Across US, virus cases double in 3 weeks
Heather Hollingsworth
The Associated Press
The COVID-19 curve in the U.S. is rising again after months of decline, with the number of new cases per day doubling over the past three weeks, driven by the fast-spreading delta variant, lagging vaccination rates and Fourth of July gatherings.
Confirmed infections climbed to an average of about 23,600 a day on Monday, up from 11,300 on June 23, according to Johns Hopkins University data. And all but two states Maine and South Dakota reported that case numbers have gone up over the past two weeks.
“It is certainly no coincidence that we are looking at exactly the time that we would expect cases to be occurring after the July Fourth weekend,” said Dr. Bill Powderly, co-director of the infectious-disease division at Washington University’s School of Medicine in St. Louis.
The COVID-19 curve in the US is rising again after months of decline, with the number of new cases per day doubling over the past three weeks, driven by the fast-spreading delta variant, lagging vaccination rates and Fourth of July gatherings. Confirmed infections climbed to an average of about 23,600 a day on Monday, up from 11,300 on June 23, according to Johns Hopkins University data. And all but two states Maine and South Dakota reported that case numbers have gone up over the past two weeks. It is certainly no coincidence that we are looking at exactly the time that we would expect cases to be occurring after the July Fourth weekend, said Dr. Bill Powderly, co-director of the infectious-disease division at Washington University s School of Medicine in St. Louis.
US Virus Cases Rising Again, Doubling Over Three Weeks
Voice of America
14 Jul 2021, 10:35 GMT+10
The COVID-19 curve in the U.S. is rising again after months of decline, with the number of new cases per day doubling over the past three weeks, driven by the fast-spreading delta variant, lagging vaccination rates and Fourth of July gatherings.
Confirmed infections climbed to an average of about 23,600 a day on Monday, up from 11,300 on June 23, according to Johns Hopkins University data. And all but two states - Maine and South Dakota - reported that case numbers have gone up over the past two weeks.
Nationally, 55.6% of all Americans have received at least one COVID-19 shot, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The five states with the biggest two-week jump in cases per capita all had lower vaccination rates: Missouri, 45.9%; Arkansas, 43%; Nevada, 50.9%; Louisiana, 39.2%; and Utah, 49.5%.
Even with the latest surge, cases in the U.S. are nowhere near their peak of a quarter-million per day in January. And deaths are running at under 260 per day on average after topping out at more than 3,400 over the winter a testament to how effectively the vaccine can prevent serious illness and death in those who happen to become infected.
This is now a pandemic of the unvaccinated : COVID cases surge in 43 states amid rise in Indian Delta variant as CDC says number of new infections has doubled nationally in the past three weeks
Health experts warn that the worrying increase in cases is linked to the Delta variant, which accounts for as many 97 percent of infections in some states
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data show that the Delta variant, also known as B.1.617.2, makes up 51.7 percent of new infections
In the United States, 59 percent of adults are fully vaccinated while 68 percent have at least one shot
Dr. Chris Pernell, a fellow at the American College of Preventative Medicine, called it a pandemic of the unvaccinated in an interview on Tuesday