Jesse Jackson, wife hospitalized with COVID-19

PHOTO: Civil Rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson addresses hundreds of fellow protesters on Capitol Hill to demand stronger voting rights, an end to the filibuster, immigration reform, a $15 minimum wage on Aug. 2, 2021, in Washington, D.C.

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Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images, FILE

Several southern states' ICUs near capacity

The United States is facing a COVID-19 surge this summer as the more contagious delta variant spreads.

More than 628,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 while over 4.4 million people have died from the disease worldwide, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

Just 59.9% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Aug 17, 2021 12:21 AM

Thousands of students, staff under isolation or quarantine in 1 Florida county

One Florida school district is facing a dire situation among students and staff just days after the school year began.

Hillsborough County Public Schools, which includes the city of Tampa, announced Monday that 5,599 students and 316 school employees are currently either in isolation or quarantine.

Isolation refers to individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19, while quarantine refers to those who have had close contact with a positive case.

The school board will be holding an emergency meeting on Wednesday, in which the possibility of mandatory face coverings will be discussed, school officials said.

-ABC News’ Victoria Arancio

Aug 17, 2021 12:04 AM

Georgia governor pleads with unvaccinated

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is pleading with residents who have not been vaccinated to get the COVID-19 shot.

The state reported more than 14,000 new cases of the virus over the weekend, prompting Kemp to announce during a news conference Monday that state employees would be given the day off on Sept. 3 to get vaccinated ahead of Labor Day weekend.

To encourage unvaccinated state employees to schedule their appointment and thank those who are already vaccinated, I will be closing state offices heading into Labor Day weekend on Friday September 3rd.
— Governor Brian P. Kemp (@GovKemp) August 16, 2021

The new surge in positive cases will not affect businesses, Kemp assured.

-ABC News' Cherise Rudy

Aug 16, 2021 11:59 PM

Frontline workers warn of increase in pediatric COVID-19 related hospitalizations

The average number of people being admitted to the hospital each day with COVID-19 in the U.S. has surged by more than 480% since the end of June, marking the highest number of patients seeking care in over six months.

Doctors are warning of the alarming rates of people entering the hospital with life-threatening conditions.

"What was more terrifying this time is that these people are drowning, they're drowning, and it is an awful thing to see,” Dr. Enrique Lopez, surgical tntensivist at Phoebe Health in Georgia said Monday in a new video message.”And you would look up on the monitor and their oxygen saturation would be near perfect and they would just sit there just starving for air just begging to breathe.”

Nationally, more than 83,000 Americans are currently hospitalized with COVID-19 nationwide. Several Southern states are experiencing their worst surge yet, with front line workers raising the alarm about overwhelmed ICUs, and patients waiting in hallways at some hospitals.

"They're just saying over and over again I can't breathe. I can't breathe. I can't breathe, and it was so different than it was last time," said Lopez. "Now, it wants kids, and those ICUs for those pediatric patients are filling up."

Likewise, as cases have increased, so have pediatric hospital admissions, experts say.

"Even though it's uncommon, it can be very severe and even life threatening in some cases," said Dr. Zac Aldewereld, assistant professor of pediatric critical care medicine and pediatric infectious diseases at the University of Pittsburgh. "And yet we have a vaccine to prevent it."

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos

Aug 16, 2021 10:19 PM

Texas hospitals flooded with COVID-19 patients waiting for beds

Nearly half of all patients waiting for beds in the Southeast Texas region, which includes Houston and the surrounding areas, are infected with COVID-19, according to officials.

Of the 575 patients stacked up in ambulances or hospital hallways waiting for beds, 230 of them have the virus, officials said. Of the 87 patients who need to be admitted to the intensive care unit, 50 of those have COVID-19.

About 2,500 nurses are being deployed across the state for provide assistance to overcrowded hospitals, the Texas State Department of Health announced Monday.

Meanwhile, Bexar County, where San Antonio is located, has won the latest schools mask mandate battle with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.

A district judge granted a temporary injunction against Abbott’s ruling on Monday, San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg announced.

Today, a district judge granted our temporary injunction against the Governor.In simpler terms — our local health authority’s public school mask order remains in effect.
— Mayor Ron | Get vax’d! 💪 (@Ron_Nirenberg) August 16, 2021

-ABC News’ Bonnie Mclean and Gina Sunseri

Aug 18, 2021 6:19 PM

NYC restaurant owners sue city over indoor vaccine mandate

A group small businesses in New York City is suing the city on the grounds that its new indoor vaccine mandate will severely impact their "business, life savings, and livelihood," according to a lawsuit filed in Richmond County Supreme Court Tuesday.

The plaintiffs also took issue with the fact the the mandate does not permit medical or religious exemptions to COVID-19 vaccination.

New York City's first-in-the-nation mandate, which went into effect Tuesday, applies to everyone 12 and older and includes nearly every public indoor activity, from gyms to bowling alleys to movie theaters to concert venues and more, according to the city.

The plaintiffs include Deluca’s Italian Restaurant in Staten Island, Pasticceria Rocco in Brooklyn and Staten Island Judo Jujitsu.