Washington state reached a grim milestone this week, surpassing 500,000 coronavirus cases with a surge fueled by the highly transmissible delta variant.
Just over a year and a half after the first case in the country was confirmed in Washington, state health officials reported 3,095 new confirmed cases Wednesday with 6,204 deaths from COVID-19 and 28,072 hospitalizations.
The relentless spread of the variant has the CDC urging vaccinations for all pregnant women and the director of the World Health Organization predicting that the world could see 100 million additional cases of COVID-19 by the early months of next year.
We’re updating this page with the latest news about the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on the Seattle area, the U.S. and the world. Click here to see previous days’ live updates and all our other coronavirus coverage, and here to see how we track the daily spread across Washington and the world.
Tennessee parents make threats after school board mandates masks: ‘We will find you’
After a school board in Franklin, Tenn., voted on Tuesday night to require masks at local elementary schools, dozens of angry parents gathered outside the building and started chanting: “We will not comply!”
A video of the unruly parents, which has amassed 2.7 million views since it was posted early Wednesday, shows some anti-mask parents aim their scorn directly at their pro-mask peers.
“There’s a place for you guys — there’s a bad place in hell,” one anti-mask parent said.
Another parent approached a man sitting in his car, identified by WTVF as one of the health care experts who testified at the school board meeting, and pointed at him. “We know who you are,” the parent said. “You can leave freely, but we will find you.”
The rowdy scene capped a nearly four-hour Williamson County Board of Education meeting in which parents debated whether elementary students should be required to wear masks at school until Sept. 21. In Tennessee, COVID-19 cases among children nearly doubled in July, and a surge of another illness — respiratory syncytial virus — has left children’s hospitals in the state with fewer beds to meet the covid surge, the Tennessean reported.
McDonald’s franchise settles suit involving ‘dog diaper’ masks
There have been many confrontations over workplace safety since the pandemic began. One of the strangest has just been resolved: the case of the dog diapers.
Workers at a McDonald’s restaurant in Oakland, California, said their employer provided them with masks made from the diapers in lieu of bona fide masks at the start of the pandemic last year. They were also given masks made from coffee filters, they said.
After complaining, the employees said, they were given proper disposable masks but were told to wash and reuse them until they frayed. The allegations were included in a subsequent lawsuit, which contended that the franchise owner’s inattention to safety had resulted in a COVID-19 outbreak among workers and their families.
Now the workers and the franchise owner are announcing a settlement in which the restaurant has agreed to enforce a variety of safety measures, including social distancing, contact tracing and paid sick leave policies. The settlement also calls for a management-worker committee to meet monthly to discuss compliance with the mandated measures and whether new ones are needed.
In Seattle, pandemic recovery brings another reality: The rent is going up
A pre-pandemic fact of life for Seattle tenants has returned: The rent is going up.
The coronavirus and widespread work-from-home policies last year led to reduced Seattle rents, especially in dense neighborhoods such as South Lake Union. Now, for renters shopping for a new lease, those deals are harder to find as rent prices return to pre-pandemic levels.
At the same time, tenants staying in their current homes are dealing with another reality: With the end of Washington’s previous state eviction moratorium on June 30, landlords can once again raise rents.
The dual trends, affecting tenants whether they stay in place or move, will hit cash-strapped renters hardest.
Faced with the cost of moving into a new apartment, which often includes first and last month’s rent, staying put with a rent increase can feel like the better of two bad options.
Canada reopened its borders to Americans this week but the crowds haven’t arrived just yet
VANCOUVER, B.C. — The Canadian border is open, but the streets of Vancouver aren’t exactly teeming with U.S. tourists — yet. Canadians in the hospitality and tourism industry are hoping against hope they’ll be here soon.
“We haven’t seen any U.S. cash so far,” said David Rohrer, owner of two coffee shops in Vancouver: Bean Around the World in the Gastown neighborhood and At the Totem Poles in Stanley Park, a popular tourist destination. “But they’re gonna come.”
Canada opened its southern border to fully vaccinated Americans at 12:01 a.m. on Monday, but the bright, clean tennis shoes and baseball caps — which some Canadians say announce the arrival of American tourists — are still seldom seen in the usual hot spots.
Canadian tourists, on the other hand, are abundant. One recent afternoon at Stanley Park’s famous totem poles, just outside Rohrer’s shop, visitors spoke a variety of languages, including French and Arabic — but no American-accented English.
Japan leader’s medical adviser urges tougher virus measures
TOKYO — A key medical adviser to Japan’s prime minister said Thursday that surging infections in the Tokyo area are severely affecting medical systems, and urged the government to take stricter measures to drastically reduce people’s activity.
“If the infections continue to surge at the current pace, we won’t be able to save the lives that can be saved,” Dr. Shigeru Omi said at a news conference. “The situation is like a disaster.”
The Japanese capital has been reporting record numbers of new infections, with daily cases tripling during the Olympics that ended Sunday. It logged 4,989 new cases on Thursday, and hospital beds are rapidly filling up. Nearly 20,000 people with milder symptoms are now isolating at home to make room for those who are more seriously ill, officials said.
Japan has done better than many other countries without forcing a lockdown, but is now going through what experts say is its biggest crisis since the pandemic started. Nationwide new infections hit a high of 15,812 on Wednesday, exceeding the previous record reported Saturday.
Scientists fear UK COVID cases may surge after summer lull
LONDON — As Britain enjoyed a summertime lull in COVID-19 cases, the nation’s attention turned to the end of pandemic-related restrictions and holidays in the sun.
But scientists are warning the public not to be complacent, saying high levels of infection in the community are likely to lead to another spike in cases this fall.
The reason for their pessimism is the delta variant of COVID-19, now dominant throughout the U.K. Vaccines are less effective against this more transmissible variant, meaning Britain needs to achieve a much higher level of vaccination if it hopes to control the disease. About 60% of the U.K. population has been fully vaccinated.
“If you’re going to rely on the vaccines, OK, then vaccinate everybody,” said Ravi Gupta, a University of Cambridge professor who did some of the pioneering studies on the delta variant. “But they’ve done a half vaccination job and then they’ve opened everything up. And this is a recipe for … things not going well in the next few months.”
Despite an early summer surge in COVID-19 infections, the government on July 19 removed most remaining restrictions on social and business interactions. Prime Minister Boris Johnson trumpeted the moment as “Freedom Day,” saying Britain’s successful vaccination program meant people were much less likely to get seriously ill or die from COVID-19.
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