Jesse Jackson, wife hospitalized with COVID-19

The civil rights pioneer was vaccinated in January.

Last Updated: August 21, 2021, 7:56 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.

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Here's how the news is developing today. All times Eastern.
Aug 21, 2021, 7:56 PM EDT

Jesse Jackson hospitalized with COVID

Civil rights pioneer Jesse Jackson Sr. and his wife have been hospitalized after testing positive for COVID-19.

The 79-year-old and his wife, 77-year-old Jacqueline Jackson, are both being treated at Northwestern Hospital in Chicago, according to a statement from the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the nonprofit he founded in 1996. The statement said doctors were "monitoring the condition of both," but provided no further details.

Jackson was inoculated against the virus in January with the Pfizer vaccine. He also spent three weeks in a rehab center in February and March after gallbladder surgery.

The former Washington, D.C., shadow senator has been a prominent civil rights activist for 60 years, first joining forces with Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1960s and working with King's Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

PHOTO: Civil Rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson addresses hundreds of fellow protesters on Capitol Hill to demand stronger voting rights, an end to the filibuster, immigration reform, a $15 minimum wage on Aug. 2, 2021, in Washington, D.C.
Civil Rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson addresses hundreds of fellow protesters before they march on Capitol Hill to demand stronger voting rights, an end to the filibuster, immigration reform, a $15 minimum wage and other progressive policies at Columbus Circle on Aug. 2, 2021, in Washington, D.C.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images, FILE

Jackson also ran for president in 1984 and 1988.

The activist was arrested earlier this month as part of a group in Washington, D.C., protesting restrictive voting rights being implemented in many states, including Georgia and Texas. One week earlier, he'd been arrested as part of a large group during a sit-in at Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema's office.

Aug 21, 2021, 11:21 AM EDT

US sees 3rd straight day of 1M doses 

The U.S. reported over 1 million COVID-19 vaccine doses administered for the third straight day, according to a White House official.

There were more than 1.05 million doses administered Friday, including 526,000 newly vaccinated, White House COVID-19 data director Cyrus Shahpar said on Twitter. 

Nationwide, 60% of people ages 12 and up are now fully vaccinated, he said.

Aug 20, 2021, 4:47 PM EDT

Orlando residents asked to limit water usage with liquid oxygen in short supply

A Florida utility company asked Orlando residents to limit their water usage as liquid oxygen, which is used to treat COVID patients as well as help purify and clean water, is in short supply amid record COVID-19 hospitalizations.

Orlando Utilities Commission asked residents to limit watering their lawns "immediately" in a statement posted to Twitter Friday afternoon.

"A regional shortage of liquid oxygen linked to the surge of COVID-19 hospitalizations is impacting OUC's ability to treat drinking water," the company said.

The company said it needs to conserve up to half the water used daily until supplies return to normal while asking people to limit their non-critical water usage for at least two weeks. 

"If OUC's liquid oxygen supplies continue to be depleted and water usage isn't reduced, water quality may be impacted," the company said in an update on its website.

OUC provides water service to about 140,000 customers, according to Orlando ABC affiliate WFTV.

The Florida Hospital Association reported a record 16,973 COVID-19 hospitalizations on Thursday. More than half of adults in intensive care units have COVID-19, it said.

Aug 20, 2021, 3:54 PM EDT

US sees highest daily case total in nearly 7 months 

The U.S. reported the highest single-day COVID-19 case total in nearly seven months overnight, with just under 158,000 new cases, according to federal data. 

The daily case average in the U.S. has surged to approximately 133,000 a day, up by nearly 14% in the last week and more than 1,040% in the last two months, an ABC News analysis of data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found.

The South has the highest case rates in the country, led by Mississippi and followed by Louisiana, Florida, Arkansas, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama.

The national case total now stands at nearly 37.3 million, which means one in approximately every eight Americans has tested positive for the virus.

The U.S. is also experiencing its steepest increases in COVID-19-related hospitalizations since the winter of 2020. More than 93,000 patients are now hospitalized across the country with COVID-19, according to federal data. 

The country's average daily COVID-19 deaths stands at 640, an increase of 233% in the last six weeks and the highest in four months.

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos

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