14:35
Covid cases rising in every US state, data shows
Good morning, and welcome to today’s politics live blog.
Covid-19 cases are rising in every state, with some states seeing as much as double the number of cases as last week, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Public health experts point to the more transmissible Delta variant, a slowdown in vaccinations and surges from the Fourth of July weekend as the main factors behind the surge.
Though nearly 70% of the adult population has received at least one vaccine dose, the virus is clearly still spreading. The New York Yankees are postponing a game after six members of the team tested positive for the virus. In Arkansas, which has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the country with about 35% of its population fully vaccinated, hospitals are “full” and “cases are doubling every 10 days”, Cam Patterson, chancellor of the University of Arkansas for Medical Science, told CNN. Los Angeles county will begin requiring masks indoors again starting Sunday.
Biden’s administration has deployed “surge response teams” in states with high Covid-19 rates and low vaccination rates to try to encourage skeptical Americans to get vaccinated and assist local governments, though it is unclear how successful these efforts will be.
Here’s what else we’re looking at today:
- Even as Covid cases are rising across the country, Republican lawmakers in multiple states are pushing for bills that would make it harder for employers to require the Covid-19 vaccinations.
- The fight for voting rights continues as nine people, including a Democratic congresswoman, were arrested at the US Capitol yesterday as they protested for voting rights.
- The west coast is bracing for another heatwave this weekend as wildfires are burning across hundreds of miles.
Stay tuned for more live updates.