Delta Variant Triggers Spike In COVID-19 Infection Cases In US, Hospitals Run Out Of Beds In ICUs

Illustration of handling COVID-19 patients in the ICU. (Wikimedia Commons/US Navy/Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Sara Eshleman)

JAKARTA - The United States has experienced a surge in cases of COVID-19 infection, causing the hospitalization rate to rise to the highest level in the last six months due to the malignancy of the Delta variant.

A number of states are struggling with the surge, with hospital intensive care units (ICUs) running out of beds or very few remaining. For example, the current state of Arkansas has eight ICU beds.

In the state of Texas, Governor Greg Abbott asked hospitals to postpone elective surgery, due to the deluge of Delta variant infections that are rife in the south, where COVID-19 vaccination rates are low.

Nationally, COVID-19 cases in Uncle Sam's country have averaged 100.000 for the third day in a row, up about 35 percent over the past week, according to a Reuters tally of public health data.

The states of Louisiana, Florida, and Arkansas reported the newest cases in the past week, by population. Hospitalizations rose 40 percent, with deaths, a lagging indicator, registering an 18 percent increase nationwide in the past week.

"We are seeing the largest one-day increase in hospitalizations and have surpassed our previous high of COVID hospitalizations", Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson said on Twitter, cited from Reuters, August 10.

"Currently there are only eight ICU beds available in the state", he said of the availability of ICU facilities in his state.

President Joe Biden inspects a COVID-19 vaccination center. (Wikimedia Commons/Official White House Photo)

Hutchinson, a Republican, urged Arkansas to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, with most constituents hesitant to vaccinate, partly because of widespread misinformation about vaccination programs.

Meanwhile, Abbott, who in May issued an order banning local governments from requiring the wearing of masks to help prevent the spread of the virus. Announced it would increase the number of clinics in Texas, making it easier for COVID-19 patients to receive antibody infusions, on Monday.

Florida set a new one-day record with 28.317 cases as of Sunday, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Separately, Florida's hospitalization rate also hit a record high for eight straight days, according to a Reuters analysis. Meanwhile, most Florida students will return to school this week, as several school districts debate whether to require masks for students.

The chairman of the country's second-largest teachers' union on Sunday announced a change in policy direction, supporting vaccinations aimed at US teachers in a bid to protect students too young to be injected.

To date, the number of children hospitalized with COVID-19 is increasing across the US, a trend health experts attribute to the Delta variant being more likely to infect children than the original Alpha strain.