Arkansas nears run out of intensive care beds as Delta variant fuels US pandemic

NEW YORK, Aug.9 (Reuters) – Only eight intensive care unit beds were available in the state of Arkansas on Monday, its governor said, as the rapid spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus pushed cases and hospitalizations in the United States at a six-month high.

In neighboring Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott has asked hospitals to postpone elective surgeries as the variant rages across swathes of the country, including many southern states struggling with low vaccination rates.

Nationwide, COVID-19 cases have averaged 100,000 for three consecutive days, up 35% over the past week, according to a Reuters tally of public health data. Louisiana, Florida and Arkansas reported the most new cases over the past week, according to population. (Graph of coronavirus cases in the United States)

Hospitalizations are up 40% and deaths, a lagging indicator, have seen an 18% increase nationwide over the past week.

“We saw the biggest increase in single-day hospitalizations and eclipsed our previous record of COVID hospitalizations,” Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson said on Twitter. “There are currently only eight intensive care beds available in the state.”

Hutchinson, a Republican, urged the Arkansans to get vaccinated against the pandemic, which many of his constituents were reluctant to do in part because of widespread misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines.

Abbott, which in May issued an order banning local governments from requiring masks to help prevent the spread of the virus, said Monday it would increase the number of clinics in Texas where COVID patients can receive infusions of antibody.

Florida set a new one-day record with 28,317 cases on Sunday, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Hospitalizations in Florida have reached record levels for eight consecutive days, according to Reuters analysis. Most Florida students are due to return to class this week as some school districts debate whether to require masks for students.

Holding signs, supporters and opponents of the mask gathered on Monday at the Pinellas County Schools Building, near St. Petersburg, where the school board called a special session to discuss mask protocols.

The leader of the nation’s second-largest teachers’ union on Sunday announced a change of course by supporting mandatory vaccinations for U.S. teachers in a bid to protect students too young to be vaccinated.

The number of children hospitalized with COVID-19 is increasing across the country, a trend that health experts attribute to the Delta variant being more likely to infect children than the original Alpha strain.

With the virus disrupting the lives of Americans again after a brief summer lull, the campaign to vaccinate those who are still reluctant has gained new momentum.

The Pentagon said Monday it would seek Biden’s approval by mid-September to require the military to get vaccinated.

CROWD OF STURGIS

The evolution of the pandemic and the rapid spread of the community stimulated by the Delta variant has resulted in the cancellation of some large-scale events. Last week, organizers canceled the New York Auto Show that was scheduled for later this month.

The New Orleans Jazz Fest has been canceled for the second year in a row as Louisiana battles a serious epidemic.

But fears about the Delta variant don’t seem to have cooled the mood in Sturgis, a small town in South Dakota that hosts hundreds of thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts for the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.

“It’s one of the biggest crowds I’ve seen,” Meade County Sheriff Ron Merwin said in an email. “I think there will definitely be some spread.”

Sturgis has partnered with health officials to provide COVID-19 self-test kits to rally enthusiasts, but the event, which takes place August 6-15, does not require proof of vaccination or wearing a mask.

Last year, health officials cited the rally as a super-spreading event that contributed to a fall wave in the Midwest.

While cases and hospitalizations were relatively low in South Dakota when the event began on August 7, 2020, three months later, the state set a record for hospitalized COVID-19 patients and new infections.

Reporting by Maria Caspani in New York, Lisa Shumaker in Chicago and Sharon Bernstein in Sacramento; Additional reporting by Octavio Jones in Largo, Florida; Editing by David Gregorio and Sonya Hepinstall

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.