The latest:
A rapidly growing number of places across the U.S. are requiring people to show proof they have been inoculated against COVID-19 to teach at schools, work at hospitals, see concerts or eat inside restaurants.
Following New York City's lead, New Orleans and San Francisco will impose such rules at many businesses starting next week, while Los Angeles is looking into the idea.
The new measures are an attempt to stem the rising tide of COVID-19 cases that has pushed hospitals to the breaking point and caused top officials to warn they're running out of beds in pediatric intensive care units (ICUs).
On Friday, the Chicago school system, the nation's third-largest district, with more than 360,000 students, announced it will require all its teachers and other employees to be fully vaccinated by mid-October unless they qualify for a medical or religious exemption.
Philadelphia has decreed that health-care workers, along with college students and staff, must get their shots by mid-October.
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell called proof of vaccination the best way to protect businesses. She said she is not imposing capacity limits or contemplating a shutdown similar to the one that devastated area businesses in 2020.
"Unlike this time last year, we have a tool that we did not have," she said, referring to vaccines.
Officials hope the requirement will translate into significant numbers of people getting the shots, something cash prizes and scholarships were unable to do.
Critics say requiring people to be vaccinated to enter a business violates their rights and their privacy.
At least 18 states led by Republican governors or legislatures prohibit the creation of so-called vaccine passports or ban public entities from demanding proof of vaccination. Several of those — including Alabama, Florida, Iowa, Montana, North Dakota and Texas — also bar most businesses from denying service to those who aren't vaccinated.
U.S. President Joe Biden has urged cities to adopt proof-of-vaccination requirements for restaurants and other businesses.
New York City's policy, which applies to restaurants, bars and other such venues, will go into effect on Monday, but inspections and enforcement won't begin until Sept. 13 — the week schools reopen. Customers will have to produce proof they have had at least one vaccine dose.
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The city is also demanding that all municipal workers — including teachers and police officers — get vaccinated by mid-September or face weekly testing.
San Francisco went one step further than New York, requiring patrons at indoor restaurants, bars, gyms and entertainment venues to show they are fully vaccinated. The rule will take effect Aug. 20.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issues people paper cards when they get their shots. California is among a few states that have established an online record with a barcode that people can use to prove their status. San Francisco's mayor said a photo of the CDC card will suffice.
What's happening in Canada
What's happening around the world
As of Friday, more than 205.4 million cases of COVID-19 had been reported around the world, according to the coronavirus tracker maintained by U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University. The reported global death toll stood at more than 4.3 million.
In Asia, the Tokyo Olympics have ended, but cases are still rising amid calls to limit gatherings. On Friday, the Japanese capital reported 5,773 new cases, surpassing the previous record of 5,042 set last week. Yet many are ignoring government requests to avoid travel and are gathering at bars and restaurants.
In the Americas, 27 people aboard a Carnival cruise tested positive for COVID-19 just before the ship made a stop in Belize City this week, according to the Belize Tourism Board. The positive cases were among 26 crew members and one passenger on the Carnival Vista, which is carrying over 1,400 crew and nearly 3,000 passengers, the board said in a statement. The ship arrived Wednesday in Belize City.
In Europe, deaths in Moscow rose 60 per cent in July compared to the same month a year earlier, health officials in Russia's capital said as the country reported a new daily record for COVID-19 fatalities. Moscow's health department said Friday that 17,237 people died last month — a number that included 6,583 coronavirus-related deaths, corresponding to a COVID-19 mortality rate of 3.95 per cent.
In Africa, South Africa's health minister Joe Phaahla said authorities would not would recommend a relaxation of lockdown measures from Level 3 currently, despite an overall downward trend in infections during its third wave. He said the country of 60 million had fully vaccinated only around four million people as a wave of infections driven by the more infectious delta variant strains overburdened hospitals and health workers.
Coronavirus: What's happening in Canada and around the world on Friday - CBC.ca
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