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LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Masks will have to be worn outside in Oregon, the state’s governor announced Tuesday, as the United States grapples with a surge in Covid-19 cases. The mandate, which takes effect Friday, makes the northwestern state the first in the country to re-introduce a rule that was common during the darkest days of the pandemic. “The Delta variant is spreading fast and wide, throwing our state into a level of […]
by Lucie AUBOURG WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The recent surge of Covid-19, driven by the Delta variant, has reignited political controversy around mask-wearing in the United States, with some governors opposing all measures to make masks mandatory despite advice from health authorities. The dispute feels familiar, harkening back to the early days of the pandemic when masks became a symbol of political affiliation in the US — the clash led by then-president Donald Trump, […]
People vaccinated against Covid-19 in high-risk parts of the United States should resume wearing masks indoors, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Tuesday. The shift comes as the Delta variant of the coronavirus is driving a sharp surge in cases, with hotspots in regions that have lagged behind in vaccinations. “In areas with substantial and high transmission, CDC recommends fully vaccinated people wear masks in public indoor settings,” said CDC director Rochelle […]
by Marie Giffard with Rosa Sulleiro in Barcelona Agence France Presse MADRID, Spain (AFP) — It’s over 35 degrees Celsius and although masks are no longer obligatory in the streets of Spain, masks are everywhere in Madrid as people fear soaring Covid cases. Unlike people in many other European countries who have dropped their masks, Spaniards have largely opted to hang onto the face coverings that have become part of the daily lives of […]
by Issam AHMED Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — With the Delta variant pushing US Covid cases back up, fully vaccinated people are wondering whether they need to start masking indoors again. Covid vaccines remain extremely effective against the worst outcomes of the disease — hospitalization and death — and breakthrough infections remain uncommon. But experts told AFP that one size doesn’t fit all, and people should consider factors like community transmission, […]
LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Wearing a face mask at an indoor public establishments will once again be mandatory in Los Angeles starting this weekend due to a steady increase in Covid-19 infections and hospitalizations, health authorities said Thursday. Los Angeles is the first large US metropolis to reimpose the use of face masks — regardless of vaccination status — in shops, grocery stores, restaurants and workplaces to help contain the pandemic. The […]
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — London Mayor Sadiq Khan on Wednesday called for use of face coverings to remain compulsory on public transport in the British capital after government plans to relax Covid curbs begin on July 19. Under the plans passengers on Transport for London (TfL) services — which include the city’s tube, bus, tram, and rail networks — would be required to wear a face-covering after an England-wide requirement ends under plans set […]
ROME, Italy (AFP) — All of Italy became a mask-free, “low-risk” zone for coronavirus Monday, marking a dramatic milestone for the first European country to be hit by the global pandemic in February 2020. In a decree that took effect Monday, the health ministry for the first time classified each of Italy’s 20 regions as “white”, signifying low risk, under the country’s color-coded classification system that evaluates Covid-19 risk. That means facemasks will no longer […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — France on Wednesday said it was ending the obligation to wear masks outside and would bring forward the lifting of a nighttime curfew, as Covid infections fall and the country’s vaccine drive picks up. Prime Minister Jean Castex said the requirement for people to wear masks outdoors in much of the country would be lifted from Thursday, with some exceptions, while an unpopular 11:00 pm Covid curfew will be scrapped on […]
SAO PAULO, Brazil (AFP) — Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was fined $100 Saturday for violating Covid-19 containment measures in Sao Paulo state by failing to wear a face mask and provoking huge crowds at a motorcycle rally for supporters. Thousands of roaring motorcycles took part in the “Accelerate for Christ” rally in Sao Paulo, led by the far-right president, who wore an open-faced helmet and no mask, in violation of state health regulations. Bolsonaro, […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The top US health agency on Thursday announced it was lifting mask-wearing requirements for people fully vaccinated against Covid-19, a watershed moment in the pandemic. “Anyone who is fully vaccinated can participate in indoor and outdoor activities, large or small, without wearing a mask or physical distancing,” said Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Rochelle Walensky. “If you are fully vaccinated, you can start doing the things that you […]
by Sebastian Smith WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Americans vaccinated against Covid-19 no longer need to mask up outdoors when there is no crowd, President Joe Biden said Tuesday, before celebrating by taking his first short walk at the White House without the face covering. Biden told the nation in televised remarks from the leafy North Lawn that “stunning progress” has been made in getting vaccines administered and that stringent mask recommendations can now be […]
