Coronavirus Cases Surging From Coast To Coast

The Washington Post: Delta Variant Dominates In Virginia And Maryland As Cases Continue To Tick Up 
The highly contagious delta variant is the dominant version of the coronavirus in Virginia and Maryland and is expected to be on the rise in D.C., but officials so far say they have no plans to reinstate mask mandates and social distancing restrictions just as the economy is rebounding. Instead, public health experts are focused on getting people inoculated against the virus. But vaccination rates are stalling throughout the region, and testing — which is key to understanding the spread of variants — is down sharply from earlier in the pandemic. (Portnoy, Wiggins and Fadulu, 7/20)

AP: Researchers: Virus Surge A 'Raging Forest Fire' In Arkansas
Public health researchers on Tuesday called the rapid rise in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations in Arkansas a “raging forest fire,” and the state’s top health official warned that he expects significant outbreaks in schools. The model by the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences’ Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health projected a daily average of 1,039 new cases over the next week. The model also predicted an average increase of 169 new cases per day in children under the age of 17. (DeMillo, 7/21)

San Francisco Chronicle: California's Delta Surge Pushes COVID Hospitalizations To Their Highest Since April
With the now-dominant delta variant still on the rise in California, COVID-19 hospitalizations are also increasing, passing thresholds in the Bay Area and state not seen since the spring. On Monday, confirmed COVID-19 hospitalizations in California crossed the 2,000 mark — with more than 500 of those patients in intensive care units — for the first time since early April, according to state data. Meanwhile, the Bay Area surpassed 300 hospitalizations for the first time since early April, and on Tuesday exceeded 100 ICU admissions for the first time since late March. (Hwang, 7/20)

The Boston Globe: Cape Cod Is Weathering A Surge In COVID Cases At The Height Of Tourism Season — Including Many Among Vaccinated People
State officials dispatched teams of health workers to Cape Cod and issued new safety guidance amid worrisome signs Tuesday that COVID cases are on the rise across the renowned summer playground. Despite having one of the most vaccinated populations in the state, Cape Cod now has the highest rate of new COVID cases in Massachusetts. Health officials are battling an outbreak in Provincetown that has infected at least 132 people since July 1 — most of them vaccinated — as well as a cluster in a Yarmouth nursing home, where as many as 33 residents and staff are infected, many of them already vaccinated, too. (Lazar and Caldera, 7/20)

Houston Chronicle: Fourth COVID Wave On The Horizon, Could Overwhelm Emergency Rooms, Houston Medical Leaders Warn
One local hospital is reinstating visitor limits and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo is mulling a change to the county’s threat level amid a wave of COVID-19 variant cases that medical leaders warned Tuesday could overwhelm area hospitals and wreak further havoc as schools reopen next month. The warning came amid massive spikes in hospitalizations across the Houston region, which Hidalgo’s office is closely monitoring to decide if the county needs to raise its emergency threat level from yellow to orange — or moderate to significant. (Downen, 7/20)

Anchorage Daily News: Alaska Reports 456 Coronavirus Cases Over The Weekend As Hospitalizations Rise
A recent and significant resurgence of COVID-19 in Alaska continued over the weekend, with state data showing 456 new cases reported since Friday plus an uptick in hospitalizations, causing the state to return to a high alert level for the first time since May. “Case counts are increasing at a rapid rate,” Dr. Joe McLaughlin, Alaska’s state epidemiologist said Monday. “And that is concerning, especially as we see hospitalization rates also increasing.” By Monday, virus-related hospitalizations in the state had surpassed a previous surge in May. There were a total of 69 Alaskans hospitalized statewide with confirmed or suspected COVID-19, according to Alaska’s Department of Health and Social Services — including 12 people who were on ventilators. (Berman, 7/20)

In other news about the spread of the coronavirus —

Axios: Chicago Adds Several States To COVID Travel Advisory List 
Chicago added three states and a U.S. territory to its COVID-19 travel advisory Tuesday. State and local-level travel rules were a blunt-force approach to slowing the pandemic last year — and ones that often proved difficult to actually enforce. But with vaccination rates in many states stalling and concern about the more contagious Delta variant growing, it's possible that they may return. (Walsh, 7/21)

Philadelphia Inquirer: Contact Tracers Say This Is The Time They Can Stop Coronavirus Outbreaks: ‘This Is The Crux Of Public Health’
In 50 living rooms and home offices, Delaware contact tracers arm themselves every morning with laptops and cellphones, the weapons they need to curb coronavirus outbreaks. They spend hours each day calling people who have recently tested positive for the virus. They dial each person in the morning, afternoon, and evening until they answer, listening to ring after ring, hoping to hear a voice on the other end of the line. Eventually, they’ll reach about 80% of cases with a valid phone number. Now, more than at any other point in the pandemic, this team says it can help stop surges and — with vaccinations — keep case rates low, said Tracey Johnson, director of Delaware’s Office of Contact Tracing. The state, with a population just under a million, has been averaging 45 new cases a day. (McCarthy, 7/21)