Covid-19 deaths and cases in the United States have climbed back to where they were over the winter, wiping out months of progress and potentially bolstering President Joe Biden’s argument for his sweeping new vaccination requirements.

The cases — driven by the Delta variant combined with resistance among some Americans to getting vaccinated — are concentrated mostly in the south.

The dire situation in some hospitals is starting to sound like January’s infection peak: Surgeries cancelled in hospitals in Washington state and Utah. Severe staff shortages in Kentucky and Alabama. A lack of beds in Tennessee. Intensive care units at or over capacity in Texas.

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