New York City draws new battle lines as Delta variants surge.
New York City will require proof of COVID-19 vaccination for guests at restaurants, shows and gyms in a phased manner starting August 16.
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the new requirements on Tuesday, making New York the first major US city to draw these battle lines as the Covid-19 delta variant surges. People must show evidence of at least one dose of the vaccine.
“The goal here is to convince everyone that it’s time. If we’re going to stop the delta version, the time has come. And that means getting vaccinated now,” de Blasio said on Tuesday.
On the west end of the country, San Francisco and six other Bay Area counties have reinstated a masking mandate in public indoor spaces – regardless of vaccination status.
Even in the deep South, states are rolling back mask mandates in indoor public settings, including schools and colleges.
The fall semester is fast approaching and America’s schools and colleges are under intense pressure to devise a policy framework amid rising infection rates and tough pushbacks from many flanks over masking and vaccines.
As of Monday, 70 percent of American adults have received at least one shot. The latest number comes at a time of 6x increase in the number of Covid-19 cases in the last 30 days. Florida hospitals are being liquidated. The state crossed 11,000 hospitalized patients on Tuesday.
The current average daily nationwide caseload is running at 85,000 per day, the highest level since February. There have been 386 deaths per day from an average of 254 in the last two weeks. In recent weeks, more than 95 percent of hospitalizations and deaths have been non-vaccinated, according to the White House.
“If you’re not going to help, at least get out of the way of people trying to do the right thing,” US President Joe Biden told Republican governors to block masked mandates in the name of independence.
The COVID-19 virus has killed more than 614,000 Americans since it first hit the US West Coast in January 2020.
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