Last:
Some Texas counties and school districts remained defiant Monday and maintained mandates requiring students and others to wear face coverings despite rulings the Texas Supreme Court the day before to halt mask mandates in two of the largest counties in the United States.
However, school districts and other communities canceled their mask mandates after Sunday’s court ruling, causing confusion for Texas students returning to in-person classes this week. This comes at a time when the United States is facing another wave of the Corona virus, which is supported by the highly contagious Delta type of virus.
The order from Texas’ highest court — made up entirely of elected Republican judges — halts mask requirements put in place by Democratic district leaders in Dallas and San Antonio as new infections mount and students begin returning to school.
Dallas school officials said Monday — the first day back in classes — that masks are still required on district properties and that visitors have not been allowed in schools.
Students and parents also gathered outside the governor’s mansion in Austin to urge Republican Governor Greg Abbott to drop his opposition to public school mask mandates.
Meanwhile, Governor Andrew Cuomo said in a new mandate issued Monday that all health care workers in New York state should be vaccinated against COVID-19 unless they have a medical or religious exemption. He said in a statement that they had received at least one dose of the vaccine by September 27.
Cuomo previously ordered all workers who handle patients in government hospitals to be vaccinated under a mandate issued in July. According to the statement, about 75 percent of the state’s nearly 450,000 hospital workers have been vaccinated.
Starting Tuesday, New York City will begin requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccinations for anyone who wants to participate in a lot of public life including eating at an indoor restaurant, working out at the gym or strolling through a museum.
While the new requirement goes into effect on Tuesday, it won’t take effect until September 13 to give the public more time to get vaccinated. City officials have promised to train companies on how to handle potential confrontations between sponsors and employees, who will be on the front lines of vaccination status checks.
— From The Associated Press and Reuters, last updated at 5 p.m. ET
What is happening in Canada
Canadian voters had mixed reactions to the news that Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau’s request had been approved – particularly amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 2:12
What is happening around the world
As of Monday afternoon, more than 207.6 million cases of COVID-19 have been reported worldwide, according to a tracking tool maintained by US-based Johns Hopkins University. The reported global death toll has reached more than 4.3 million.
In the Asia Pacific The Japanese government announced on Monday that the state of emergency over the coronavirus in Japan will last until September 12 instead of ending at the end of this month as initially planned. As the virus continues to spread in the country, the state of emergency that began in July will be extended and expanded in Tokyo, Osaka, Okinawa and three other regions.
Australia’s most populous state on Monday recorded its worst day in the history of the pandemic, with 478 new COVID-19 infections and seven deaths. The previous record for the daily number in New South Wales was 466 new cases reported on Saturday. Two of the dead had received a single dose of a two-dose vaccine. New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the rest had not been vaccinated.
In the Americas, more Mexican adults in their 30s and 40s are ending up in the hospital as the delta variable is sweeping cities, with polls showing vaccination frequency is rising in younger age groups.
At the height of the pandemic in January, 10 percent of people hospitalized with COVID-19 were between the ages of 18 and 39, according to the Department of Health. Cases have now risen again to near record levels and that percentage has tripled.
In the Middle eastIran recorded a new high number of deaths from COVID-19 for the second day in a row, as the official IRNA news agency said on Monday that 655 patients had died in the past 24 hours. The report came as the country imposed a five-day lockdown starting Monday. It includes a travel ban on personal vehicles transiting between governorates.
Israel says more than a million people over the age of 50 have received a third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Israel began providing boosters to its older residents two weeks ago, becoming the first country in the world to use a Western vaccine to do so.
in a EuropeMeanwhile, this week Serbia will begin giving a third or booster dose of the vaccines to people who were previously vaccinated at least six months ago, after infection rates rose in recent days.
Germany’s Standing Committee on Immunization, Stiko, has given the go-ahead for all young people over 12 years of age to be vaccinated against the coronavirus. The country’s disease control agency said Monday that Stiko has found that data from the United States, where nearly 10 million teens have been vaccinated, show that the benefits of the vaccines outweigh the risks for children and teens.
in a AfricaOn Sunday, South African health officials reported 10,139 new cases of COVID-19 and 272 new deaths.
— From Reuters, The AssOssiaNSEd Presss asecond abbreviation CBC News, last updated at 5pm ET
Discussion about this post