Delta

The director of Orange County Utilities says COVID's omicron variant is circulating between 97 and 99 percent of samples.

How contagious is the variant? One doctor explains: With flu, if one infected person is exposed to a room of unvaccinated patients, two others will catch it. With delta, it will be seven.

In an outbreak in Provincetown, Mass., three-quarters of cases occurred in fully vaccinated people. The study's findings suggest that vaccinated people infected with delta variant can transmit the virus.

Because of the recent case spike of unvaccinated patients, elective surgeries are deferred, visitors are limited and masks are required. But there is more than enough space and equipment to handle the increase.

New estimates show the U.S. is on track to see a big rise in cases and more than triple the number of deaths by October.

Patients too young for the approved vaccines are among those ending up in Jacksonville hospitals, according to Dr. Mobeen Rathore, UF Health Jacksonville's associate chair of pediatric medicine.

Epidemiologist Jason Salemi says the large number of unvaccinated Floridians are at higher risk for serious infection as more transmissible strains of the virus spread rapidly in the community.

An infectious disease specialist with the health system says masks might be appropriate for both vaccinated and unvaccinated students because of the spread of the delta variant.

UF Health Jacksonville’s COVID ward is reporting a 10% to 15% rise in admissions per day.

The COVID-19 curve is rising again after months of decline, driven by the delta variant, lagging vaccination rates and Fourth of July gatherings.