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:
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.
Read the full story here.
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.
Biden calls out governors of Florida, Texas
President Joe Biden is calling out Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for rejecting mask mandates in their states.
"I believe the results of their decisions are not good for their constituents," Biden said of the governors at a Tuesday news conference.
Biden said Florida and Texas are accounting for one-third of the new COVID-19 cases in the country.
"We need leadership from everyone. If some governors aren't willing to do the right thing to beat this pandemic, then they should allow businesses and universities who want to do the right thing to be able to do it," Biden said. "I say to these governors, 'Please help. But if you aren't going to help, at least get out of the way.'"