INDIANAPOLIS — Here are Tuesday's latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic, including the latest news on COVID-19 vaccinations and testing in Indiana.
Registrations for the vaccine are now open for Hoosiers 12 and older through the Indiana State Department of Health. This story will be updated over the course of the day with more news on the COVID-19 pandemic.
RELATED: Track vaccinations in your ZIP code
IPS announces mask policy for 2021-22 school year
IPS is recommending students and staff wear face masks while indoors, but said vaccinated students and staff members may opt out of wearing a mask by voluntarily providing proof of their vaccination. Staff members, however, are highly recommended to wear a mask when they're around unvaccinated students, including those under the age of 12 and the medically fragile, the district said.
Unvaccinated students must wear face masks under the policy for the upcoming school year. Also, masks are required for all students, staff and drivers on IPS buses, regardless of vaccination status, as part of the federal mandate by the Transportation Security Administration.
Click here to read the full COVID-19 protocol for IPS.
Students appeal federal judge's ruling in favor of IU's vaccine requirement
A group of Indiana University students is appealing a federal judge's ruling that said the university can require its roughly 90,000 students and 40,000 employees to get COVID-19 vaccinations.
In a ruling dated Sunday, U.S. District Judge Damon Leichty in South Bend rejected a request from eight IU students who sought to block the requirement while they pursue a lawsuit seeking to overturn it, claiming it would violate their constitutional rights by forcing them to receive unwanted medical treatment.
Their lawyer, James Bopp, Jr., said Tuesday he had appealed the ruling on behalf of the group. Bopp said he believes the ruling is the first by a federal judge in a challenge to such mandates, which have been imposed by hundreds of U.S. colleges.
The students also asked the district court to stop the university from enforcing its vaccine mandate while the appeal is pending.
Delta variant accounts for 83% of U.S. COVID-19 cases
Health officials say the delta variant of the coronavirus continues to surge and accounts for an estimated 83% of U.S. COVID-19 cases.
That’s a dramatic increase from the week of July 3, when the variant accounted for about 50% of genetically sequenced coronavirus cases.
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told a Senate Committee hearing Tuesday that according to the latest CDC data, "the Delta variant is now predicted to be the predominant lineage circulating in the United States."
Last week, Walensky described plateauing vaccination rates throughout the U.S. as “a pandemic of the unvaccinated” because nearly all hospital admissions and deaths are among those who hadn’t been immunized.
“The best way to prevent the spread of COVID-19 variants is to prevent the spread of disease, and vaccination is the most powerful tool we have,” Walensky said Tuesday.
According to Walensky, as of July 15, nearly 56% of the total U.S. population received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Pelosi aide, White House official test positive for COVID
An aide in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office and a White House staffer have both tested positive for COVID-19 despite both being vaccinated, according to multiple reports.
According to Politico, both had recently come into contact with Texas lawmakers who had also tested positive for the virus. The Pelosi aide apparently showed lawmakers around the Capitol building last week during their visit to Washington. Axios, which was first to report on the confirmed cases, reports that both the aide and the White House staffer were at the same event, a rooftop reception at the Eaton DC hotel, last Wednesday night.
CNN is reporting that the White House staffer tested positive off campus, and is currently in isolation. In a statement to CNN, Pelosi Deputy Chief of Staff Drew Hammill said that the House speaker has not been in contact with the aide since their positive test. Axios also reports that the White House staffer has not been in contact with President Joe Biden since testing positive.
Currently the two are both reporting mild coronavirus symptoms, according to Axios. In a statement from the White House to Axios, a representative underscored that the White House recognizes the potential for breakthrough cases of COVID-19, being positive cases in people who are fully vaccinated against the virus, and is prepared to deal with those cases because of regular testing.
COVID-19 vaccine clinics to be held for veterans in Marion and Fort Wayne
The VA Northern Indiana Health Care System will host two walk-in coronavirus vaccine clinics in the coming weeks.
The first clinic will be held on Saturday, July 24 and the second will be held Saturday, July 31. The clinics will run from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. both days at the following VA locations:
- Fort Wayne Campus, 2121 Lake Ave, Fort Wayne, IN 46805
- Marion Campus, 1700 E 38th Street, Marion, IN 46953
During the clinics, all veterans, caregivers and spouses will be able to get the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Amazon to end testing for COVID-19 at warehouses
Amazon will stop testing workers for COVID-19 at its warehouses at the end of this month, citing the availability of vaccines and free testing.
The company began testing warehouse workers last year when tests were more difficult to secure. Warehouse workers, who were considered essential, packed and shipped orders throughout the pandemic.
Amazon disclosed in October that nearly 20,000 workers, or about 1.4% of its total workforce, had been infected with COVID-19 by that point in 2020.
Vaccines began to roll out about two months later and in May, employees who uploaded a picture of their vaccine cards to an Amazon worker app were allowed to ditch masks in the work place if they chose.
State reports nearly 10K more Hoosiers fully vaccinated, 5 additional deaths
The Indiana State Department of Health reported 9,947 more Hoosiers have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of Tuesday morning, bringing the total number of Hoosiers who are fully vaccinated to 2,898,312.
ISDH reported 713 new positive tests for COVID-19, along with five new deaths reported between July 14-18. As of July 20, 13,530 Hoosiers have died from COVID-19.
Indiana has administered more than 11 million coronavirus tests, which includes multiple tests of the same individual. The total number of unique individuals who have tested positive is now 762,127.
Costco makes change to COVID policy as cases rise
Costco is reversing course on a plan to cut hours specifically for seniors and other groups to shop its warehouse stores as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to be a problem and multiple states report a rise in cases.
The membership retail chain was planning to remove the hours aimed at seniors, those with disabilities and the immunocompromised. But an update posted Monday on its website said its warehouses will be open from 9-10 a.m. Tuesday and Thursday for those members, effective this coming Monday, July 26.
Costco says it will continue to follow face mask regulations that are set up by state and local jurisdictions. In much of the country, mask mandates have been dropped for fully vaccinated people, although there have been few reports of businesses requiring customers to prove it.
Total COVID-19 cases rise to 71 at Tokyo Olympics
An American gymnast and a Czech beach volleyball player were added to the tally Tuesday of people accredited for the Tokyo Olympics who have tested positive for COVID-19 this month.
Tokyo Olympics organizers said 71 people have now tested positive. The total includes 31 people among the tens of thousands of international visitors expected in Japan to compete or work at the Games, which open Friday.
Canada to let vaccinated US citizens enter country on Aug. 9
Canada will begin letting fully vaccinated U.S. citizens into Canada on Aug. 9, and those from the rest of the world on Sept. 7.
Canadian officials say the 14-day quarantine requirement will be waived as of Aug. 9 for eligible travelers who are currently residing in the United States and have received a full course of a COVID-19 vaccine approved for use in Canada.
Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said Monday a date for the U.S. to allow fully vaccinated Canadians to cross the land border isn’t yet known. Any Canadian can fly to the U.S.
Latest US, world numbers
There have been more than 34.1 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States as of 3:30 a.m. ET Tuesday, according to Johns Hopkins University. There have been 609,200 deaths in the U.S.
Worldwide, there have been more than 190.9 million confirmed coronavirus cases with more than 4.09 million deaths. More than 3.65 billion vaccine doses have been administered worldwide.