After the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new mask guidance recommending that fully vaccinated people wear masks indoors in areas with high transmission, states quickly reacted.
Nevada issued an emergency order requiring people in 12 of 17 counties — whether they're vaccinated or not — to wear masks in public indoor spaces. Starting at 12:01 a.m. Friday, the mandate becomes effective in counties with substantial or high transmission of COVID-19, according to a news release shared Tuesday afternoon.
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson says a special session to revisit the state’s ban on mask mandates in schools is an option as the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations in the state has surpassed 1,000. The state’s COVID-19 hospitalizations grew by 45 to 1,025, its highest number since late January. The state’s virus cases grew by 2,052.
South Carolina education officials say recently enacted legislation will prevent them from requiring students and employees to wear masks inside schools as a result of a new recommendation from the CDC that even vaccinated people should use face coverings in regions with increasing numbers of coronavirus cases.
And Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said she does not expect the state will issue a mask mandate or any other new COVID-19 pandemic orders any time soon. But she did say Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, chief medical executive for the state, encouraged her to wear a mask while indoors.
"So long as COVID is spreading from person to person, whether that's in Alabama or halfway around the world, it could continue to mutate. Ultimately, those of us who are even vaccinated may see a variation that we are vulnerable to," Whitmer said.
Also in the news:
►A study from AstraZeneca published Tuesday in the Lancet found its COVID-19 vaccine was associated with a small risk of rare blood clots after the first dose, but that risk did not increase after the second dose.
►Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston has seen several severe cases of COVID-19 in children, in some cases requiring ventilators, as the delta variant rapidly spreads, Dr. Jim Versalovic, the hospital's interim Pediatrician-in-Chief told the Houston Press.
►Georgia’s largest school district has joined the growing ranks of those that will require students and employees to wear masks regardless of vaccination status as coronavirus cases continue to rise across the state.
►Los Angeles, the second-most populous city in the country, announced a new policy Tuesday mandating that city employees offer proof of vaccination or submit to weekly COVID-19 tests.
►President Joe Biden said Tuesday his administration is weighing the possibility of requiring all federal workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as infections surge across the nation with the widespread transmission of the delta variant.
►The Office of the Attending Physician released new guidance Tuesday night requiring House members and their staff to start wearing masks again in "indoor spaces," as the White House reinstated a policy requiring all its employees to wear masks regardless of their vaccination status.
►The California State University system, the largest university system in the U.S., announced Tuesday it would mandate COVID-19 vaccines for students, faculty and staff who come to campus, citing the spread of the delta variant.
📈Today's numbers: The U.S. has had more than 34.6 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and 611,400 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The global totals: Nearly 195.2 million cases and 4.17 million deaths. More than 163.3 million Americans — 49.2% of the population — have been fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.
📘What we're reading: The CDC's decision Tuesday to reverse course and urge even fully vaccinated Americans to wear masks indoors in areas of high coronavirus transmission isn't likely to crush community spread, experts say – but it might ratchet up pressure on the unvaccinated and encourage businesses and schools to implement mask mandates. Read the full story.
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States cut taxes, avoid rate hikes after Biden's COVID relief plan
A USA TODAY review of how states are starting to spend the $195 billion in direct aid included in a March coronavirus relief package found many are using large chunks of the help to avoid hiking taxes on businesses, drivers and others.
In addition, the massive amount of federal aid of various kinds since the pandemic started has boosted the economy and put many states in a strong enough budget position that they've been able to cut taxes.
“One of the sad lessons of the Great Recession was, we passed one stimulus bill and then all these state, local governments had all these problems still going on,” said Richard Auxier, a senior policy associate in the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. “They became an actual drag on the economy as they had to cut programs or raise taxes to get back out of the hole that they had dug. And we didn't want to repeat that.”
16 more positive tests at the Olympics as Tokyo sets record high for daily cases
Olympics organizers say an additional 16 people accredited for the Tokyo Games have tested positive for COVID, bringing the total to 174 since July 1.
The total includes 20 athletes, though there were no new positive tests among athletes in the cases announced Wednesday. Tens of thousands of people are accredited for the Games.
Tokyo also recorded a record daily high of 3,177 COVID-19 cases Wednesday, up from a previous high of 2,848 on Tuesday.
— Associated Press
Florida, Louisiana report record surges in hospitalizations
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards and the state Department of Health are urging residents to get vaccinated as the state experienced its largest one-day increase in hospitalizations since March 2020 this week.
As of Monday, 1,390 people have been hospitalized with COVID-19 in Louisiana, an increase of 169 patients from just the day before. That is the state's largest one-day jump in hospitalizations since the pandemic first reached Louisiana in March 2020. Only three days that March saw faster growth in hospitalized COVID-19 patients.
"This surge is on us, and that means it is up to each of us to do our part to bring it to an end. It’s within our power. Getting vaccinated is the best way to stay safe and healthy during this pandemic. It is the best way to put it behind us," Edwards said in a statement Tuesday.
And after a drastic increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations over the weekend, AdventHealth Central Florida moved its system into "red status" on Monday, according to hospital officials.
The decision, which comes just days after the system declared "yellow status" on Thursday, is a direct result of decreased numbers of available ICU beds. AdventHealth was last in "red status" in January when it peaked in hospitalizations.
From what he’s seen personally in the ICU, Dr. Victor Herrera, AdventHealth Orlando chief medical officer, said he’s frustrated so many people have declined to receive the vaccine.
“As an infectious disease doctor, clearly the vaccine is a personal choice," Herrera said. “But it’s hard to see, frustrating to see people dying in the hospital that can be prevented with the vaccine we have. We had a patient, right before they were intubated say ‘I wish I had received the vaccine.'"
-- Andrew Capps, Lafayette Daily Advertiser; Nikki Ross, Daytona Beach News-Journal
CDC recommends vaccinated people wear masks indoors in areas with high transmission
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended Tuesday that fully vaccinated people wear masks indoors in areas with high transmission as COVID-19 cases continue to rise and vaccination rates wane.
CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said new data shows the delta variant, which accounts for more than 80% of the new infections in the U.S., behaves "uniquely differently'' from its predecessors and could make vaccinated people infectious.
"Information on the delta variant from several states and other countries indicates that in rare occasions some vaccinated people infected with the delta variant after vaccination may be contagious and spread the virus to others,'' Walensky said in announcing the new guidance, a reversal of what the CDC recommended in May. "This new science is worrisome and unfortunately warrants an update to our recommendation.''
Parts of the U.S. with at least 50 new cases per 100,000 people in the last week, which includes 60 percent of the nation's counties, are subject to the guidance. New case rates are particularly high in the South and Southwest.
'New science is worrisome':CDC recommends wearing masks indoors, again. What that means for vaccinated Americans.
Contributing: The Associated Press.
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