The nation's seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases was 150,625 as of Aug. 23, mirroring levels seen in late January, according to data tracked by The New York Times.
Below is a snapshot of what the latest COVID-19 surge looks like across the U.S. as of Aug. 23. Regions are ranked by highest average COVID-19 case rates over the last 90 days, based on data from the Times.
South — 73 cases per 100,000 residents
The surge is most severe in the South, where states have some of the lowest vaccination rates in the nation.
Nine of the 10 states with the most COVID-19 cases per 100,000 are in the South, according to data tracked by the Times. Mississippi has the highest new case rate of any state at 118 per 100,000 as of Aug. 24, and hospitalizations were up 24 percent in the last two weeks. Louisiana has the second highest new case rate at 100 per 100,000, followed close behind by Florida at 99 cases per 100,000.
The Gulf Coast is the region's most severe hot spot, fueled by a booming tourism industry, few mask mandates and low vaccination rates, according to a separate report from the Times. The average per person hospitalization rate in three cities on the coast — Panama City, Fla.; Mobile, Ala.; and Gulfport, Miss. — is far higher than their states' hospitalization rates, the Times reported. The per person average case rate in each cities' surrounding counties is also more than twice the national average.
Most patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in the Gulf Coast are young, unvaccinated people. The flood of patients is putting pressure on the region's intensive care unit bed capacity. Alabama ran out of beds last week.
West — 37 cases per 100,000 residents
Western states are also facing surges, despite having higher vaccination rates than the South.
About 59 percent of Washington state residents were fully vaccinated as of Aug. 23, exceeding the national average of 51.5 percent, according to CDC data. However, the state reported 29,491 COVID-19 hospitalizations Aug. 19, marking the highest level seen during the pandemic, according to The Spokesman-Review. Most patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in Washington have not been vaccinated, healthcare leaders told the publication. (Times data shows the state's hospitalization rate was 19 per 100,000 as of Aug. 24, still far lower than Florida's 80 per 100,000.)
Oregon is also reporting the highest level of hospitalizations seen during the pandemic. The state had 866 patients hospitalized as of Aug. 19. Oregon's hospitalization rate was 22 per 100,000 as of Aug. 24, marking a 56 percent jump from the two weeks prior, according to the Times. Some Oregon hospitals have resorted to treating patients in hallways because rooms are full.
Midwest — 29 cases per 100,000 residents
Indiana had the highest rate of new COVID-19 cases among all Midwestern states at 47 per 100,000 as of Aug. 24, according to Times data. This figure has increased 82 percent over the last two weeks. The state reported 1,857 hospitalizations Aug. 22, marking the largest tally seen since Jan. 27, when 1,915 people were hospitalized with the virus, reports the Indianapolis Business Journal.
Missouri was one of the first states to experience a surge driven by the delta variant earlier this summer and reports the second highest case rate at 41 per 100,000, though this number is down 12 percent over the last two weeks, according to the Times.
Kansas has seen new cases jump 12 percent over the same period and now has the third highest new case rate in the Midwest at 42 new cases per 100,000 population. Hospitalizations have also climbed 32 percent over the last two weeks, Times data shows.
Northeast — 22 cases per 100,000 residents
The Northeast has the lowest average case rate of all regions, though daily hospital admissions were increasing in every state as of Aug. 20, according to HHS data cited by Bloomberg.
CDC forecasts suggest that the surge is nearing a peak in Connecticut and Massachusetts, though New York and New Jersey will still see infection rates increase over the next four weeks, according to Bloomberg.
"There are continued increases, but not to the level that we've seen in previous surges here in the Northeast," Roy Gulick, MD, chief of infectious diseases at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital in New York City, told the publication. "I'm seeing some modeling to suggest that peak won't occur until late September, early October — but of course we don't know for sure."
As of Aug. 24, Delaware had the highest average case rate of any Northeastern state at 45 per 100,000, up 29 percent in the last two weeks, according to the Times. Vermont has a far lower case rate (25 per 100,000), but that figure has jumped 105 percent over the same time period.