Protests against mandated COVID-19 vaccines pop up across US
Pushback is happening over vaccine requirements and mask mandates.
The United States is facing a COVID-19 surge this summer as the more contagious delta variant spreads.
More than 615,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 and over 4.2 million people have died worldwide, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
Just 58.4% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC last week, citing new science on the transmissibility of the delta variant, changed its mask guidance to now recommend everyone in areas with substantial or high levels of transmission -- vaccinated or not -- wear a face covering in public, indoor settings.
Latest headlines:
409 positive cases at Tokyo Olympics
As of Saturday, there are 409 positive COVID-19 cases at the Olympics, According to Tokyo 2020's coronavirus case list.
That is an increase of 22 cases since Friday.
All of the people who tested positive are either Games-concerned personnel, Tokyo 2020 contractors, media or volunteers. One Games-concerned employee was in the Olympic Village at the time of their positive test.
Amazon mandates warehouse workers wear masks
Amazon said Friday it was mandating all 900,000 of its warehouse workers wear masks, regardless of whether they are vaccinated.
The company had previously only required unvaccinated workers to wear masks. It blamed the change on the increasing risk presented by the delta variant.
"In response to the concerning spread of new COVID-19 variants in the U.S. and guidance from public health authorities and our own medical experts, we are requiring face coverings indoors regardless of vaccination status," Amazon said in a statement. "We are monitoring the situation closely and will continue to follow local government guidance and work closely with leading medical healthcare professionals, gathering their advice and recommendations as we go forward to ensure our buildings are optimized for the safety of our teams."
Many companies have taken the added step of requiring vaccinations, including fellow tech giants Google and Facebook.
US records highest single-day COVID case total in 6 months
The U.S. has recorded its highest single-day COVID-19 case total in exactly six months with more than 120,000 new cases reported, according to newly updated Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.
The country is now averaging more than 96,000 new cases a day.
Additionally, every single state in the country is reporting "high" (a seven-day new case rate ≥100) or "substantial" (a seven-day new case rate between 50-99.99) community transmission.
-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos
Louisiana marks highest test positivity rate since April 2020
Cases are skyrocketing in Louisiana, officials said Friday, with case positivity rates returning to the highs seen last spring.
Over the past two weeks, about 1% of the entire state population has become infected with COVID-19, officials said at a briefing.
The test positivity rate is now 15.4%, the highest number since April 22, 2020.
"We are at the leading edge of the surge case growth per capita and Louisiana continues to be the highest in the country," Gov. John Bel Edwards said.
Only about 37.5% of the state's population is fully vaccinated, well below the national rate of 50%.
"It is because of these grim statistics, coupled with a shortage of nurses and hospital staff that we asked the federal government to send medical strike teams our way," Edwards reported.
-ABC News' Jamie Aranoff and Jianna Cousin
7-day average of daily US vaccinations highest since June
The nation’s current seven-day average of 481,000 new COVID-19 vaccinations a day is the highest rate recorded since June 18, White House COVID Data Director Cyrus Shahpar said.
More young Americans are getting shots as well, with the daily average of 12-to-15-year-olds doubling over the last month.