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.
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Florida's largest school districts impose mask mandates -- with a catch
This weekend, some of Florida's largest school districts have moved to require masks for students, the latest in a weeklong saga that began when Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an executive order aimed at preventing districts from mandating face coverings for kids.
However, the mandates -- issued by districts including Hillsborough (Tampa), Orange (Orlando), and Palm Beach -- come with a catch: parents are allowed to opt their children out of them, without providing a reason.
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US records 4th straight day with at least 100,000 cases
The U.S. just recorded a fourth consecutive day with more than 100,000 new daily COVID-19 cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The country is averaging more than 99,000 daily cases over the last week, CDC data shows, as the delta variant continues to spread.
'Too late for meaningful mitigation' in Gulf states: Expert
Tom Bossert, a former White House homeland security adviser and an ABC News contributor, painted a somber picture of the COVID-19 crisis unfolding, saying, "It's too late for any meaningful mitigation" in Gulf states.
Bossert warned that hospital systems in hard-hit states could be overwhelmed within a few days as the delta variant spreads further.
"If this pace continues for the next four or five days, which it seems it will, the hospital systems in Florida and Louisiana will collapse. That's how bad this is. By 'collapse,' I mean they will be full, their ICUs and their hospitals, they will be turning away patients," he said on "Good Morning America" Saturday.
"In some states -- Florida, Louisiana, Texas is looking bad -- all through the Gulf Coast, I believe it's too late for any meaningful mitigation," he continued. "In other words, there is so much disease that what we're seeing is a mathematical certainty."
Bossert urged federal and local governments to focus on providing aid to overburdened hospital systems.
San Francisco restaurants closing 'like PTSD again'
Several San Francisco restaurants have been forced to temporarily close due to a spike in COVID-19 cases.
Aziza, a Moroccan restaurant in the Outer Richmond area, closed after several employees' breakthrough cases.
“We’ve been closed a week, and we’ll be closed probably another week,” co-owner Scott Chilcutt told ABC San Francisco station KGO. He mandated the vaccine for employees in the spring, but three staffers still recently tested positive even after getting shots.
Laurie Thomas, executive director of the Golden Gate Restaurant Association, said there’s only been a handful of recent closures, but each is painful.
"It’s like PTSD again," she said.