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Covid-19 cases are climbing in places like the upper Midwest, Southwest and parts of the Northeast, hindering the nation’s progress in ending a surge triggered by the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus. Nationally, the seven-day average of new cases appears to be edging back up after hovering just above 70,000 for several weeks, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, halting what had been a decline from the Delta-fueled peak that began in September. While the Southeast cools off from its summer surge, other regions are under pressure, including places where colder weather has brought people back indoors where the virus can more easily spread. (Kamp and Maher, 11/14)

As winter approaches, hospitals across the state of Colorado are facing a renewed COVID-19 crisis with an influx of patients flooding into health care facilities. Front-line workers continue to bear the brunt of the state's latest wave, with staffing shortages only exacerbating existing issues. "Our hospitals and ICUs are filling up with patients who are going on ventilators and many of them dying," Dr. Diana Breyer, a critical care physician at UCHealth, told ABC News. (Mitropoulos, 11/14)

Also —

Rapid at-home COVID-19 tests that can automatically verify and report positive cases could be especially useful in the next phase of the pandemic. As breakthrough cases rise with the inevitable waning of vaccination-induced immunity, cheap, plentiful screening tests that automatically send results back to health authorities could keep infections down while allowing full reopening. (Walsh, 11/13)

Covid affects animals too —

Three snow leopards died of complications related to Covid-19 at a zoo in Lincoln, Neb., despite efforts by staff to restore them to health after they tested positive for the virus about a month ago, zoo announcements said. The Lincoln Children’s Zoo lamented the deaths of Ranney, Everest and Makalu in a Facebook post on its official page Friday evening, saying the mountain cats “were beloved by our entire community inside and outside of the zoo.” “This loss is truly heartbreaking, and we are all grieving together,” the statement said. (Manuel Ramos, 11/14)

Meanwhile, a California doctor raises local alarm based on U.K. kids' infections —

Unvaccinated adolescents have been the driving force behind a stubbornly persistent Delta surge in Britain, a potential warning sign for California if inoculation rates don’t improve considerably among this age group, health experts warn. Dr. George Rutherford, a UC San Francisco epidemiologist and infectious-disease expert, said unvaccinated 10- to 14-year-olds are driving the pandemic in the United Kingdom, with case rates among these ages significantly higher than any other group. (Lin II and Money, 11/14)