Here’s what we know about the delta-plus variant – Washington Post

South Korea’s Disease Control and Prevention Agency said Tuesday that it had recorded at least two cases of the new coronavirus delta-plus variant, which some experts believe to be more transmissible than the original delta variant that was first detected in India and has since thwarted plans for returning to life before the pandemic.

Delta threatens rural regions that dodged earlier COVID waves – Nature

As the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 sweeps across Asia, researchers are increasingly concerned about COVID-19 spreading beyond urban centres to rural regions that were largely spared in earlier waves of the pandemic and have less access to testing, health care and vaccines.

Delta Plus Is in the News Again, Here’s Why – MedPage Today

The variant and its subsequent lineages have been detected on U.S. soil, most recently in the Provincetown outbreak; however, just one sample out of 133 there was positive for a Delta Plus sublineage. It’s also been reported in several other countries, including the U.K. and India.

Unvaccinated Americans not changing their behavior, report finds – NBC News

Unvaccinated Americans believe the vaccines are more dangerous than Covid-19, while vaccinated Americans believe the delta variant is worrisome enough that they continue to mask in public and avoid large gatherings. And even though almost 165 million people in the U.S. are fully vaccinated and the delta variant is raging across the country, the percentage of U.S. adults who say they oppose the Covid vaccines has remained unchanged since December.

Singapore Still Misses the Bigger Covid-19 Picture – Bloomberg

Singapore announced it would tighten certain social-distancing measures and ramp up contact tracing and testing to contain a cluster that started at a karaoke lounge. The Ministry of Health said the outbreak will delay reopening plans, which could be rolled back significantly if virus numbers surge.

Thousands of Floridians hospitalized with COVID-19, as governor rejects CDC recommendations – PBS Newshour

A South Florida hospital chain is suspending elective surgeries and putting beds in conference rooms, an auditorium and even a cafeteria as many more patients seek treatment for COVID-19.

‘Covid Zero’ Havens Find Reopening Harder Than Taming Virus – Bloomberg

A smattering of places, mainly across the Asia Pacific region, have seen breathtaking victories in the battle against Covid-19 by effectively wiping it out within their borders. Now they face a fresh test: rejoining the rest of the world, which is still awash in the pathogen.

White House pushes student vaccinations as hospital admissions, deaths rise about 40 percent in a week – Washington Post

The latest slew of stark statistics: Daily cases passing 100,000 — numbers not seen since February. A seven-day average of hospital admissions up by more than 40 percent from the week before and deaths trending up by roughly the same rate.

Covid Cases Among Children Jumped 84% Last Week—Here Are The States Where Kid Hospitalizations Are Increasing – Forbes

The number of children contracting Covid-19 has increased fivefold since the end of June, with a “substantial” 84% jump in the last week alone, according to a new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics, which comes as numerous states report upticks in child hospitalizations amid the ongoing delta surge.

Latest coronavirus surges grow faster, hit record heights in Louisiana, Florida – Washington Post

In Louisiana, which has seen new infections skyrocket to the highest point of the pandemic, the governor implemented a statewide indoor mask mandate as hospitals are again delaying elective surgeries and limiting visitors. In Florida, which has been reporting about a fifth of all new U.S. cases, at least 10 hospitals in the Jacksonville and Orlando areas have hit their all-time peaks in covid-19 admissions. Disney World, New Orleans and Las Vegas, destinations for tourists craving a return to normalcy, are mandating masks again.

India’s brutal delta-driven wave ended when cases suddenly plunged. Weeks later, the stubborn variant persists. – Washington Post

Just weeks after India regained its footing from its second wave, pockets of sustained transmission nationwide, including in the south, are creating ripples of concern about a resurgence. Fresh daily cases, which have sometimes edged above 40,000 and have been concentrated in the state of Kerala, are highlighting the difficulty in stamping out the highly infectious delta variant even in a country where antibody studies suggest that two-thirds of the population has previous exposure to the virus.

This Many Docs Reported Burnout This Year … – MedPageToday

Six in 10 physicians say they often experience feelings of burnout, a 20% jump from pre-pandemic levels reported in 2018, according to The Physicians Foundation’s 2021 Survey of America’s Physicians released on Thursday.

Fan-Free Olympics Showcase Socially Distant Tech – Bloomberg

The Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games were meant to be the perfect stage for Japanese and other tech firms to showcase their latest technologies to the world. A year late and without fans allowed in due to the pandemic, the show has lost much of that luster, but some undeterred companies are making a push to turn the experience of navigating the Covid challenge into a legacy for the games.