Delta spreading fast as new crown outbreak rebounds in 48 U.S. states

With the rapid spread of the more contagious Delta variant of New Coronavirus, nearly every state in the country has seen a dramatic rebound in new cases of the virus over the past two weeks, with areas with low vaccination rates being hit hardest, including 15 states that have seen new cases double.

According to Johns Hopkins University, the U.S. is now recording an average of more than 23,000 new cases of NIV per day, the highest since the end of May and twice the seven-day average of about 11,300 cases three weeks ago.

The Wall Street Journal and Associated Press reported that of the 50 states, 48 states and the District of Columbia, with the exception of Maine and South Dakota, have reported an increase in new cases over the past two weeks.

In Mississippi, the state with the second lowest vaccination rate in the country, where only 33.4 percent of residents are fully vaccinated, the average daily number of new cases has now increased from 192 on June 28 to 303 on July 12, a 57 percent increase, and hospitalizations increased 65 percent between July 4 and 11. In neighboring Louisiana, where the state has a full vaccination rate of only 35.8%, new cases of infection increased 115%, soaring from 389 to 840 during the same period.

Other southern states, including Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama and South Carolina, have also seen new cases more than double in the past two weeks.

States with high vaccination rates, such as California, Illinois, New York and Vermont, have also seen an increase in infections. Los Angeles County, California, recorded four consecutive days of more than 1,000 new daily cases for the first time since March on July 12. The most populous county in California recorded an average of 851 new cases per day on July 12, a 228 percent increase from the average of the previous two weeks.

With the rapid spread of the more contagious Delta variant of New Guinea virus, nearly every state in the nation has seen a significant rebound in new cases of the virus over the past two weeks, with areas with low vaccination rates being hit hardest, including 15 states that have seen new cases double.

Health experts blame the rebound on the rapid spread of the Indian Delta variant in the U.S., with as many as 97 percent of new cases in some states being infected with the Delta strain, and the easing of precautionary measures, such as no longer mandating masks and increased outdoor activity in the summer but no longer requiring social distancing.

CDC data show that 58.8 percent (or 152 million) of adults nationwide are fully vaccinated, but the rate of vaccination has slowed considerably, from an average of more than 4 million per day for seven days in April to a dramatic drop to about 420,000 on July 7.