Coronavirus News Update – Aug. 27: Illinois, Oregon Enact Strict Mask Mandates

A statue of Ben Franklin in the center of Penn’s campus

The governors of two states, Illinois and Oregon, announced some of the strictest mask mandates in the country.  Governor J. B. Pritzker of Illinois ordered a state-wide indoor mask mandate that applies to individuals 2 years of age and older and ordered that all educators be vaccinated or submit to regular testing. In Oregon, Governor Kate Brown, faced with a 900% increase in cases since July, issued a mandate that requires both vaccinated and non-vaccinated people to wear masks when gathering closely in public, even when outdoors.

As of Friday morning, the world has recorded 215.8 million Covid-19 cases and 4.5 million deaths, according to Worldometer, a service that tracks such information. In addition, 192.9 million people worldwide have recovered from the virus.

The average daily number of new coronavirus cases in the United States over the past 14 days is 156,296, a 24% change and a trend that is fueled by the highly contagious India, or Delta, variant.  The average daily death toll over the same period is 1,233, a change of 100% over the same period.

Since the start of the pandemic the United States has recorded over 39.4 million cases, a higher figure than any other country and one that is followed by India, which now has over 32.6 million officially recorded cases and 437,205 officially recorded deaths, although experts believe that both numbers are in reality significantly higher.

Since the start of vaccinations at the end of last year over 5.13 billion doses have been administered across the globe as of Friday morning, an increase of 0.05 billion over the past 24 hours and the equivalent of over 67 doses for every 100 people, an increase of 1 dose over the past 24 hours.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that, as of Friday, 202.9 million people in the United States – or 61.1% – have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine. Of that population, 51.9%, or 172.2 million people, are now fully vaccinated, and the total number of doses that have been dispensed in the United States is now 365.7 million, which translates to 0.9 million shots dispensed on Thursday. Breaking this down further, 73.5% of the population over the age of 18 – or 189.90 million people – has received at least a first inoculation and 62.8% of the same group – or 162.3 million people – is fully vaccinated.

Pediatric hospitalizations moved to their highest level on record in the United States since the start of the pandemic. Since most children in school aren’t old enough to get the shots, doctors and epidemiologists say they fear the surge in Covid hospitalizations could get worse unless more kids who are eligible get vaccinated and school districts mandate masks in class and other safety precautions.

The University of Pennsylvania said it would henceforth require all students to be vaccinated against both the coronavirus and the flu.  There are no exemptions except for religious or medical reasons. The Ivy League institution, which was founded by Benjamin Franklin, said in a statement that widespread distribution of the vaccine reinforces the university’s expectation to return to in-person learning and research for the new school year.

(Photo: Accura Media Group)