The United States of America is experiencing a steep rise in COVID-19 numbers this summer as the more contagious delta variant spreads fast. On Sunday, the US reported 100,000 cases for the fourth straight day, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Currently, the country is averaging more than 99,000 daily cases, CDC data showed.

After the virus began to spread its roots in the States, it took nine months to reach 100,000 new cases per day and then the country started recording around 250,000 new cases per day in January 2021. After the COVID-19 vaccines hit the market, there was a drop in numbers as in June 2021, the US averaged about 11,000 per day.

However, now, the delta variant is making up about 80% of new cases. This has got the experts worries s they are urging the unvaccinated to get the shot so that they have a chance at stemming the spread of the virus.

“Our models show that if we don’t (vaccinate people), we could be up to several hundred thousand cases a day, similar to our surge in early January,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky told CNN. 

More than 615,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 and over 4.2 million people have died worldwide, data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University showed.

According to another data from CDC, just 58.4% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated.

With the rise in COVID cases, hospitalisations and deaths are also increasing. More than 44,000 Americans are currently in a hospital with COVID-19, according to the CDC. This number is up 30% in a week and nearly four times the number in June.

According to Johns Hopkins University, the seven-day average for deaths shot up to about 270 deaths per day two weeks ago to nearly 500 per day as of Friday.

In January, near about 3,500 deaths were recorded per day.