As the highly contagious delta variant continues to spread, federal health officials are racing to ensure that millions of Americans with weakened immune systems can get additional shots of coronavirus vaccines to protect them.
Still, there are people who have recovered from COVID-19 and have been urged to get vaccinated, and a new study shows survivors who ignored that advice were more than twice as likely to get reinfected.
We’re updating this page with the latest news about the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on the Seattle area, the U.S. and the world. Click here to see previous days’ live updates and all our other coronavirus coverage, and here to see how we track the daily spread across Washington and the world.
19% of recent documented California COVID are breakthroughs, but not leading to hospitalizations, deaths
About 19% of recent documented COVID-19 cases in California are breakthroughs, and state data shows that those who have been fully vaccinated account for an increasing portion of positive tests.
The number, which contradicts a repeated public portrayal that breakthrough cases are negligible, can be easily misinterpreted. To be clear, this is not an indication of some sort of vaccine failure. Quite the contrary.
Breakthrough cases were expected. State data still suggests that unvaccinated people are nearly five times as likely to be infected as those who are inoculated. And almost all the hospitalizations and deaths are among unvaccinated people. Vaccines remain the most important tool for fighting the pandemic.
Rather, the rising proportion of breakthrough cases suggests that even people who have been vaccinated are potentially significant spreaders of coronavirus, especially the delta variant. It reinforces why vaccinated people should also wear masks in public settings.
Read the whole story here.
Spokane delays return to in-person City Council meetings amid COVID case spike
The spike in COVID-19 cases in Spokane County will delay the return of in-person Spokane City Council meetings at least several weeks.
The Spokane City Council had eyed Aug. 16 for a return to in-person meetings.
Council members agreed Thursday to push back the potential in-person reopening until at least Sept. 17, citing the recent surge in COVID-19 cases in Spokane County caused by the delta variant.
“The last two days have kind of shaken me in terms of public health, and the last thing I want to do is be a part of spreading this disease to people,” said City Council President Breean Beggs.
Read the whole story here.
Protests against French health passes continue for fourth week
PARIS — Thousands of people marched in Paris and other French cities during a fourth consecutive week of protests against COVID-19 entrance requirements and what opponents see as restrictions on personal freedom.
The demonstrations on Saturday come two days after France’s Constitutional Council upheld most provisions of a new law that expands the locations where health passes are needed to enter.
Starting Monday, the pass will be required to access cafes, restaurants, long-distance travel and, in some cases, hospitals. It was already in place for cultural and recreational venues, including cinemas, concert halls and theme parks with capacity for more than 50 people.
Read the whole story here.
Japan considers the meaning, lasting impact of its pandemic Olympics
TOKYO — Was it the strangest Olympics ever, staged during a deadly pandemic, with no fans? How about the angriest, awash in protests and fierce opposition from large swaths of the host nation?
The scariest, with fears of new coronavirus variants and surging cases plaguing Japan— though mostly dodging those in the Olympic “bubble” — throughout the two weeks of sports? Or maybe, as athletes banded together under moments of intense stress, the kindest?
As tens of thousands of athletes, journalists and officials get ready to pack up and leave Monday, Japan will be left to pick over the answers to these questions, maybe for years. Amid the lingering glow from the televised pomp and the indisputable athletic drama, whatever you call these Olympics, it’s worth stopping to consider how Japan sees them.
They were sold, well before the pandemic, as the symbol of Japan’s recovery from the destruction of the 2011 tsunami and nuclear meltdown. The rhetoric now tends to focus on their link to the world overcoming coronavirus.
But does that really work in a country where thousands are still getting sick each day, let alone in other, even worse-hit nations that have sent athletes to Tokyo? Many here, while proud that Japan is on the verge of pulling off what many thought impossible or, in some corners, highly inadvisable, still believe these Games were forced on the country and that their real cost, possibly in lives lost, is yet to be paid.
Read the whole story here.
COVID survivors share stories to encourage masking, vaccination
ATLANTA — As her father lay dying last August from the coronavirus at a Georgia hospital, Lindsay Schwarz put her hands on his arms and softly sang him lines from their favorite songs.
Eugene Schwarz had been admitted three weeks earlier, but the hospital had not allowed his daughter to visit him for fear of spreading the virus. The 72-year-old looked nothing like the ebullient, crisply dressed cardiologist who used to kiss her on the forehead before heading off to work.
“I was hugging my father, and it didn’t really feel like my father,” Schwarz said.
Less than an hour after she was allowed to see him, he died.
Schwarz recalled the painful experience in a phone interview on Friday to raise awareness about the devastating impacts of COVID-19. She and other victims of the virus, including people who were infected months ago and are still experiencing severe symptoms, have organized rallies in Atlanta, New York, Washington D.C., Denver and more than a dozen other cities around the country on Saturday to encourage people to get vaccinated and wear a mask.
Read the whole story here.
Masks, social distancing planned for return to schools
With only about three weeks left before school starts, Washington school districts, including Seattle, are gearing up for another year of masks, social distancing and contact tracing as most children return to the classroom — some, for the first time in 18 months.
Since a majority of kids eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine haven’t gotten the shot yet, according to state health officials, avoiding the spread of the highly transmissible delta variant is a top priority.
Every school district will be expected to provide full-time in-person learning to all students who want it, and masks will still be required for students and staff — or districts risk an “immediate” halt to their funding, according to state schools Superintendent Chris Reykdal. Private schools must also adhere to the ongoing state school mask order, a continuation of the mask requirement from last school year.
Washington is one of a handful of states — including Oregon and California — requiring masks for everyone in school, regardless of vaccination status. Students and staff are not required to wear them outdoors.
Read the whole story here.
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