A new COVID-19 variant has been identified amid a rise in hospitalizations and cases being reported by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC).COVID hospital admissions during the week ending Saturday, July 29, increased 12.5 percent over the previous week, according to CDC data.In addition, visits to the emergency room were up more than 21.8 percent, and the positive test percentage increased 1.3 percent.One of the causes of the trend could be excessive heat, which is sending people indoors into air-conditioned settings.The US has seen increases in COVID each of the last three summers, and this year's increases in...