Nearly 600 patients wait for hospital beds in Houston as city sees surge in COVID cases
According to the CDC, 46% of Texans have been fully vaccinated.
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.
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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.
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
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.
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.
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
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.
Daily case average has skyrocketed nearly 884% since mid-June
The daily case average in the U.S. has surged to about 114,000, skyrocketing nearly 884% since mid-June, according to federal data.
Several states, including Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana and Mississippi, are now experiencing their worst surge yet, averaging more daily cases than at any point in the pandemic, according to federal data. New York City's case average is now nearly five times higher than it was one month ago.
And more people are dying every day.
The nation's daily death average has now climbed to nearly 500, a 183% jump in the last month. Seven weeks ago, daily deaths were at their lowest point since late March 2020.
-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos