US COVID-19 hospitalisations rise to 100,000, most since January

Numbers show a grim picture emerging, with 25,000 people currently in intensive care and daily deaths reaching 364.

As the Delta variant of the coronavirus races across the United States, the number of people hospitalised with COVID-19 has risen to 100,000, the highest since January when the pandemic peaked in the US. Numbers show a grim picture emerging, with about 25,000 people currently in intensive care and daily deaths reaching an average of 364 nationwide, according to data gathered by The Washington Post newspaper and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A crush of patients with severe cases of COVID-19 has filled intensive care units (ICUs) to capacity in states like Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Texas and Arkansas where the rate of infection is high and vaccination rates are low.