U.S. President Joe Biden on Sept. 16 directed his ire at the governors of Florida and Texas, accusing the Republican leaders of “doing everything they can to undermine the life-saving requirements” he proposed to counter the spread of Covid-19.
New York City will require public school teachers and staff to get vaccinated against Covid-19, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Aug. 23, part of a push to get more residents inoculated and slow the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant.
California on Aug. 11 became the first U.S. state to require that its teachers and other school staff be vaccinated or regularly tested for Covid-19, a move Governor Gavin Newsom called “a responsible step” to ensure the safety of children.
Only eight intensive care unit beds were available on Aug. 9 in Arkansas, the state’s governor said, as the rapid spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus pushed cases and hospitalizations in the United States to a six-month high.
U.S. President Joe Biden on Aug. 3 urged Republican leaders in Florida and Texas – home to roughly a third of all new U.S. Covid-19 cases – to follow public health guidelines on the pandemic or “get out of the way” as the country struggles to contain the rapid spread of the disease’s Delta variant.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott on May 18 ordered all government entities in the state, including school districts, to lift mask mandates by week’s end, though existing guidelines for face-coverings in schools may remain in effect through June 4.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued the most sweeping rollback of coronavirus restrictions of any U.S. state on March 2, lifting a mask mandate and saying most businesses may open at full capacity by the following week.
U.S. coronavirus infections surged by at least 129,606, according to a Reuters tally, the third consecutive daily rise of more than 100,000 cases as a third wave of Covid-19 sweeps the United States.
The United States saw the country’s highest-ever number of new Covid-19 cases in the past two days, keeping the pandemic a top election issue as Vice President Mike Pence travels the U.S. to campaign despite close aides testing positive.