Feds: Employers can mandate vaccines
Malaysia's COVID surge builds higher; Brazil deaths mount, and President Biden urges more people to get vaccinated before July 4.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission updated its pandemic guidelines late Friday, advising that employers may require all employees to get COVID-19 vaccinations, with some limitations. Employers also may require COVID-19 testing for persons entering a workplace.
Since the pandemic began, at least 1,630 healthcare workers in the USA have died from COVID-19. However, since vaccinations started, the number of new healthcare worker deaths has dropped to fewer than five most weeks since February.
President Biden urged Americans to keep getting vaccinated so that the current trend of improving pandemic metrics and a growing economy can continue. In remarks at a school in Alexandria, Virginia, Biden said ending the pandemic is the best way to bring Americans together.
The CDC says kids at summer camps who are vaccinated do not need to wear masks or social distance from others.
Malaysia’s prime minister ordered an almost complete lockdown from June 1-14 after recording record numbers of new COVID-19 cases four days in a row.
In Brazil, more than 2,300 new COVID-19 deaths were reported Friday.
Florida’s governor threatened Celebrity Cruises with fines up to $5,000 per passenger who is asked to present proof of vaccination before departing on cruises from Florida ports. The CDC authorized Celebrity to resume cruises provided that 100% of crew and 95% of passengers have received COVID-19 vaccinations. DeSantis is suing in federal court to enforce Florida’s ban on “vaccine passports.”
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