After months of declining COVID-19 metrics, North Carolina’s cases and hospitalizations are rising again and, according to state health officials, they are rising at their fastest rate of the pandemic.

Thursday, North Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services reported more than 3,200 new cases in a single-day, the highest count since late February. Exactly a month before, NCDHHS was reporting daily case counts below 300.

North Carolina’s COVID-19 patient count is approaching 1,200, roughly triple what it was at its most recent low point at the beginning of the month.

At the heart of the rapid rise, doctors say, is the delta COVID-19 variant. Not only is it more transmissible, it also seems to have a shorter incubation period.