. >>> florida braces for fred with a second storm close behind. >> announcer: live from cnn center, this is "cnn newsroom" with robyn curnow. >> thanks so much for joining me this hour. there are certainly new fears the taliban could make moves against afghanistan's capital in just a matter of days. so far the militant group's advances are being met with little resistance. the taliban now control half the country's provincial capitals as you can see from this map, all taken, all taken within the past week. now the country's second largest city kandahar is among the latest to be captured. many observers see that as the beginning of the end for the country's u.s.-backed government. the u.s. embassy in kabul isn't taking any chances, staff are being told to destroy sensitive material while several thousand u.s. troops will be arriving to provide security and possibly evacuate personnel. the pentagon spokesman says afghan forces need to step up their response. take a listen. >> certainly deeply concerning the speed with which the taliban has been able to move. what has been disconcerting to

parents in florida, i'm standing in your way. i'm not going to let you get away with it. >> reporter: but florida's orange county school district is doing what they can to help. telling school employees they must wear masks. in louisiana, the emotional toll on frontline workers is evident. the state, currently, has the highest rate of new covid-19 infections per capita in the nation. >> we're stressed because we thought that this was getting better. and now, we're working as hard -- even harder than we did a few months ago. >> reporter: heading into the weekend, there are concerns of another, possible superspreader event in south dakota, as 700,000 visitors are expected to attend the sturgis motorcycle rally. an event that drew fire last year in the state that pushed back against covid-safety protocols. republican governor, kristi noem tweeting, there's risk associated with everything we do in life. bikers get that better than anyone. this year, the city says it will provide free covid self-test kits. >> these are just little tes

florida's governor. >> if you're coming after the rights of parents in florida, i'm standing in your way, i'm not going to let you get away with it. >> reporter: but florida county orange school district is doing what they want, telling employees they must wear masks. in louisiana, the emotional tal is evident, the state has the highest rate of covid-19 infections per cappakcapita in nation. >> we're stressed, because these processes are getting harder and we're working as hard or even harder than we did a few months ago. >> reporter: heading into the weekend, there are concerns of a superspreader event in south dakota as 700,000 vitsitors are expected to visit the sturgis motorcycle rally. the republican governor christie norm tweeting there's risk with egg we do in life. bankers get that better than anyone. this year, the city says it will provide free covid self tests. >> these are tests that you take home, with a nose swab, that you have results in 15 minutes. >> reporter: with cases surging across the country, masks continue to be a hotly debated issue. in georgia, the governor

in florida, enforcing a mask mandate could prompt a pay cut. governor desantis is warning school superintendent and school board members that if they disregard his executive order against mask mandates, the state board of education may move to withhold their salaries. texas governor greg abbott has also issued an order barri

are right here in florida. mainly south florida, also, we are experiencing similar numbers to what we saw back in january, really, at the height of the pandemic. florida also still just about 49% of the population here is fully vaccinated. so, is still aways to go. there's a lot of concern about schools reopening and what is happening to children under 12 who are not yet eligible for the vaccine. if you look at the numbers there. cases among that age group under 12, nearly 11,000 children in the last week or so testing positive under 12 years old for covid, the positivity rate for that age group is 18.1%. the statewide positivity rate is 18.2% and the governor here said that you cannot mandate masks in the classroom when the students return. he is issued an executive order saying that you cannot do that, he wants it to be up to the parents, he wants the parents to have the choice whether or not they want to mask their children. he said any district that defies the executive order could risk losing funding and b

are right here in florida, mainly south florida. we are also experiencing similar numbers to what we saw back in january, really at the height of the pandemic. florida also still just about 49% of the population here is fully vaccinated, so still a ways to go. there's lot of concern about schools reopening and what is happening to children under 12 who are not yet eligible, and cases among that age group under 12, nearly 11,000 children in the last week or so testing positive under 12 years old for covid. the positivity rate for that age group now is 18.1%. the statewide positivity rate is 18.2%. the governor issued an executive order saying you cannot mandate the mask in schools. he says any district who defies his executive order could risk losing funding and could become ineligible for grants. the governor pushing hard to keep this statewide open. i am randi kaye reporting in ri ri rivera beach, florida. >>> some are already looking ahead to possible booster shots. the former head of the tfda was asked if the breakthrough cases m

in florida and arizona, so

petersburg, florida. florida leads the nation in infections and hospitalization rates for adults and children. what are you seeing in your hospital? >> yeah, so glad you asked. it's been a really, really busy few weeks for us. after a nice little lull in june, we really picked up in july and august is probably going to be even worse, unfortunately. we're just so busy. >> so do you know why infections among kids are increasing so quickly in your state? >> yeah, i think it's a few things, actually. the first thing is that this delta variant is just extremely contagious, far more contagious than the variants prior. i think that's the major driving factor. the other factor is too, and i think why we've been seeing a lot of patients in our pediatric hospital, is because this is largely an epidemic right now of the unvaccinated, and a lot of children are not old enough to get the vaccine. that's another reason why we're busy. the other thing too is that a lot of the infection prevention strategies that we had b

and person portion of the state of florida. so we'll follow it carefully and see exactly where it goes as we approach late this weekend and early next week. >> thanks so much for that. >>> the prime minister of greece is pledging almost $600 million in emergency aid for people affected by the country's raging wildfires. many villagers on the island of evia are refusing to leave their homes, instead working alongside firefighters to battle the flames. cnn's eleni giokos is live in evia and is joining us now. so what is the latest on efforts to contain these fires and of course the impact on residents there? >> reporter: absolutely. look, we have heard from emergency services this morning that rekindling of fires is a reality today and that is the big risk. you can hear the helicopters above. we've seen helicopters move in various directions carrying water, we also know visibility is still very much a problem. i don't know if you can see this wind today, every day we've spoken we haven't seen wind, which was actually a very good

and as you can see here, florida is just one of several states that have passed measures banning mask mandates in schools. and the timing could not be worse. lucy kafanov shows how the pandemic numbers are suddenly trending in the wrong direction in the u.s. >> reporter: as children across the nation head back to school, covid-19 cases are surging. hospitalizations and deaths have nearly doubled over the last two weeks. the u.s. is now averaging more than 109,000 new covid-19 cases each day and more than 500 deaths per day. florida reported more covid-19 cases over the last week than any other seven-day period during the pandemic. 50 florida children admitted to the hospital on friday alone as many districts return to class this week. a jacksonville church saw six members die from covid-19 in the past ten days alone. >> four of them were under the age of 35. all of them were healthy. the only thing they had in common was each of them were not vaccinated. >> reporter: now the church is pushing to get as many people vaccinated as possible. texas cases and hospitalizations have doubled i

the numbers in florida are terrible right now, but he wasn't betting on this. he took his victory lap last february when he was rising into the polls. people were looking at him as the next potential 2024 nominee should donald trump not take the field. and now that has caught up to him, he's trying to blame joe biden by saying that this is biden's fault because biden didn't stop the virus. but when you have a position against simple medical advice, it's pretty hard when it comes back on you. >> doctor, amanda is right. florida reported more covid cases in the past week than any other week since this pandemic began. there have been more than 17,000 covid cases reported in schools. nearly 30,000 students have been quarantined. i can't even believe i'm reading that. 30,000. is this all because of attitudes like the governor's? he's saying, joe biden didn't stop the pandemic, but he's doing it. he's putting so-called freedom over not only keeping yourself healthy but your community too. >> don, thanks for having me back. amanda's right. you know, the pediatric icus

take a listen. >> it's so high in florida, i think that if florida were another country, we would have to consider banning travel from florida to the united states. he needs to understand that he's painted himself into a corner. people are dying in florida. it's going to get much worse. the hospitals are filling. >> children, as well. >> and as of a few hours ago, people in the u.s. who are fully vaccinated now have one more option when it comes to leaving their country. but as paula newton explains, it doesn't work both ways. >> reporter: it's official now. despite the rising incidents of the coronavirus in the united states, canada has now reopened its border to fully vaccinated americans and u.s. residents. that is the first time in more than 16 months, and there are family reunions and americans who haven't seen their canadian properties in months. they can now cross at the land border. what's interesting is that the biden administration has not reciprocated. if you are canadian and you are traveling for non-essential reasons, you can't cross at the land border. although in what ha

in florida, governor ron desantis is threatening to withhold funding from schools that require masks. here's cnn's evan. >> reporter: this tampa 11-year-old had a strange first week of middle school. >> in two classes i had like five kids quarantined. >> that seems like a lot. >> it is. >> was it scary? >> no. but one of my friends said everyone around her was quarantined so i am pretty much she was scared. >> are you worried you might be quarantined? >> maybe. >> at least 15 states have now mandated universal masking inside school buildings. following cdc guidelines for safer reopening amid the delta surge. >> the masks are uncomfortable, but it's for safety. if i wear my mask, i get to see my friends. i'll just wear a mask. >> cdc data showing the hospitalization rate for children is 33% higher than it was in january. the previous peak. as cases have stacked up, school systems have faced widespread quarantines and rushed to make policy changes. between the first and 13th of august, mississippi reported around 6,000 cases among students. 1,500 among staff. and that's just from the co

. >>> florida emerges as the new u.s. covid hot spot, leading the nation in new adult and child hospitalizations due to the virus. >>> wildfires raging in greece, and as weather conditions worsen, firefighters are in a round the clock battle to protect ancient sites. i'm kim brunhuber, this is "cnn newsroom". as the delta variant drive as global surge in new infections, urgency of vaccination finally appears to be sinking in for many americans. daily vaccinations are back up to where they were seven weeks ago averaging about 700,000 per day. gist under half of the u.s. population is now fully vaccinated, but is still far short of so-called herd immunity. new cases in the u.s. are now averaging about 98,000 per day, the highest in sifrksx months. and we're learning more about so-called breakthrough infections among the fully vaccinated. although rare, the cdc says vaccinated people are contagious if they get the virus. that is why the agency suddenly updated its mask guidance last week. here is what the head of the cdc tol

. >> daily coronavirus death rates are at a record high in florida. the state accounted for about one in five covid deaths reported in the u.s. last week. that is according to johns hopkins university. to slow the spread among the young, more school districts are defying governor ron desantis' ban on mask mandates. at least eight school districts are moving forward with requiring face coverings. and the governor's effort to block them appears to be growing more unpopular. a new poll found 60% of florida residents support requiring students, teachers and staff to wear masks in schools. but many parents are still highly opposed and making their voices heard. randi kaye has more on the escalating mask wars. >> they think that we'll give it up, but we're not. >> reporter: in lake county, florida, tempers flared over mask mandates. >> my kids, my choice. >> reporter: hundreds on both sides of the issue turned out to protest, even though masks are still optional in this district. the issue wasn't even on the school board's agenda, but that didn't stop paren

join finish and skip the rinse to save our water. >>> it's so high in florida i think if florida were another country we'd have to consider banning travel from florida to the united states. >> a strong warning on florida's raging coronavirus outbreak there. hospitalizations are now 13% higher than the previous peak last year in florida. and this is how new covid cases have shot up in the united states in just the past five weeks. hospitalizations are reaching all-time highs in parts of the south putting some medical staff and icus again at their breaking point. children's hospitals are also getting overwhelmed. cases spiked 84% among children in one week at the end of last month with nearly 72,000 new child cases reported. as the director of the national institutes of health said sunday, the u.s. has the tools to prevent this but not enough of us are using them. >> we would not be in the place we are right now with this delta surge if we'd been more effective in getting everybody to take advantage of these immunizations. and now we're paying a terrible price as the cases go up quickly

but if you are coming after the rights of parents in florida, i'm standing in your way. >> and florida accounts for nearly one in five new cases in the u.s. and hospitalizations in the state are once again alarmingly high. >>> four republicans vying to rye place california governor newsom are railing against his handling of the pandemic, they are just some of the '46s running in the recall election happening september 14th. the four republicans debated wednesday night, they said newsom, a democrat, failed california by forcing disclosures -- forcing closures during the worst of the pandemic. >>> more than 90 million eligible americans are still unvaccinated. earlier we heard from an infectious disease expert who says now is the time to get the shot before infections likely rise during the autumn and winter. listen to this. >> as we move into the fall and winter season when people are more indoors, when the cooler drier temperatures favor respiratory viruses, it is very likely that unless we get to much higher levels of vaccination, that we could see further increases in infections and

. >>> and the governor of florida is facing a new challenge to enforcing his mask ban in schools. we'll explain why a judge acted to block it. it's a simple fact: nothing kills more germs on more surfaces than lysol spray. it's a simple fact: it even kills the covid-19 virus. science supports these simple facts. there's only one true lysol. lysol. what it takes to protect. michael: this is the story of two brothers. david: my grandfather, pinchas. michael: my great-great- grandfather, rachmaiel. gigi: pinky and rocky. simi: there was an uprising in poland. david: and then the family broke apart. michael: they scattered around in different places. gigi: they worked hard. simi: and built new lives. michael: but rocky and pinky's families didn't see each other again... all: ...until now. david: more than 100 years later, ancestry helped connect us to our ancestors and each other. press start and consider the job finished. finish quantum's three-chamber detergent works with bosch's precisionwash technology to clean, degrease and shine every dish, every load. for a sparkling clean, fro

and on that track, that pits puts the state of florida on the sloppy east side of the system. a lot of rainfall and potential for severe weather, we're talking not just strong wind gusts but himself potentially some tornadoes too. and then that carries over into parts of alabama, georgia, and on into the carolinas as well. and so in the next few days, and we do expect to make landfall come early next week, around monday, tuesday in the panhandle of florida, so this is something that we'll be talking about for several days. and we're also watching something else, we're going into the peak of hurricane season, that is september 10th, so we'll start to see the atlantic really light up. the second system which is on the heels of fred is coined invest 95-l. not exactly tropical yet, but that could change. and the reason why we have to keep an close eye on it, ob obviously anything that goes into the caribbean, we have to keep a close eye on that. so weebl watching that in the days to come as well. and when it gets a name, it will be named grace. >> thanks so much tyler malden, appr

haiti is bracing for heavy rain from grace while fred heads toward the florida panhandle. pedram javaheri is tracking it all for us. >> good morning, rosemary. this is a story a lot of people looking at carefully and you notice across portions of the gulf into the western atlantic, areas around bermuda, a trio of tropical systems to tell you about. grace in particular, one that we're watching because of course impacts across haiti and the island of hispaniola, this is a system that had begun breaking apart a little bit, down to a tropical depression, and a lot of it has to do with interaction across a very rugged terrain in this region. mountains here rise to as high as 10,100 feet, higher than 37 u.s. states. so it often breaks systems apart. but unfortunately, at the expense of haiti and dominican republic and with it, as much as 4 to 6 inches of rainfall widespread. and a tremendous amount of deforestation in this region. so a lot of this will lead to flash flooding, potentially additional landslides. we know the search and rescue operations won't be helped with this st

in florida, the state ordered two counties to give an opt-out option for their school mask mandates or lose funding and face new scrutiny from the state. >> my view is that the parents understand what's best for their kids. >> reporter: the governor instead pushing monoclonal antibody treatment clinics being set up at the state. one of those sites, this jacksonville library where louis lopez snapped this disturbing picture. >> they were so sick, the picture really doesn't do it justice because they were moaning, they were in a lot of pain. it really drove the point home, as to how serious these people are. >> reporter: this pandemic creating really disturbing scenes across other areas of the united states as well. in roseberg, oregon, mercy hospital saying there was a patient in their emergency department and they were waiting for an icu bed. one did not open in time, that person died. the hospital issued a statement about it asking for kindness from the community. and in places like san francisco, they are now mandating vaccinations to enter places like restaurants, bars, gyms and the

hail fauci. >> reporter: and to school board rooms in florida too. the debate today in miami-dade stretching out for hours. >> you know what is better for our children, better than the parents and the mothers who have to give birth to those children. >> reporter: at the same time, this in hillsborough county in the tampa area. >> we're sun remember denying our children to a pandemic of sincere ignorance and don conscientious stupidity. >> reporter: this meeting was adjourned after a ruckus crowd refused to put on masks. in tennessee, the chaos started inside the school board room. >> we know who you are, no more masks. >> reporter: and then spilled into the street. with crowds heckling and threatening officials leaving the meeting after they approved a temporary mask mandate. sheriff's deputies having to intervene to help officials leave the premises. >> parents shouldn't feel threatened for their lives. that is not the america i know. >> reporter: as the unrest over masks grows, educators warn children are watching and learning. rosa flores, cnn, da

from florida to louisiana. they're no strangers to hurricanes and residents are making sure they're ready for when ida makes her presence known. michael holmes has that story. >> reporter: filling up and getting out. many in new orleans are leaving town. >> when katrina was here, i had to stay in the water stand on a bridge two days. not about to do that again. >> reporter: the lines leading out of the city showed just how many people aren't taking their chances with the storm named ida. many residents have been through major hurricanes before that officials say this one could be a monster. there are warnings in new orleans and the surrounding coastal regions to evacuate if at all possible by morning. one man says his neighborhood on a barrier island is emptying out. >> everybody's packing up, getting out. i hear only about a dozen people probably try to ride it out. you know it's going to flood. >> reporter: louisiana has taken the punches of many of these wallops storms before. it's still recovering from hurr

florida is now recording less than 20,000 a week. broward county, just north of miami, is now requiring hospitals to report all key metrics meaning not just surges and hospitalizations, but also how many icu beds are available. >> the governor has just decided as a show of really, you know, just to show off to his base that he is currying favor with that he will stop all local officials from having any impact on this. so our local school board, our superintendent is not going to be able to do what they want to do because he is threatening to withhold funding from them. it is unbelievable in a sense that it feels like he is doing everything in his power to make this disease incredibly difficult. >> mean while top health expert dr. anthony fauci says he hopes to see the pfizer/biontech vaccine get full approval from the u.s. food and drug administration within the next few weeks. he says that could speed up the process for getting the vaccine approved for children younger than 12. right now it is being distributed under emergency use a

. >>> two counties in florida refusing to back down from their mask requirements for schools. the florida board of education gave broward county 48 hours to allow parents to opt out of face coverings or the state would begin to withhold funding. n now, this has largely been at the direction of florida governor, ron desantis, who opposes mask mandates. but broward officials say their district is in compliance, since they provided exceptions to the mask mandate for students with a medical condition or other special circumstances. well, officials say they have no plans to change their current masking requirements. they say universal masking is absolutely critical to protect the health of students and staff, and limit the strain on the healthcare system. >>> new restrictions to control the covid outbreak are meeting with sometimes-violent resistance in australia. six police were hospitalized after officials in melbourne clashed with demonstrators and used pepper spray as the state of victoria went into a full lockdown. more than 200 were arrested there, as well as dozens more in s

florida is in the middle of a heated battle over face masks. the state's governor has tried to ban school mask mandates with an executive order, though some school districts are resisting. >>> still to come, joe biden is celebrating a pair of victories in the u.s. senate this week, but his economic agenda still faces many obstacles. we'll have an update on what comes next. >>> plus, she is about to become new york's next governor, the first woman to ever hold the job. what kathy hochul is saying about andrew cuomo and her plans, just ahead. hey, i just got a text from my sister. you remember rick, her neighbor? sure, he's the 76-year-old guy who still runs marathons, right? sadly, not anymore. wow. so sudden. um, we're not about to have the "we need life insurance" conversation again, are we? no, we're having the "we're getting coverage so we don't have to worry about it" conversation. so you're calling about the $9.95 a month plan -from colonial penn? -i am. we put it off long enough. we are getting that $9.95 plan, today. (jonathan) is it tim

florida governor ron desantis refused to let school districts to mask-up. and a judge shut down his ban on friday ruling that a governor doesn't have an authority for a ban against face masks. and a texas judge ruled that a state can resume its mask mandate for flows despite a measure for governor greg abbott banning such. >>> vaccinations are slowly inching higher with 52% fully vaccinated according to the cdc, but even as vaccinations increase, cases and hospitalizations are skyrocketing. the state of florida reported more cases during the past week than during any other seven-day period since the pandemic began. health officials are attributing those recent spikes to unvaccinated americans. we look at one mississippi hospital. >> reporter: dolly is being moved from the covid icu to a regular covid bed. the 82-year-old thinks she got the virus from a family member. >> you don't know that you'll get it then you get it and you think. >> reporter: she was on the fence about getting vaccinated but today her mind is made up. >> with the family -- >> caller: al

florida officials are also criticizing a lack of transparency on covid figures saying the governor is only making the situation worse by poking fun at cdc recommendations. >> what they did, they took down their dashboard, they started reporting weekly. i'm constantly asking for information, it used to be very forthcoming and what i typically do, we give it to our residents. when a resident sees that more people are hospitalized, that more people are getting infected when they see other kinds of metrics, they act accordingly. being forewarned is being forearmed. but i think just to make a political point he decided that he will make fun of this. and by the way, his campaign website is literally making fun of the cdc and fauci. how can you do that in the middle of a pandemic when you are hoping that people will follow the rules that medical experts ask them to? this is pretty outrageous and there is no question it is increasing our positivity, our hospitalizations and obviously our deaths. >>> earlier i spoke with chief of infectious diseases at johns hopkins all-children's hospital in

but florida's governor, not pushing for vaccines. he wants more monoclonal antibody treatments. we'll be right back. joint pain, swelling, tenderness. my psoriasis. cosentyx® works on all of this. cosentyx can help you look and feel better by treating the multiple symptoms of psoriatic arthritis. don't use if you're allergic to cosentyx. before starting, get checked for tuberculosis. an increased risk of infections—some serious— and the lowered ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor about an infection or symptoms, or if you've had a vaccine or plan to. tell your doctor if your crohn's disease symptoms develop or worsen. serious allergic reactions may occur. watch me! get real relief with cosentyx. there's a world where every one of us is connected. everyone. everywhere. where everyone is included. where everyone has access to information, education, opportunity. ♪ ♪ ♪ when everyone and everything is connected. that's really beautiful. anything is possible. good morning. cisco. the bridge to possible. over the years, mercedes-benz has patented thousands of s

children's hospitals, all across the south really, and -- and here, in florida, are also saying that they are seeing more kids that are going to the hospital because of covid-19. that's another concern, as the schools are now back in session, more of them, in just a couple of days will begin classes for the first time on monday. nadia romiro, cnn jacksonville, florida. >>> and israel is expanding the rollout of its third-vaccine dose. the country is trying to shore up immunity for some vulnerable groups, as severe covid cases continue to rise there. let's go straight to jerusalem. hadas gold joins me. so talk us through this booster shot and who is getting it. hi, hadas. >> hi, robyn. as of friday, anyone over the age of 50 # is now eligible for this booster vaccine. in addition, any medical staff, approximate people with underlying-health issues, as well as prisoners and wardens can all get this third dose of the coronavirus vaccine. this comes just about two weeks after israel rolled out the booster campaign for anyone over the age of 60. more than three-quarters of a million peopl

notice how far west it is on the peninsula of florida. i expect the peninsula of flab to be spared the majority of fred. so, we also have grace, grace formed from tropical depression 7, with the 5:00 update from the national hurricane center. it's packing winds of 40 miles an hour. it's going to make landfall on the winward islands. you can see the track takes it to the north, over cuba. and the south cone is a concern for grace, for that reason, we have to keep a close eye on it, kim. but do notice here, at this time, the hurricane center keeps it below hurricane status. and the peak of hurricane season is coming you around the corner, kim. >> absolutely. thanks so much, meteorologist tyler mauldin. appreciate it. that wraps this hour of "cnn newsroom." i'm kim brunhuber. international viewers, stay with us for "connecting africa." and for u.s. viewers, "new day" is just ahead. breyers is always so delicious... i can tell that they used your milk, matilda. great job! moo you're welcome. breyers natural vanilla is made with 100% grade a m

population is fully vaccinated and florida seems to be getting the worst of it. sunshine state is reporting its highest number of weekly cases since before the pandemic began and the highst number of ca capita capitalizations. governor desantis is rejecting mask mandates in schools. >> i have young kids. my wife and i are not going to do the mask with the kids. i want to see my kids smiling. i want them having fun. >> the surge in the delta variant couldn't have come at a worst time since children across the u.s. are returning to class. i spoke with alison messina about the importance of mitigation measures an the advice she has. >> if you think about it as an infectious disease doctor it's a contagious virus that doesn't play favorites. the things that stop it is getting vax niindicated and wearin vaccinated and warring a mask. we recommend that everybody mask up for the virariant which is contagious. >> we've seen plenty of resisted. community meetings and so on. what would you tell parents who are skeptical to convince them of what you're saying? >> we need to

yet the governors of florida, texas and arizona refuse to mandate masks for schools. dr. scott gottlieb says the south could be a harbinger for the u.s. as schools reopen. do you share his concerns? and why do you think governors are willing to expose these kids and families to possible infection? >> you're really bringing up a critical point here, rosemary. this past week was the first after many when we started to see a drop off in case growth. so here we have a chance to turn this around with the delta wave. schools have been opening up in the south. there have been many outbreaks reported. we really have to tighten up and this is the wrong message that's happening there, as you mentioned in florida and many other places. masks are certainly helpful. but things like rapid testing, things they could be doing on a daily basis as we get schools back all over the country which we're not really doing well. >> so why do you think these governors are going against medical advice? >> unfortunately this is the whole politicization of the pandemic from the get go. we just keep s

florida also seeing its highest number of weekly covid cases ever. still is state's republican governor ron desanta is rejecting mask mandates for schools. >> i have young kids. my wife and i are not going to do the mask with the kids. we never have. i want to see my kids smiling. i want them having fun. >> and in what might be the ultimate example of the glass being half full or half empty, the nation's covid vaccination rate now stands at just over 50%, far short of the level experts say is needed for herd immunity. the u.s. again fighting to balance the dangers of the pandemic with the hopes of returning to normal, despite the delta variant causing a massive surge nationwide, hundreds of thousands of bikers gathering in sturgis, south dakota, for an annual motorcycle rally. thep's reporter is there where many are throwing caution to the wind. >> reporter: on monday south dakota's governor kristi noem will hop on a bike and participate in a charity ride. she's among an estimated 700,000 people who will show up to the world's largest motorcycle rall

more than half of all public school students in florida are now required to mask up. statewide nearly 22,000 students and more than 4,000 school employees have tested positive for covid in just the past few weeks. and not all districts are reporting their data. on friday, a court struck down the governor's executive order banning mask mandates in schools. >>> and before we go, here is something you don't see every day. a dolphin was spotted swimming down the street in a neighborhood on the louisiana coast. flash flooding conditions have been severe as a result of hurricane ida and a woman saw the dolphin's fin while returning home to check on the damage from the storm. >>> thank you so much for your company. i'm rosemary church. be sure to connect with me on twitter anytime @rosemarycnn. "early start" is coming up next. at usaa, we've been called too exclusive. because we were created for officers. but as we've evolved with the military, we've grown to serve all who've honorably served. no matter their rank, or when they were in. a marine just out of basic, or a petty

the panhandle of florida. right near appalachia, we are seeing a severe thunderstorm roll in already with 60-mile-per-hour winds and that is a foreshadow of what's to come. what is in advance of hurricane ida? so the impacts are going to be felt far and wide. it's going to be hugely impactful. and if it gets retired, it's going to be in company with a lot of other storms here since 2001. it is gonna be extremely impactful. one of the worst impacts will be the storm surge, for sure. so we have storm surge warnings in effect. that onshore wind as it approaches we could see areas, especially near grand isle, get up to about 15-foot storm surge. we are going to see severe weather on the right side of the system. we are talking about tornados, michael. and then, we are also talking about nearly a foot of rain in some areas. some isolated spots, getting up to 20. >> wow. yeah. as we always say, it's the water that kills in these storm events, not the wind. water kills more than the wind. yeah. >> run from the water.

this is a wrong message that is happening there, as you mentioned in florida and many other places. masks are certainly a helpful but things like rapid testing, things we could be doing on a daily basis as we get schools back in all over the country, which we're not doing well. >> and that was cardiologist speaking to me earlier. >>> the son of civil rights leader jesse jackson has given an update on his parents' conditions after were hos hospitalized with covid over the weekend. jonathan jackson said doctors were continuing to monitor his parents and that both were resting comfortably. he added my family appreciates all of the expressions of concern and prayers that have been offered on their behalf. we ask you continue to pray for the full recovery of our parents. >>> still to come, we are hearing from survivors after catastrophic floods swept through parts of tennessee. >> the houses moved off their foundations. cars and trees, i mean, this is almost a biblical proportions here. like a massive tornado came through here rapid wrinkle repair® smooths the look of fine lines in 1-we

. >> and florida and texas are also in bad shape. last week one in every three new covid infections came from one of those states where vaccination rates are relatively low. but that could be changing. this was a vaccination site in miami beach on monday with dozens lined up to get their shots after hospitals in south florida announced record-breaking numbers of covid patients. the five states shown here accounted for nearly half of all new covid cases in the u.s. last week. what do they have in common? the scdc says all five have vaccinated less than half of their residents. lindsey graham says he is only experiencing mild symptoms after testing positive for covid-19. the u.s. senate republican was vaccinated and he credits the shots for keeping him from feeling much worse. meantime former president barack obama is getting ready to celebrate hit 60th birthday with a covid compliant party in martha's vineyard, that is according to a source who says the weekend event will be held outside and will include safety protocols including the

the states with the worst are the ones with the lowest vaccination rates and that includes parts of florida which have some of the worst vaccination rates in the country and are running out of hospital beds. one doctor was forced to make an agonizing decision. >> i'm a third generation oncologist. the one principle that my family had built is that we would never turn away a patient regardless of whether they could pay or not and for the first time in 60 years of my family's history of treating cancer, we had to turn someone away because we didn't have a bed. there was simply no room in the hospital to treat the patient. what we're seeing is a tremendous amount of patients coming in, the other day our emergency room had a 12 hour wait almost every hospital in the city is on the verge of -- they don't have room to take transfer patients, patients who need complex care simply can't access it. this is something we've never seen before. >> with infections surging, a plan to offer booster shots is shaping up in the u.s. pfizer is seeking approval for a third dose and johnson & johnson says early

in florida, the state board of education vowed to punish two school boards that passed mask mandated. other boards voted in mandates too, defying governor ron desantis, who opposes universal masking rules. >> it just -- if you look at your guidelines, if everybody wore the mask, from what i understand, there will be less quarantine, even if you had the same positive cases. >> reporter: more than 8,000 cases among students and staff have been reported in florida's largest school districts. more than 29,000 people have quarantined so far in just those districts. and the largest district, miami dade, hasn't started school yet. president biden has said he'll step in, vowing legal action to protect school leaders battling desantis over masks. >> we're not going to sit by. >> reporter: desantis is refusing to budge, seeming to relish a fight with the white house over schools. >> think seriously about, if the federal government can come in and overrule the rights of the parents with covid and force masking of kindergarteners and first graders, given how covid is such a small risk relative to

and florida, again, emerging as a hot spot. over the past week, the state reporting a 50% increase in new-covid cases. we're, also, learning more about fully-vaccinated people, who then become infected. according to the latest data from the u.s. centers for disease control, the so-called breakthrough infections are exceedingly rare. out of more than 160 million americans vaccinated, so far, the cdc says about 6,200 of them contracted covid and needed hospitalization. that, clearly, is a minuscule amount. it's .004%. now, in california, where more than half of residents are fully vaccinated, the delta variant fueling an alarming rise in hospitalizations. and one icu doctor says, almost every covid patient at his hospital is unvaccinated. cnn's paul vercammen with more. >> reporter: the covid-19 numbers, still, trending up in california. more than 10,000 new cases, at last count. and more than 4,000 hospitalizations. now, that includes mid-sized hospitals, such as this one behind me, providence, in tarzana. the director of the in

florida g . >>> governments around the world are responding to this promoting bitter backlashes. here is phil black. >> reporter: the delta variant, three words repeated in almost every language in almost every country in the world. more than a year and a half after the novel coronavirus was first tee texkt detected in chi is returning to its structure methods of containment, mass testing and locking down infected areas to try to extinguish the latest outbreak. this approach has been successful in china. but in other places around the world, rumblings over coronavirus measures are spilling out into the streets. like in france, which is instituting mandatory vaccinations for health workers and health passes to enter bars and restaurants. >> i'm sick of the freedom killing measures and for me the health passes are one too many. >> reporter: a bitter divide in the united states.sentment in p of australia. but the australian government says restrictions will continue where required. brisbane is the latest city along with other areas in the state of queens land to undergo a lockdown.

i mean, we're now, if you look at the rates of transmission in florida and louisiana, they're actually, probably, the highest in the world. that's how badly things have gotten out of hand. >> and some of the states with the highest-infection rates have republican governors who are banning mask mandates and other public-health measures. now, one of those states is texas. last month, governor greg abbott signed an executive order to ban mask mandates. but several local officials are fighting back. in hayes county, which includes parts of the city of austin, a judge is defying the ban. now, students, staff, and visitors at hayes county schools will be required to wear masks. houston's mayor is, also, pushing back, ordering city employees to mask up and he explains why, here. >> the numbers continue to rise. so, to sit back and to do nothing and to watch this situation occur, when there could be healthcare measures put in place that, at the very minimum, slow it down while we continue to encourage people to get the vaccine. would just -- would -- it's just not an -- an acceptable thing to

. >> cases in florida jumped by more than 50% in the past week. in georgia, the new case rate has tripled and in the past few weeks, louisiana where they had the most cases, daily vaccination rates jumped 111%. >> the delta variant is a game changer and at this point it's not whether we vaccinate or mask, we have to do both. >> an internal document from the centers of disease control says the delta variant which is fueling much of the rise produces similar viral loads in the vaccinated and unvaccinated people who are infected. vaccinated people may spread the variant at the same rate as unvaccinated people. it's critical to note break through cases are rare. as the cdc pushes for people to wear masks outdoors. >> can we expect more guidelines coming out, more restrictions because of covid? >> in all probability. >> health experts agree unless many more americans get vaccinated, things get much worse. >> what we can say is this virus is doing exactly what we predicted it will do and if we can't get extremely high rates of vaccination and those rate

not just louisiana but even other states, as well, including florida looking at lightning and thunderstorms there. closer to new orleans, it's not just outer bands but heavy rain with some of these. you can see orange and yellow colors indicating downpours at times moving through the downtown area. storm surges still going to be one of the biggest concerns along the coastline. this purple area here, including biloxi 7 to 11 feet there. winds will be a concern but not just on the coast. the farther you go inland, you're likely to see 60 to even 100 miles per hour winds. that's more than enough to bring down trees and power lines. we taunted the poesh for tornados and water spouts and damaging winds from mobile, biloxi, new orleans, and through jackson, mississippi. that's throughout the day today. a tornado watch is highly likely at some point later this afternoon. here is a look at the storm. the outer bands continuing to slide in. landfall at this point is expected to be early afternoon. so really just a few hours from now. the big concern, as we go after landfall, is going to start to be

. >> joining us now is alan levine, former secretary of health of florida and louisiana. familiar with emergency services during a hurricane. thank you for your time this morning. louisiana hospitals have had enough on their hands in recent weeks. now hurricane ida complicates everything that much more. what is status of the hospitals and their patients. >> you know before a hurricane hospitals before the coast will try to evacuate or discharge patients. that was made obviously more complicated by the fact they had almost 2500 patients in hospitals with covid that couldn't be discharged. the hospitals that were stressed going into this in a unique situation. now the additional challenge for them is i think what we can expect as we go into today and we start seeing the damage and surveying the damage that has been done to the hospitals, we'll probably see additional evacuations. prior to the storm, some patients were evacuated to northern louisiana and other parts that are not in the direct path of the storm. but i think we need to prepare ourselves to see some real devast

that's why they evacuated to florida. some also evacuated to houston, texas, and even atlanta, georgia. so at this point many heeded those warnings to evacuate, especially after what happened 16 years ago with katrina. >> thanks for sharing that with us. i hope your family managed to go back to their houses and that everything is relatively intact and rebuildable. thanks so much for your reporting there on the ground. we'll check in with you as well in the coming hours. you are watching cnn. to all of our viewers, we'll continue to monitor this story. >>> but there's another story that we've been following here at cnn as well. ahead of tuesday's withdrawal deadline from afghanistan, the u.s. targets, quote, an imminent threat to kabul's airport. we'll have details in a live report. that story next. with skin-strengthening nutrients and moisturizers... ...that help rebuild your skin with every shower. get ready - our most popular battery is even more powerful. . ung galaxy a32 5g. only on america's largest & fastest 5g net

. >> reporter: in florida, some 4600 students and 1500 employees across the 15 largest school districts have tested positive for covid. and another 19,000 students and staff have been quarantined or isolated. defying governor ron desantis, school boards voted to mandate masks in three additional counties. miami-dade and palm beach and in hillsborough where quarantining students is becoming a new focus of outrage. some parents are arguing it should be up to them whether they keep their child home from school after covid exposure. the governor deggoes. >> i think quarantining deprives them of an ability to get an education. now maybe a parent would want a healthy kid to be quarantined if there is an exposure, but that should be the choice of the parent. >> reporter: an approach that flies in the face of public health guidance. >> we have a horl ob moral oblio keep children staff. >> reporter: and in oregon, all teachers, staff and volunteers have to be fully vaccinated. governor kate brown saying that children need to be in the classroom five days a week and in order to do that, masks nee