Covid-19 cases have been on the rise over the past month as the delta variant continues to spread. The spread of the delta variant over the past month has led to more than 80 total cases in the first month of the school year.

The first known case of the delta variant was in December 2020 in India. It soon spread throughout India and shortly swept through Great Britain. The delta variant likely arrived in the United States in May or June, but became a concern during a July 4th outbreak in Provincetown, Massachusetts where a cluster of 400 cases was found. 

The delta variant is more than two times as contagious compared to previous variants according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Delta accounts for more than 80% of new infections in the U.S. 

A large proportion of the people getting the delta strain are unvaccinated individuals. Fully vaccinated people can still get what is known as breakthrough infections where they still get the virus while being fully vaccinated. The difference between unvaccinated and vaccinated individuals getting the delta variant is that the delta variant leads to more severe illnesses and a higher chance of being hospitalized for unvaccinated people per Yale Medicine.