Topline
Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health on Sunday, became the latest public-health official to predict that the U.S. would break the 200,000 daily coronavirus case numbers last seen in January. He also warned Americans who aren't vaccinated against the highly infectious Delta variant.
WASHINGTON, DC, JULY 2, 2019: National Health Institute Director Francis S. Collins holds an example of a... [+] Coronavirus, during his testimony at the Senate Labor, Health and Human Services Subcommittee hearing about manufacturing a Coronavirus vaccine in Washington, DC on July 2, 2020. (Photo by Graeme Jennings -Pool/Getty Images). Getty Images
The Key Facts
Fox News Sunday's Collins stated that the virus's latest surge is moving very rapidly upward and that there are no signs that it has peaked. He also said that he would be surprised if the U.S. does not surpass 200,000 cases per day in the next few weeks. Collins also highlighted the danger that the virus poses for 90 million Americans unvaccinated. He said on Fox News Sunday that the latest surge of the virus is going very steeply upward with no signs of having peaked. Tom Frieden, former head of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, also predicted the U.S. would surpass 200,000 daily cases. The U.S. was close to surpassing that number on July 30 when it reached 194,608 cases, the highest number since Jan. 16's winter surge. In a Meet The Press interview, Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, at the University of Minnesota, said that the virus's latest surge could last for up to six more weeks.
Big Number
113% According to the New York Times data, this is the rise in coronavirus-related deaths in the past two weeks. There has been a 65% rise in cases and 69% more hospitalizations in the last week.
Surprising Fact
According to the White House, only Texas and Florida accounted for 40% each of the new coronavirus hospitalizations in last week. Collins spoke Sunday about the Texas Governor's bans on mask mandates. Greg Abbott and Florida Governor. Ron DeSantis: It is really sad that politics and polarization have prevented a simple public-health measure from being implemented.
Important Background
Unvaccinated Americans have been flocking to get shots amid rising levels of the virus in the states with low vaccination rates. White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Jeff Zients stated Thursday that the number of vaccinations has tripled in Arkansas, and quadrupled for Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi.
