Half of our hospitals will no longer accept transfer patients from other facilities," Mayhew added.

Hard-hit Florida currently has 16,521 COVID-19 patients in hospitals and just 14.2% of hospital beds available, according to federal data.

-ABC News' Brian Hartman

Aug 17, 2021, 3:23 PM EDT

Alabama ICUs 99% full 

Five states have intensive care units over 90% full: Alabama (99.31%), Florida (91.63%), Georgia (91.03%), Mississippi (91.26%) and Texas (91.38%), according to federal data.

Medical professionals examine a portable defibrillator while familiarizing themselves with a COVID-19 mobile field hospital erected in a parking garage at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Miss., Aug. 12, 2021.
Rogelio V. Solis/AP

Nationally, about 75% of adult ICU beds are occupied.

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

As of Tuesday morning, more than 88,000 Americans were hospitalized with COVID-19, marking the highest number since Feb. 1, according to federal data.

Medics transfer a patient on a stretcher from an ambulance outside of Emergency at Coral Gables Hospital where Coronavirus patients are treated in Coral Gables, Fla., on Aug. 16, 2021.
Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images

The U.S. is recording about 500 COVID-19 deaths per day, which is nearly a 131% jump in the last month.

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos

Aug 17, 2021, 2:53 PM EDT

Cases among Kentucky kids jump 400% in 1 month

COVID-19 cases among Kentucky children jumped 400% in the last month as a record number of kids have been admitted to hospitals, Gov. Andy Beshear announced Tuesday.

Wild Health nurses work while students and school faculty wait during a COVID-19 testing day at Brandeis Elementary School, Aug. 17, 2021, in Louisville, Kentucky.
Jon Cherry/Getty Images

"Kentucky’s case numbers and positivity rate have continued to rise rapidly after record lows for the past year were recorded for both metrics in June," the governor's office said.

Kentucky's positivity rate stands at 12.4%.

As of Sunday, there were only 17 Kentucky counties where at least 50% of residents had at least one vaccine dose, the governor's office said.

Related Topics