Passengers wait in a long line to get a COVID-19 test to travel overseas at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Friday, Aug. 6, 2021, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Recent flight cancelations caused many passengers to redo their tests while others were unable to get the test locally due to long lines caused by the surge of the Delta variant. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
Marta Lavandier / AP
Marta Lavandier / AP
Passengers wait in a long line to get a COVID-19 test to travel overseas at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Friday, Aug. 6, 2021, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Recent flight cancelations caused many passengers to redo their tests while others were unable to get the test locally due to long lines caused by the surge of the Delta variant. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
The seven-day average for new daily COVID-19 infections has surpassed 100,000 in the U.S., returning to levels not seen since the winter surge.
Cases and hospitalizations have skyrocketed in the last month, driven by the highly contagious delta variant.
The country was averaging about 11,000 cases a day in late June.
Now the number is over 107,000.
The virus is spreading quickly through unvaccinated populations, especially in the Deep South. Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi have had hospitals overrun with patients.
The U.S. first crossed the 100,000 average number in November and peaked at about 250,000 in early January before bottoming out in late June.
Get insights into WITF’s newsroom and an invitation to join in the pursuit of trustworthy journalism.
