A child under the age of 5 has died from COVID-19 in Orange County, California, the OC Health Care Agency said. Additional information about the child wasn't released.

"This is an urgent reminder that we must do everything we can to protect our little ones, the children and infants in our community who are not yet eligible for a vaccination," HCA director and county health officer Dr. Clayton Chau said in a statement.

The daily death average in the U.S. has climbed to about 1,100, which is a 65.5% jump in the last month, according to federal data.

The daily case average in the U.S. is around 140,000, which is nearly four times higher than it was one year ago, according to federal data.

South Carolina and Kentucky have the highest case rate in the nation, followed by West Virginia, Wyoming, Alaska, Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi, according to federal data.

But some states are seeing progress. In Florida, daily cases are down by about 33% in the last two weeks.

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' school mask mandate ban was reinstated by an appeals court Friday.

This overrules a Tallahassee judge's decision on Wednesday to lift the stay, preventing the state from enforcing the ban. (The appeals court still needs to rule on the legality of the order, but the reinstatement of the stay means that until then, the state can continue sanctioning school districts.)

DeSantis responded on Twitter, "I will continue to fight for parents’ rights."

DeSantis has struggled to rein in the state's largest school systems as they implement mask mandates in defiance of state law. At least 13 districts, including Florida's six largest, have mask requirements in place. The Florida Department of Education has threatened to withhold the salaries of school board members in most of these districts and has begun doing so in at least two cases.

-ABC News' Will McDuffie

In hard-hit Kentucky, over 300 more National Guard members will be sent to help at 21 strained hospitals, Gov. Andy Beshear said.

Kentucky's positivity rate was above 14% Thursday as the state set new records for hospitalizations and patients on ventilators, the governor said.

"In the past month, ventilator use at hospitals has nearly tripled due to the surge from the delta variant," Beshear tweeted. "Our hospital situation has never been more dire in my lifetime than it is right now. We cannot handle more sick individuals."

-ABC News' Will Gretsky

President Joe Biden addressed the millions of Americans who have not yet been vaccinated against COVID-19 while outlining his new six-part strategy to combat the delta variant.

"My message to unvaccinated Americans is this: What more is there to wait for? What more do you need to see?" Biden said during remarks from the White House Thursday evening. "We've made vaccinations free, safe and convenient. The vaccine has FDA approval. Over 200 million Americans have gotten at least one shot. We’ve been patient, but our patience is wearing thin. And your refusal has cost all of us. So, please, do the right thing."

The White House plan includes a requirement that all federal government employees and contractors be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The Department of Labor is also developing an emergency rule for businesses with 100 or more employees to require that their workers be vaccinated or undergo testing at least once a week.

The measures "are going to take time to have full impact," Biden said. "But if we implement them, I believe and the scientists indicate, that the months ahead we can reduce the number of unvaccinated Americans, decrease hospitalizations and deaths and allow our children to go to school safely and keep our economy strong by keeping businesses open."

"The time for waiting is over," he said.