PandemicPreparedness

CDC is reporting at least 34.3 million cases and 608,403 fatalities. All 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic of Marshall Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands have recorded cases.

Vaccination campaigns are underway. For individual state COVID-19 updates see CDC COVID-19 Vaccinations in the United States and click on the state.

Status: Increasing Activity

More information: US CDC COVID-19 Updates; US CDC COVIDView (weekly surveillance summary of COVID-19 activity); US CDC State & Territorial Health Department Websites, US CDC Vaccine Tracker, US CDC COVID cases caused by variants.

31 July: Cases in Florida have increased by over 50% in the last week and are now back to where they were in January.

26 July: The United States continues to see a rise in COVID-19 cases, hospitalisations, and deaths. The Delta variant is now responsible for more than 8 in 10 U.S. cases. CDC report “35% of U.S. counties are experiencing high levels of community transmission. COVID-19 cases are on the rise in nearly 90% of U.S. jurisdictions, and we are seeing outbreaks in parts of the country that have low vaccination coverage.” Health officials have concerns that an increase in cases will put more strain on healthcare resources and more opportunities for the virus to mutate.

20 July: Over the past 2 weeks Covid-19 cases have risen over 100%. Hospitalisations and deaths have also increased by over 30%. As cases rise, recommendations and mandates for masks are being initiated. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) have updated its recommendations for the 2021-22 school year - advising masks for everyone older than 2 years regardless of vaccination status. In California, Sacramento County, health officials are advising people to wear masks indoors regardless of vaccination status.

19 July: As millions of people remain unvaccinated. and as the more transmissible Delta variant continues to spread, COVID-19 infections are rising in many states. Over the past week hotspots include the states of Nevada, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Florida and the Virgin Islands. Covid-19 hospitalisations are also increasing in parts of the U.S., the majority hospitalised are reported to be unvaccinated. Some hospitals are reactivating surge plans used in the peak of the pandemic.

CDC report “The current 7-day moving average of daily new cases (26,306) increased 69.3% compared with the previous 7-day moving average (15,541). The current 7-day moving average is 89.6% lower than the peak observed on January 10, 2021 (251,880) and is 129.3% higher than the lowest value observed on June 20, 2021 (11,472). […]”

In Los Angeles County, a new indoor mask mandate will go into effect, for everyone — vaccinated or not. This is due to the county recording over 1000 new cases for 7 days in a row.

16 July: The 7-day average of new cases has increased by nearly 70 from last week, with hospitalisations rising more than 35 percent. Nearly all the activity is occurring in places where vaccination rates are low, especially in Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Missouri and Nevada. The head of the CDC, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, said, "There is a clear message that is coming through: This is becoming a pandemic of the unvaccinated." Earlier this week, the US Surgeon General issued a warning about the dangers of misinformation during the pandemic, particularly around vaccines.

12 July: There has been a spike in new COVID-19 cases and deaths. Some states have reported an increase in COVID-19 positivity rates as the highly transmissible B.1.617.2 (Delta) variant continues to spread across the U.S. Early data suggest the delta variant is the most dominant form of the coronavirus spreading in the U.S. This has complicated some state plans to remove mask mandates. CDC report "The current 7-day moving average of daily new cases (14,885) increased 16.0% compared with the previous 7-day moving average (12,832). Compared with the highest peak on January 10, 2021 (251,897), the current 7-day average decreased 94.1% [...]."

In their new guidelines for schools, CDC advise that if students are fully vaccinated they should have the option not to wear a mask. States will adopt their own policy on mask wearing.

5 July: COVID-19 cases are increasing in some parts of the country, and on June 23, the US exceeded 600,000 total deaths from the virus. To date, there have been 33,530,880 COVID-19 infections since the pandemic began. As of 2 July, CDC report “The current 7-day moving average of daily new cases (12,514) increased 9.1% compared with the previous 7-day moving average (11,472). Compared with the highest peak on January 10, 2021 (252,905), the current 7-day average decreased 95.0%.[…]”

The emergence and spread of variants could potentially slow. On June 15, 2021, CDC announced classification of the SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.617.2 (Delta) as a variant of concern because it spreads more easily. Health experts warn low vaccination rates pose a risk in some areas as the Delta variant is now detected in all 50 U.S. states and Washington, DC.

See June news here