Hospitalisation rate and cases of COVID-19 in the United States are at a six-month high mainly due to the surged spread of coronavirus’ Delta variant and the country’s vaccination rates that have significantly slowed down since July, 2021.

Nationwide, COVID-19 cases have averaged 100,000 for three days in a row, up 35% over the past week, according to a Reuters tally of public health data. The surge of the disease was strongest in Louisiana, Florida and Arkansas.

Hospitalizations rose 40% and deaths, a lagging indicator, registered an 18% uptick in the past week with the most fatalities by population in Arkansas.

The intensifying spread of the pandemic has led to cancellation of some large high-profile events. One notable exception is an annual motorcycle rally in South Dakota which has been proceeding as planned.

A report earlier this week said that ICU beds in Austin, Texas have been reduced to single digits. As per stealth data, the Austin area is equipped with merely 6 ICU beds and 313 ventilators, with a population of approximately 2.4 million.

Last week, the country’s seven-day average of daily cases reached nearly 95,000, a five-fold increase in less than a month, Reuters data showed. California, New York and Virginia have mandated vaccinations or weekly testing for state employees, as well as several other prominent cities in the United States.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has asked kindergarten through 12th-grade students and staff to wear masks indoors regardless of vaccination status when public schools open, as the Delta variant of coronavirus increasingly threatens Americans.

Due to the increasing COVID-19 cases in the United States, the country’s second-biggest teachers’ union rolled back its stance on mandating COVID-19 vaccines for teachers citing the health of the students who are below the vaccination age limit. “The circumstances have changed”, President of the America Federation of Teachers Randi Weingarten said in an interview.