>> yeah. well, i'm going to take you to my hometown, as you know, baton rouge, louisiana. and you spoke to the governor, earlier. >> cases are up over 120%. >> man, oh man, oh man. you should have heard the conversations in my house, when my family visited back in july about what's going on there. and then, even now, over the phone and via text. >> number one in vaccinations, though, in the last week. number one. >> yeah. well, let's hope it stays that way. let's hope it keeps going in that direction. again, this is not political. this is about saving lives. keeping people healthy. i'm going to get to it. i will see you later, my friend. >> i love you, d lemon. >> love you, too. >> thank you very much. this is "don lemon tonight." and look. look. a lot of news about covid. it -- it is, really, unnerving. and this is not hyperbole. i am not trying to scare you. i'm just being real with you. a lot of you are worried about this delta variant, as you should be. worried about having to wear masks, again. worried that cases are on the rise. the average-daily count, up 44%