�Թϲ�����

The seven-day average of daily coronavirus cases in the U.S. surpassed the peak seen last summer when the nation didn’t have an authorized Covid-19 vaccine, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Monday, citing data published over the weekend. U.S. Covid cases, based on a seven-day moving average, reached 72,790 on Friday, according to data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s higher than the peak in average daily cases seen last summer, when the country was reporting about 68,700 new cases per day, according to the CDC. (Lovelace Jr. and Rattner, 8/2)

The Bay Area has been averaging more than 1,400 coronavirus cases a day over the past several days, surpassing the peak of last year’s summer surge in mid-August. Regional hospitalizations have not yet reached last summer’s peak, but — despite high vaccination rates in much of the Bay Area — they are not far off: 815 people were in the hospital with COVID-19 on July 28 last year, compared with 713 on Sunday. (Allday and Vaziri, 8/2)

Nevada on Monday reported that 1,224 people were hospitalized with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 cases in the state, surpassing the peak of the virus’ second wave last summer. State data shows that the second wave peaked on July 31, 2020, when 1,165 people were hospitalized. The data shows that 1,144 people were hospitalized with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 on Aug. 1, 2020. A year later, according to the data, that number is at 1,224. (Dylan, 8/2)

A 33-member federal Disaster Medical Assistance Team arrived Monday at a major Louisiana hospital to provide support for what the hospital called "the highest volume of Covid-19 patients the region has experienced thus far due to the Delta variant." Our Lady of the Lake in Baton Rouge said an average of one infected patient is being admitted every hour. The hospital was treating 155 Covid-19 patients, with about one third of them in the intensive care unit, according to a statement from the hospital. (Lemos, 8/2)

The ICU of Louisiana's largest hospital is stretched to its limit with Covid-19 patients while others experiencing symptoms were waiting for a bed Monday, an official said. Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center Chief Medical Officer Catherine O'Neal said there were 23 names on the list of those waiting for space to open up in the ICU. "You have people with chest pain sitting in an ER right now while their families sit in the waiting room, and they are wringing their hands, and they are calling everybody they know," to get into an ICU, O'Neal said during a news briefing Monday. (Holcombe, 8/3)

With in-person classes open less than a week, dozens of students and staff at two Brentwood school districts are being quarantined after being exposed to 13 peers in elementary schools and 10 in high schools who apparently have COVID-19, authorities confirmed Monday. Brentwood Union School District Superintendent Dana Eaton said that through contact tracing, it’s been determined that none of the 13 elementary school students caught the virus on campus. Regardless, 55 students and two staff members came into contact with the 13 infected with COVID in elementary schools, which opened on July 28, and they are now in quarantine, Eaton said. (Prieve, 8/2)

At least 16 cases of COVID-19 are being associated with the four-day motorcycle event Muskegon Bike that was held last month in west Michigan, the state health department announced Monday. Attendees of the event are urged to get tested for the coronavirus. The event was held July 15-18. The cases have been identified among this year's attendees and their contacts, including people who were at the event while they were infectious, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said in a news release. (Hall, 8/2)

The Maryland Department of Health is investigating a possible COVID-19 outbreak linked to the Cecil County Fair, which ran from July 23 to July 31. Health department spokesman David McCallister confirmed Monday that an investigation is ongoing. He did not specify how many cases had been traced back to the fairgrounds or whether any of them had undergone genomic sequencing data to determine which strain of the coronavirus they were. (Miller, 8/2)

Polk County's public health director had a stark warning Monday for Iowans as the delta variant of the coronavirus surges throughout Iowa: "If you remain unvaccinated, you will get COVID," Helen Eddy said. "The only question is how sick you will become." Eddy spoke at a Monday afternoon news conference in Des Moines shortly after federal experts declared Polk County to be a "high transmission" area for the coronavirus. Just last week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had shifted the county's designation to "substantial spread" from "moderate." (Leys and Coltrain, 8/2)

The head of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention used a radio appearance to call on residents to set aside anger and fear as the state battles a resurgence of the coronavirus. Maine has had more success than many states in controlling COVID-19, but cases have been rising in recent weeks. Maine CDC Director Dr. Nirav Shah told Maine Public on Monday that it’s a good idea to “cast aside the anger and fear” about the rising cases and work together. (8/3)

It's been difficult to make sense of all of the varying guidance and mandates on masking and vaccines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, states and local governments. But in Kansas, where cases are rising, it is also difficult to know who has the power to call the shots since Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly's executive authority remains in legal limbo. The state's Republican attorney general is expected to appeal a recent ruling saying that the Kansas Legislature's limits to Kelly's emergency powers are flawed and unenforceable, but the court fight has left confusion about the power of the governor and local public health officials to impose rules aimed at combating the pandemic. (Censky, 7/31)