Florida now accounts for nearly a quarter of all new COVID-19 cases reported in the US

• Florida reported 12,647 positive coronavirus tests on Wednesday.
• The state's seven-day average of new daily cases is 8,911.
• The US as a whole reported more than 55,000 positive tests on Wednesday.

Florida is reporting its most coronavirus cases since January, with the state accounting for nearly a quarter of all positive tests in the US reported on Wednesday.

Nationally, more than 55,000 people on Wednesday were confirmed to have COVID-19. More than 12,600 of those cases were in Florida, or 22.9% of the national tally, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Over the past seven days, an average of 8,911 people a day have tested positive in the state, or just over 22% of all cases identified in the US.

At the end of June, by comparison, the state's seven-day average of new cases was below 1,700.

The numbers are the worst Florida has seen in months, coinciding with the spread of the more contagious Delta variant, prompting Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis to make a new push to get residents vaccinated.

"Here's, I think, the most important thing with the data: If you are vaccinated, fully vaccinated, the chance of you getting seriously ill or dying from COVID is effectively zero," DeSantis said Wednesday.

In May, DeSantis signed legislation barring businesses from requiring proof of a COVID-19 vaccine before providing service, describing vaccination as "your personal choice."

Just under 57% of adults in Florida are fully vaccinated, per the CDC.

The rise in cases has been accompanied by a surge in hospitalizations. The vast majority of patients are unvaccinated.

"When they come into the system, they say, 'Can I get vaccinated?' And at that point, you can't," Alix Zacharski, an intensive-care clinical nurse manager at Jackson Health System in Miami, told CNN.

Tania Leets-Santana, a representative for Jackson Health System, told Insider that of the 146 patients at the hospital with COVID-19 on Wednesday, "91% are unvaccinated."

Have a news tip? Email this reporter: cdavis@insider.com