Florida Hits Record; JPMorgan, Amazon Mask Up: Virus Update

(Bloomberg) -- Florida posted a single-day record of 22,783 new cases. One percent of the Louisiana’s entire population has become infected over the last two weeks. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy mandated masks in schools as cases increase among a younger population.

United Airlines Holdings Inc. became the first major U.S. carrier to require employee inoculation, as the coronavirus upends corporate life. JPMorgan Chase & Co. brought back its mask requirement, as did Amazon.com Inc. for U.S. frontline workers.

People who have previously survived Covid-19 are more than twice as likely to catch the disease again if they’re not vaccinated, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control said Friday.

Key Developments:

• Global Tracker: Cases top 201.3 million; deaths pass 4.27 million
• Vaccine Tracker: More than 4.31 billion doses administered
• U.S. Spotlight: Hawaii, masked and vaccinated, still falls prey to delta strain
• DeSantis digs in on mask resistance as Covid ravages Florida
• It’s chaos on Wall Street as delta variant upends return to work
• Singapore eases Covid curbs in shift to life with endemic virus

Cardinal Health Requires Vaccines (3:55 p.m. NY)

Drug distributor Cardinal Health Inc. will require some of its nearly 50,000 workers to get vaccinated by Oct. 4, the company said Friday. All salaried employees, sales team members, office-based workers, anyone required to travel for business and anyone planning to go to a customer location must get a shot. People working in distribution centers, manufacturing plants and hourly employees working remotely aren’t covered under the mandate though they need to show their vaccination status.

Florida Breaks Daily Record Again (3:44 p.m. NY)

Florida posted a single-day record 22,783 new Covid-19 cases for Thursday, according to the latest update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The seven-day average of new cases rose to 18,933, up about 28% from a week earlier, the data show. About 42% of Florida’s adult intensive-care unit beds are in use by Covid-19 patients, the most in the U.S. after Louisiana and Mississippi, and increases in that number typically trail upticks in infections.

N.J. Mandates Masks in Schools (3:41 p.m. NY)

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy mandated masks in schools as cases increase among a younger population that next month will start in-person lessons statewide for the first time since the pandemic’s onset.

Murphy made the announcement Friday afternoon at an elementary school in East Brunswick. The order applies to more than 1.4 million schoolchildren, plus teachers and other staff, while indoors in public and private schools.

“Anyone telling you that we can safely reopen our schools without requiring everyone inside to wear a mask is quite simply lying to you,” Murphy said.

One Percent of Louisiana Infected in 2 Weeks (3:30 p.m. NY)

Over the last week, 6,000 children in Louisiana have contracted Covid-19 and 200 people, almost all unvaccinated, have died from it. One percent of the state’s entire population has become infected over the last two weeks.

“Unfortunately the eyes of the nation are largely on the state of Louisiana right now,” Governor John Bel Edwards said at a news conference, four days after he announced a renewed mask mandate in the state with the worst outbreak per capita in the U.S.

He and health officials and providers released statistics on the state’s fourth and worst viral wave. Edwards said Friday marked the fourth consecutive day in which Louisiana broke a record for hospitalizations for the entire pandemic. He said the surge has helped increase vaccinations 300% over the last month, though Louisiana still has one of the nation’s lowest rates of inoculation.

N.Y. Hospitalizations Rise (3:05 p.m. NY)

New York reported 1,050 total Covid-19 patients hospitalized, the most since late May and the 19th consecutive day the total number increased. Total patients hospitalized went as low as 330 in June and July.

In April 2020 the state reported a peak of 18,825 Covid-19 patients hospitalized.

New York also reported 3,700 new virus cases, the most in a single day since the end of April.

Amazon Mandates Vaccines for Frontline Workers (2:48 p.m. NY)

Amazon.com Inc. is ordering frontline U.S. employees to resume wearing masks at work regardless of vaccination status, joining the ranks of companies ramping up precautions in response to the spread of the Covid-19 delta variant.

The world’s largest online retailer said in a notice to employees on Friday that workers in its warehouses and other logistics depots in the U.S. must resume wearing masks beginning on Monday.

Schrager’s NYC Hotel Requires Vaccination (2:44 p.m. NY)

New York City’s Public Hotel will become the first to insist all guests, visitors and staff are vaccinated against the Covid-19 virus, owner Ian Schrager said this week.

Schrager, co-founder of Studio 54, the discotheque and nightclub popular in the late 1970s, is often credited with inventing the modern boutique hotel. He said he intended to impose the policy beginning Sept. 5, with all guests over 12 required to show a vaccine card or passport providing proof of inoculation.

JPMorgan Reimposes Masks (1:38 p.m. NY)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. brought back its mask requirement for vaccinated employees after ditching it earlier this year.

The largest U.S. bank, which often sets policies ultimately adopted by the broader financial industry, announced the change in a memo to staff Friday. The firm told its U.S. office workers in May that they don’t have to wear masks if they’re fully vaccinated against Covid-19, but the rise of the highly transmittable delta variant and a change in official U.S. guidance upended that approach.

Unvaccinated Vulnerable to Reinfection (1 p.m. NY)

People who have previously survived Covid-19 are more than twice as likely to catch the disease again if they’re not vaccinated, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control said Friday.

A new study of Kentucky residents who already contracted the coronavirus found that those who didn’t get vaccinated got re-infected far more often than a similar group of patients who got vaccinated even after having had Covid once.

The vaccines “offer better protection than natural immunity alone,” the CDC said in a statement.

Dollar General to Host Vaccine Clinics (12:36 p.m. NY)

Dollar General Corp. discount stores in Michigan will host Covid-19 vaccine clinics to bring shots to hard-to-reach communities, according to a news release from the state health department.

The program will roll out at 12 stores in counties across the state. Workers from SnapNurse, a health-care staffing company, will administer the doses.

Free Tests at Sturgis Bike Rally (12:20 p.m. NY)

Free rapid tests will be given at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, which starts on Friday and is expected to attract at least half a million bikers to South Dakota. Hundreds of cases were traced to last year’s rally, and while South Dakota’s new cases are relatively low, they have risen almost 70% in the last week, the state’s health department reported.

“Testing is key to slowing down virus spread and ensuring those who are positive can take the necessary precautions to isolate themselves to protect others,” Daniel Bucheli, a spokesman for the South Dakota Department of Health, said in a statement. The department will be distributing the tests with Monument Health, based in Rapid City.

Russia Death Toll Jumps (12:06 p.m. NY)

Russia’s death toll from Covid-19 in June climbed to 27,118, the highest since the virus raged in January, as vaccinations lagged and the delta variant spread across the country.

The total was up 43% from the revised May figure of 18,996 and was nearly twice the initial figures reported by the government, according to Federal Statistics Service data released late Friday. That brings total fatalities in Russia linked to the epidemic to 316,793 through June, among the highest in the world.

Vaccine uptake has been slow, with only about 39 million people inoculated. That’s less than 30% of the total population.

EU May Reimpose Travel Curbs for U.S. (11:33 a.m. NY)

The European Union will likely discuss reintroducing travel restrictions on visitors from the U.S. next week amid rising coronavirus case numbers.

The U.S. has breached the threshold to be included on the list of third countries that enjoy unrestricted travel into the bloc, according to a person familiar with the situation.

The EU lifted restrictions on the U.S. in June, adding it to its list of countries from where non-essential travel into the bloc is allowed after its epidemiological situation met the bloc’s criteria for entry.

Utah Schools May Spur Surge (11:10 a.m. NY)

In Utah, math models suggest virus cases could quadruple by October as schools re-open, the Deseret News reports. “We think there will be quite a few cases in the K through 12 age group,” state epidemiologist Leisha Nolen told the Utah Board of Education on Thursday. Utah’s seven-day rolling average for positive Covid-19 tests is 905 a day, the newspaper said.

Arkansas Lawmakers Reject Mask Plea (11:05 a.m. NY)

Arkansas’s legislature rejected on Friday a plea by Governor Asa Hutchinson to allow local school districts to set mask rules for young children amid the state’s spike in cases. Legislators left a special session called by Hutchinson to reconsider a law they passed in April banning mask mandates. The Republican governor later said he regretted signing the law.

“It is conservative, reasonable and compassionate to allow local school districts to protect those students who are under 12 and not eligible for the Covid-19 vaccine,” Hutchinson said in a statement. “If we are going to have a successful school year then the local school districts need to have flexibility to protect those that are at risk.”

United to Require Worker Vaccination (7:30 a.m. NY)

United Airlines said workers must get vaccinated against the coronavirus, becoming the first major U.S. carrier to impose the mandate.

Employees must receive the vaccine and upload their injection record to a company database no later than Oct. 25, although that date could change, United said in a memo Friday. In mid-June, the Chicago-based airline began requiring new hires to provide proof of coronavirus vaccinations by their start date.

Poland Sees Most New Cases Since Mid-June (2:50 p.m. HK)

Poland has detected 3 lambda variant cases, Deputy Health Minister Waldemar Kraska said on Friday, adding that the strain doesn’t seem to be more active or contagious than delta. The country registered 176 new cases on Thursday, the most since mid-June.

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With assistance from Bloomberg