Jobless claims rise stubbornly in state
Initial unemployment claims in California jumped last week, remaining far above typical levels and raising uncertainty about the statewide recovery from coronavirus-linked maladies.
California workers filed about 68,100 jobless claims last week, up 2,600 from the previous week, the U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday.
Unemployment claims statewide have now increased four consecutive weeks and are at their highest levels in three months.
In contrast to California jobless claims, unemployment filings in the United States fell and are at their lowest levels since the onset of government-ordered business lockdowns to help combat the spread of the coronavirus.
U.S. workers filed 348,000 initial unemployment claims for the week ending on Aug. 14, a decrease of 29,000 from the week before.
The jobless filings that were posted last week in California are 52% higher than the last time the statewide economy was deemed to be healthy.
During January 2020 and February 2020, the final two months before the onset of shutdowns to battle the deadly bug, unemployment claims averaged 44,800 a week in California, this news organization’s analysis of the filings shows.
Vaccine proof or test for big events
California health officials Wednesday said they will expand the requirement for vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test for those attending large indoor events as the state continues to battle rising infections from the highly contagious delta variant of the virus.
The state had already required either vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours to attend events of 5,000 people or more. Wednesday’s order, which takes effect Sept. 20, expands that to gatherings of 1,000 people or more and requires proof of full vaccination rather than the “self-attestation” of having been vaccinated that had been allowed.
“The Delta variant has proven to be highly transmissible, making it easier to spread in large crowds where people are near each other for long periods of time,” California Department of Public Health Director and State Public Health Officer Dr. Tomás J. Aragón said in a statement. “By requiring individuals to be vaccinated, or test negative for COVID-19 at large events, we are decreasing the risk of infection, hospitalization and death.”
The changes will remain in place until Nov. 1, the department said.
Proof of vaccination can include the cards issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or WHO Yellow Card after vaccination, a photo of that vaccination card or image of it stored on a phone or electronic device, documentation from a health care provider or a digital record that includes a QR code, or documentation from contracted employers who follow these vaccination records guidelines and standards.
As of Friday, San Francisco is the only major U.S. city that won’t let customers enter restaurants, museums, gyms or just about anything else you might consider entertainment without proof of vaccination.
Vaccine mandate at nursing homes
President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced that his administration will require that nursing home staff be vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition for those facilities to continue receiving federal Medicare and Medicaid funding.
Biden unveiled the new policy Wednesday afternoon in a White House address as the administration continues to look for ways to use mandates to encourage vaccine holdouts to get shots.
“If you visit, live or work in a nursing home, you should not be at a high risk for contracting COVID from unvaccinated employees,” Biden said.
The new mandate, in the form of a forthcoming regulation to be issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, could take effect as soon as next month.