The Los Angeles Post

LABOR DAY SPIKE

by · Published · Updated

COVID-19 cases, deaths and hospitalizations skyrocketed this Labor Day in comparison to Labor Day 2020.

The Washington Post COVID-19 tracker found that hospitalizations on Labor Day in 2021 reached 99,270 individuals, up from 38,192 people in 2020.

That is a 160-percent increase in hospitalization over the past year, despite the U.S. having more than half of the country vaccinated.

Johns Hopkins University data showed there was a 316-percent increase in COVID-19 cases between the two Labor Days, USA Today reported. COVID-19 deaths were also twice as high on the federal holiday compared to last year.

The rise in cases also caused the U.S. to surpass more than 40 million total COVID-19 cases throughout the pandemic, with more than 680,000 deaths.

What’s different: Millions of Americans have received the vaccine this year, which offers them protection. But at the same time, the delta variant has become the dominant strain in recent months, spreading more easily than previous versions of the virus.