83% of New COVID Cases in US Are Delta Variant... White House Also Breached

Sharp Increase from 50% Range to Over 50% in Two Weeks This Month
White House Staff and Pelosi Spokesperson Test Positive

Rochelle Walensky, Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
[Photo by EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] In the United States, the proportion of the Delta variant among new COVID-19 cases has surged to 83%. Even in the U.S., where nearly one in two citizens have completed vaccination, the Delta variant appears to be establishing itself as the dominant strain.

On the 20th (local time), Rochelle Walensky, Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), announced at a Senate hearing that "genetic sequencing results show that the Delta variant accounts for 83% of cases in the U.S." This marks an increase of more than 30 percentage points from the early part of this month when it was in the 50% range.

Previously, the CDC reported that among confirmed cases from June 20 to July 3, 51.7% were infected with the Delta variant. About two weeks later, the proportion of the Delta variant rose by 31.3 percentage points, which Walensky described as a "dramatic increase."

The CDC emphasized vaccination again, noting that the Delta variant is spreading mainly in areas with low vaccination rates. Walensky explained, "About two-thirds of U.S. counties have vaccination rates below 40%, which allows the highly contagious Delta variant to emerge and spread rapidly."

The spread of the Delta variant is also leading to an increase in deaths. Walensky stated, "The average daily death toll over the past week was 239, an increase of about 48% compared to the previous week," adding, "It is tragic and heartbreaking because these deaths could have been prevented with a simple and safe vaccine."

At the White House and Congress, breakthrough infections?cases of COVID-19 occurring despite vaccination?have been reported frequently. According to the U.S. internet media Axios, a White House staff member and the chief spokesperson for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tested positive for COVID-19 the day before.

Both attended an event last week when the Texas state legislature’s Democratic House delegation visited Washington. At that time, 57 Democratic House members rushed to Washington to block the passage of the Texas state legislature’s election law amendment, reportedly neglecting preventive measures such as wearing masks on the plane.

All Texas Democratic House members who visited Washington were vaccinated, but at least six of them reportedly contracted COVID-19. The New York Times reported, "Both the White House staff member and Pelosi’s spokesperson tested positive after contact with the Texas Democratic House members."

However, it is reported that the symptoms of the two are mild. White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said on the day, "The staff member who tested positive did not have close contact with President Joe Biden or senior White House officials," and added, "There are other cases of White House staff testing positive besides this individual."

Since the beginning of this month, the U.S. has seen daily new COVID-19 cases fluctuate between 20,000 and 40,000. The 40,000 daily new cases mark is the highest since early May, over two months ago.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.