There were nearly 300% more new COVID cases on average this Labor Day than last year

The average weekly number of coronavirus cases in the U.S. was nearly 300% higher this Labor Day weekend compared to the same time last year, data from Johns Hopkins University shows. The average number of deaths was more than 86% higher compared to the same period in 2020. 

There were 1.146 million weekly cases this past weekend compared to 287,235 last year.  Health officials had repeatedly urged unvaccinated individuals to stay at home ahead of Labor Day, as the Delta variant continues to surge across the country. On Monday, there were 73,331 new cases of COVID-19 in the U.S., according to Johns Hopkins, and the average weekly cases have only been increasing since the end of June.