The Latest: Florida capital’s schools to require masks

By The Associated Press

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The schoolhouse superintendent successful Florida’s superior metropolis announced Sunday that masks volition beryllium required for students successful prekindergarten done eighth grade, becoming the seventh territory to defy Gov. Ron DeSantis’ prohibition connected specified COVID-19 mandates.

Leon County Superintendent Rocky Hanna said the territory has seen affirmative tests for the coronavirus skyrocket since schoolhouse opened Aug. 11 successful Tallahassee and its contiguous suburbs. He said parents who don’t privation their simple oregon mediate schoolhouse pupil to deterioration a disguise volition request to get a signed enactment from their child’s doc oregon scientist by Friday.

Leon, which has 32,000 students, initially had backed disconnected connected specified a mandate aft DeSantis and Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran said districts could lone enforce a disguise mandate if parents tin opt retired their children connected their own. They person threatened to chopped backing from districts that enforce stricter mandates and enforce sanctions against their elected officials.

Hanna said helium is “in full favour of idiosyncratic rights and state and the rights of parents,” but that does not see the close to endanger the wellness of others.

“I don’t judge that masks are needfully the end-all, be-all, but we cognize they marque a difference. The immense bulk of wellness attraction experts archer america they marque a difference,” Hanna said successful a connection broadcast connected Facebook.

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MORE ON THE PANDEMIC:

— Lockdowns oregon vaccines? 3 Pacific nations effort diverging paths

— U.S. mask, vaccine conflicts descend into unit and harassment

— Pandemic fiction: Fall books see stories of the virus

— The Rev. Jesse Jackson, woman Jacqueline, hospitalized for COVID

— Hurricane Henri thwarts Central Park performance hailing NYC microorganism rebound

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Find much AP sum astatine https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic and https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine

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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

WASHINGTON — U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy says helium wouldn’t beryllium amazed if the Food and Drug Administration’s afloat support of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine comes soon and helium expects that it volition spur much vaccine mandates by schools and businesses.

Murthy said Sunday helium didn’t privation to get up of the FDA’s announcement but didn’t disagree it could hap this week. He cited a wealthiness of information showing Pfizer’s two-dose regimen is harmless and effective.

Currently the vaccine is being distributed nether the FDA’s exigency usage authorization. Murthy said helium believes that erstwhile the bureau completes its afloat reappraisal and issues approval, much Americans volition beryllium persuaded to get the shots.

He besides anticipated much vaccine requirements, including for teachers and staff, describing mandates arsenic a “reasonable” happening to bash to make a harmless situation for children and others.

Murthy said that fixed the highly transmissible delta variant, “We person got to instrumentality each measurement we can” erstwhile wellness and well-being is “on the line.”

He spoke connected CNN’s “State of the Union,” ABC’s “This Week” and “Fox News Sunday.”

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AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says helium has tested antagonistic for COVID-19 conscionable 4 days aft investigating positive.

“I’m told that my corruption was little and mild due to the fact that of the vaccination that I received,” Abbott said successful a video clip posted connected his Twitter relationship connected Saturday. “So I promote others who person not yet received the vaccination to see getting one.”

When the Republican politician announced Tuesday that helium had tested affirmative for the virus, his bureau said helium was successful bully wellness and experiencing nary symptoms. Abbott said Saturday that helium volition proceed to quarantine arsenic recommended by doctors.

Abbott, who was vaccinated successful December, has refused calls to reinstate disguise mandates arsenic the highly contagious delta variant surges successful Texas. He tested affirmative for the microorganism a time aft appearing indoors adjacent Dallas without a disguise portion speaking to a crowded country of GOP supporters, astir of whom were older and unmasked.

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TEHRAN — Iran has reported its highest single-day COVID-19 decease toll of the pandemic, according to authorities media.

The authoritative IRNA quality bureau said Sunday that 684 radical had died of the illness since Saturday, portion much than 36,400 caller cases were confirmed implicit the aforesaid 24-hour period.

Iran’s erstwhile regular grounds for COVID-19 deaths was recorded Aug. 16. The state reported its highest fig of regular cases the adjacent day, with much than 50,000.

A five-day lockdown successful the state ended connected Saturday.

The existent question of infections is Iran’s 5th of the pandemic and fueled by the highly contagious delta variant. The state besides is struggling to vaccinate its colonisation against the coronavirus. Some 7% of Iranians person been afloat vaccinated.

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WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Japan, Australia and New Zealand each got done the archetypal twelvemonth of the coronavirus pandemic successful comparatively bully signifier but are taking diverging paths successful dealing with caller outbreaks of the fast-spreading delta variant.

The find of a azygous section COVID-19 lawsuit successful New Zealand was capable for the authorities to enactment the full state into strict lockdown this past week.

Elsewhere astir the Pacific, though, Japan is resisting specified measures successful the look of a record-breaking surge, alternatively emphasizing its accelerating vaccine program. And Australia has fallen determination successful the middle.

The antithetic approaches could person far-reaching consequences for the economies of those nations and the wellness of their citizens.

Professor Michael Baker, an epidemiologist astatine New Zealand’s University of Otago, said countries astir the satellite are struggling to accommodate to the highly contagious variant.

“With the delta variant, the aged rules conscionable don’t work,” helium said.

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A blimpish speech vigor big from Tennessee who had been a vaccine skeptic until helium was hospitalized from COVID-19 has died. He was 61.

Nashville vigor presumption SuperTalk 99.7 WTN confirmed Phil Valentine’s decease successful a tweet connected Saturday.

Valentine had been a skeptic of coronavirus vaccines. But aft helium tested affirmative for COVID-19, and anterior to his hospitalization, helium told his listeners to consider, “If I get this COVID thing, bash I person a accidental of dying from it?” If so, helium advised them to get vaccinated. He said helium chose not to get vaccinated due to the fact that helium thought helium astir apt wouldn’t die.

After Valentine was moved into a captious attraction unit, his member Mark said the speech vigor big regretted that “he wasn’t a much vocal advocator of the vaccination.”

“I cognize if helium were capable to archer you this, helium would archer you, ’Go get vaccinated. Quit worrying astir the politics. Quit worrying astir each the conspiracy theories,” Mark Valentine told The Tennessean connected July 25.

“He regrets not being much adamant astir getting the vaccine. Look astatine the dadgum data,” Mark Valentine said.

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CHICAGO —Civil rights person and two-time statesmanlike campaigner Jesse Jackson and his wife, Jacqueline, person been hospitalized aft investigating affirmative for COVID-19, according to a connection Saturday.

The Rev. Jackson, 79, is vaccinated against the coronavirus and received his archetypal dose successful January during a publicized lawsuit arsenic helium urged others to person the inoculation arsenic soon arsenic possible. He and his wife, 77, are being treated astatine Northwestern Memorial Hospital successful Chicago.

“Doctors are presently monitoring the information of both,” according to the connection from Jesse Jackson’s nonprofit, the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition.

“There are nary further updates astatine this time,” the connection said. “We volition supply updates arsenic they go available.”

A protégé of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jackson was cardinal successful guiding the modern civilian rights question connected galore issues, including voting rights.

Despite having been diagnosed for Parkinson’s disease, helium has remained progressive and has advocated for COVID-19 vaccines for Black people, who lag down achromatic radical successful the United States’ vaccination drive.

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FRANKFORT, Ky. — The Kentucky governor’s efforts to combat COVID-19 person suffered a landmark ineligible defeat.

The state’s precocious tribunal connected Saturday cleared the mode for laws reining successful his exigency powers to instrumentality effect. The authorities Supreme Court ordered a little tribunal to dissolve an injunction blocking the caller Republican-backed laws limiting Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s exigency powers.

The ruling revolves astir a quality betwixt Beshear and the GOP-led legislature implicit the scope of the governor’s enforcement authorization successful times of emergencies. It comes arsenic COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are surging successful Kentucky.

The politician lifted astir of his pandemic restrictions successful June. But with COVID-19 cases spiking owed to the delta variant, helium signed a caller enforcement bid imposing an indoor disguise mandate successful K-12 schools, kid attraction and pre-kindergarten programs crossed Kentucky.

One of the contested laws limits the governor’s enforcement orders successful times of exigency to 30 days unless extended by lawmakers.

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PARIS — Thousands of protesters marched again successful cities and towns crossed France against a COVID-19 wellness walk required to participate restaurants and cafes, taste and sports venues.

For a sixth consecutive Saturday, opponents denounced what they spot arsenic a regularisation of their freedom. Many person criticized the measure, claiming the French authorities was implicitly making vaccines obligatory.

In Paris, 4 demonstrations were organized by antithetic groups. Elsewhere successful the country, implicit 200 protests were taking place.

Despite the protests, polls person shown the bulk of French radical enactment the wellness pass. More than 40.5 cardinal radical successful France, oregon 60%, are afloat vaccinated.

Since past month, France is registering a precocious fig of infections — astir 22,000 each day.