Given the wealth of research which runs counter to current Covid-19 health protocols in Australia, governments need to be held accountable by revealing the scientific evidence base for their restrictive practices.
because we re seeing the cases go up. we want to avoid lockdowns at all costs. but that means we re going to have to do some other things that won t necessarily be welcomed by people. reporter: across the country, mask mandates going into place even for people fully vaccinated. new york city s mayor bill de blasio says he s focusing on vaccinations but is following the cdc in issuing an indoor mask recommendation but not map dating them. we want to strongly recommend that people wear those masks indoors even if vaccinated. reporter: covid cases are surging, in large part, due to the spread of the highly contagious very littlea variant. half the cases last week were reported in five states, florida, texas, california, louisiana, and georgia. cases have gone up about fourfold in the last couple of weeks. we re pushing up towards a hundred thousand cases a day now, and particularly so in those hot spots where vaccination rates are still quite low.
even for people fully vaccinated. new york city s mayor, bill de blasio, says he s focusing on vaccinations but is following the cdc in issuing an indoor mask recommendation but not mandating them. we want to strongly recommend that people wear those masks indoors even if vaccinated. reporter: covid cases are surging, in large part due to the spread of the highly contagious delta variant. half the cases last week were reported in just five states. florida, texas, california, louisiana, and georgia. cases have gone up about fourfold in the last couple weeks, we re pushing up towards 100,000 cases a day now, and particularly so in those hot spots where vaccination rates are still quite low. reporter: hospitals in louisiana and mississippi, overwhelmed. health officials in austin, texas, preparing for the worst. it s scary, what we re seeing right now. we re seeing geometric climbs in our intensive care units.
breakthrough infections, so it is a message that the white house is trying to juggle as they try to calm concerns about the breakthrough vaccinations to try to keep that momentum going on the vaccination front. i guess we have another 2020 call back in afternoon in the form of a big covid press conference at the white house. i know the white house is reportedly upset with the press for how they say we missed the moment in coverage of the current surge, but do they grasp the degree of the message starting middle of next week has gotten so muddled to this point? the way the cdc was driving most of that messaging on this new mask recommendation for the vaccinated and the white house appeared to be playing catch up on that. we re seeing them come out again with a briefing that was added to the schedule. the president is getting briefed today as a way to get out ahead of this and we heard from the president late last week discussing this. but it is a complicated message.
it is really just across the country. and that is just the fact. while people who have gotten their covid shots are far less likely to become seriously ill or hospitalized, the cdc also now making clear the variant can be spread through those who have already been fully vaccinated. walensky calling the finding concerning. and a pivotal discovery leading to cdc s updated mask recommendation. it was clear that vaccinated people have the ability to transmit and action needed to be taken quickly and that s why they did it. this month is drawing to a close as a turning point in the pandemic. but not in the way the white house had hoped. during the july 4th celebration, when the president proudly hailed progress in the fight against coronavirus. we are closer than ever to declaring our independence from a deadly virus. that s not to say the battle against covid-19 is over. we ve got a lot more work to do. and now, that sounds like a dramatic understatement. with august just around