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As the highly transmissible Delta variant spreads nationwide, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the State Department have urged Americans to avoid traveling to the UK.
But that doesn’t go far enough, Dr. Ebony Jade Hilton, co-founder and medical director of GoodStock Consulting, told Yahoo Finance Live. In fact, Americans should be careful when traveling to certain areas of the United States.
“If we are talking about traveling to the UK, we should also caution Americans against traveling to Florida,” Hilton said. “Right now, one in five new COVID cases is coming out of Florida. “
At a press briefing on Friday, White House coronavirus response coordinator Jeffrey Zients said four states accounted for more than 40% of all cases over the past week, with 20% of new ones. cases occurred in Florida only.
In Florida, only 47% of the population is fully vaccinated, as the state averages 55.1 new cases of COVID-19 per day per 100,000 people, the highest rate in the country, according to data from Brown School of Public Health. And according to the Florida Department of Health’s COVID-19 Weekly Report, the number of new cases of COVID-19 nearly doubled in the state last week compared to the previous week.
Arkansas is also among the country’s current pandemic hotspots. Data from the Brown School of Public Health shows the state is reporting an average of 38.1 new cases of COVID-19 per day per 100,000 people, and is designated “red” on the risk assessment map.
“We are seeing a slight increase in the Southeast, and even in the Midwest,” Hilton added. “We’re looking at places like Alabama and Arkansas. So we can talk about the rest of the world, but the United States really needs to focus and focus on what is preventing us from having a successful vaccine rollout in these. heavily affected areas. “
Vaccinations are the key to slowing the spread of the Delta variant. In Alabama, where only about 33% of the population is fully vaccinated, the State Department reported a 39% increase in COVID-19 cases from June 26 to July 9, and unvaccinated people accounted for 96% of deaths. of COVID-19 in the state since April 1.
Nationally, data from Johns Hopkins University shows a total of 243,110 new cases were reported last week as the Delta variant spreads, accounting for about 40% of the total cases in the past month .
“The Delta variant is a game-changer,” said Hilton. “New cases nationwide have increased 140% in the past two weeks. Our hospitalizations are up 34% and our deaths, unfortunately, are up 33%. We are not done with this pandemic.
Seana smith anchors Yahoo Finance Live’s 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET program. Follow her on Twitter @SeanaNSmith
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