For the first time in a month, COVID-19 deaths in the United States are once again over 2,000 per week, a USA TODAY analysis of Johns Hopkins University data found. New cases are also averaging more than 60,000 per day for the first time in more than three months.
The delta variant of the coronavirus has caused a concerning new wave of the pandemic as unvaccinated people bear the brunt of its effects. While breakthrough cases are possible in vaccinated individuals, the unvaccinated account for virtually all hospitalizations and deaths.
The worrying trend comes as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new mask guidance Tuesday recommending fully vaccinated people wear masks indoors in public in areas with high transmission.
In response, California recommended that everybody in the state regardless of vaccination status wear a mask at indoors public settings. Similarly, the governors of New York and New Jersey urged indoor use of masks but did not require it.
Nevada issued an emergency order requiring people — vaccinated or not — in 12 of 17 counties to wear masks in public indoor spaces. In Kansas, where 80% of the counties have high or substantial spread, Gov. Laura Kelly said her administration intends to follow the CDC's guidance.
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said a special session to revisit the state’s ban on mask mandates in schools is an option as the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations in the state surpassed 1,000.
Michigan and Pennsylvania, on the other hand, likely won't issue a mask mandate or any other new COVID-19 pandemic orders in the immediate future.
Here are the mask mandates by state.
Globally, the pandemic remains in a critical period. The World Health Organization said the number of COVID-19 deaths jumped by 21% in the last week. "If these trends continue, the cumulative number of cases reported globally could exceed 200 million in the next two weeks," the WHO said.
Google requires vaccines, delays return to office
Google on Wednesday became the first major tech company to require COVID vaccinations of employees working at the company's facilities. Shortly afterward, Facebook also said it will make vaccines mandatory for U.S. employees who work in offices. Both companies said they would consider exceptions for medical and other reasons.
In a message to Google's 130,000-plus workers worldwide, CEO Sundar Pichai said the policy would go into effect in the U.S. in the coming weeks and abroad in the following months, and it would be dependent on vaccines being widely available.
While celebrating the sight of some employees back at Google campuses, Pichai also said the voluntary work-from-home policy would be extended through Oct. 18 because of the emergence of the delta variant.
"Even as the virus continues to surge in many parts of the world, it’s encouraging to see very high vaccination rates for our Google community in areas where vaccines are widely available,'' Pichai wrote. "... Getting vaccinated is one of the most important ways to keep ourselves and our communities healthy in the months ahead.''
Breakthrough cases after vaccine can lead to long-haul symptoms
A new Israeli study found that nearly 3% of medical workers contracted COVID-19 even though they were vaccinated, and 19% of them still had symptoms six weeks later.
The study was published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine. It followed about 1,500 Israeli health care workers for four months after they received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Anyone who tested positive more than 11 days after the second dose was considered a breakthrough case.
Thirty-nine people – 2.6% of the total – were diagnosed with the virus. One had a weakened immune system; the rest were healthy, including nurses, maintenance workers and a few doctors.
Although the vaccines were never expected to be perfect, the findings raise questions about their protection and suggest that even vaccinated people could experience long-term symptoms such as such as fatigue, brain fog and shortness of breath. Most of the people in the study who got sick had mild symptoms, and none were hospitalized.
Is delta variant more deadly? Evidence is mixed
The increasing impact of the delta variant on American lives has raised the question of how much more dangerous it is than previous versions of the coronavirus.
By some estimates, the delta is twice as contagious as the original strain because it kept some of the most successful mutations from earlier variants and developed new genetic changes. That allows it to spread faster and infect more people, including some who are fully vaccinated.
But is it more likely to cause severe disease or death? That question continues to baffle experts.
"The evidence really is mixed on whether delta is more virulent,'' said Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health and a frequent contributor to CNN. "I can point you to some studies that argue that it is and other studies that argue that it isn't, but none of them are particularly definitive and therefore it remains in my mind an honest, 'I don't know.
Workers search for answers amid uncertainty created by latest surge
Many employers that intended to reopen work spaces sometime in September are having second thoughts as coronavirus infections surge again and the CDC says even vaccinated people could transmit the virus.
All the uncertainty leaves employees with a number of questions, among them whether they'll be compelled to return to the office. Here are some answers.
England relaxes travel restrictions for vaccinated Americans, who will no longer have to quarantine
Fully vaccinated Americans can visit England without quarantining beginning Monday, a long-awaited change for travelers.
"We're helping reunite people living in the US and European countries with their family and friends in the UK,'' Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said on Twitter.
The lifting of the England quarantine requirement comes just a week after the CDC and the U.S. State Department recommended against travel to the United Kingdom due to rising COVD case counts.
U.S. citizens have been allowed to travel to the U.K. during the pandemic but faced travel restrictions, including coronavirus testing requirements and quarantine. Under the relaxed rules for vaccinated Americans and Europeans, visitors will still be subject to COVID testing requirements.
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