U.S. COVID-19 cases are surging after declining for six months, fueled by the delta variant, which spreads 225 percent faster than the original.
Here are eight updates ASC leaders should know:
1. The CDC recommended July 27 that those vaccinated resume wearing masks indoors in certain areas of the country with high transmission. New data reported by NBC suggests vaccinated individuals could still infect others.
2. Hospitals in Florida and Louisiana, where COVID-19 is surging, have begun to delay elective surgeries again.
3. Daily COVID-19 cases in the U.S. have risen 144 percent over the past two weeks, with every state seeing an upward case trend, according to The New York Times. Here are 10 states with highest COVID-19 case increases in the last two weeks.
4. Here are the states ranked by COVID-19 test positivity rates as of July 27.
5. The seven-day average for new cases was 56,635 as of July 26, according to The New York Times.
6. The American Medical Association, American Nursing Association and dozens of other medical groups issued a joint statement in support of a vaccine mandate for all healthcare workers.
7. The nationwide surge in COVID-19 cases is expected to accelerate through the summer and autumn before peaking in mid-October, according to July 21 projections.
8. Two doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine were 88 percent effective against symptomatic disease from the delta variant, according to a study published July 21 in The New England Journal of Medicine.