Europe strengthens vaccine restrictions

Response to rapid growth of Delta variant

ROME • Looking to counter the increasing menace of the coronavirus Delta variant, a growing number of European countries are raising their defences and trying to pressure more people to get vaccinated.

Italy on Thursday followed in the footsteps of France, announcing that proof of vaccination or immunity would shortly be mandatory for an array of activities, including indoor dining and entering places such as gyms, pools, museums and cinemas.

Greece made a vaccination certificate mandatory for anyone to be allowed into indoor restaurants and bars from last week, while dozens of Portuguese municipalities introduced weekend curbs for inside dining in early July.

“The Delta variant is even more of a threat than the other variants,” Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi told reporters, defending his decision to make the so-called Green Pass obligatory to participate in much of public life.

The daily number of new coronavirus infections recorded in Italy has doubled over the past week, hitting 5,057 on Thursday, while in neighbouring France, daily cases have rocketed to almost 22,000 from 10,908 on July 16.

Meanwhile, a COVID-19 surge ignited in parts of the United States by the highly contagious Delta variant and vaccine hesitancy has led to new mask mandates and deep confusion among some people about which guidance to follow.

In Los Angeles County, leaders have reinstated an indoor mask mandate, even for the fully vaccinated. Officials in Houston and New Orleans also raised coronavirus alert levels this week and told people to mask up.

In Florida, however, Governor Ron Desantis said on Thursday children will not be required to wear masks in school there this fall, arguing that “we need our kids to breathe.” Hours later, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters: “If I were a parent in Florida, that would be greatly concerning to me.”

The seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases in the United States is up 53 per cent over the previous week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Delta variant makes up more than 80 per cent of the new cases across the country.

Much of the guidance falls along the same political lines as earlier in the pandemic. Leaders in heavily Republican states generally eschew masks, and Democrats insist upon them.

The American Academy of Pediatrics released updated recommendations for schools that included mask wearing for everyone over the age of two, regardless of vaccination status. President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that unvaccinated children should wear masks in schools.

But the CDC on Thursday said it is not changing its mask guidance for schools.