ORLANDO, Fla. — Coronavirus cases are rising once again, many of them coming from the Delta variant that's rapidly spreading across the country and in central Florida. 

Coming into the weekend, Florida reported more than 7,000 new cases on Friday. The upward trend has both medical and local leaders concerned.

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings is expected to talk about the county’s plans to combat these rising case numbers Monday morning. Mayor Demings has already called for Orange County residents to go back to wearing face masks in crowded indoor spaces because of these rising case numbers.

Due to the jump in their 14-day rolling positivity rate, Orange County is reporting it's now in the high-risk category by the CDC for community transmission.

But this latest case spike isn’t just happening in Orange County, much of the sunshine state is seeing dramatic increases in new cases of COVID-19.  Florida now accounts for one in every five new cases of coronavirus nationally.  And epidemiologists warn it may get worse, especially as vaccination rates slow to a crawl across the region.

“Anytime that you combine a lower vaccination coverage or percentage of coverage with people not wearing masks, with the level of opening up, and the level of travel and gatherings, that’s going to increase your cases unfortunately,” said Dr. Cindy Prins, assistant professor of Epidemiology at UF.

Until more people become fully vaccinated, coronavirus will continue to be a problem, according to doctors. Hospitalizations from COVID-19 are rising, jumping 52 percent from July 1st to July 11th in Orange County.

Experts continue to stress that the most important thing you can do to prevent yourself and others from getting sick is to get the vaccine.