Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Delta Surge Prompts Kroger, Walmart To Reinstate Mask Policy
CBS News: Kroger, Walmart Reverse Their Mask Policies As Delta Variant Spreads
Kroger and Walmart, two of the nation's biggest retailing chains, are changing their mask policies as the nation contends with less-vaccinated regions getting hit by high infection rates due to the Delta variant. Kroger is now "strongly" encouraging all individuals, including those who are vaccinated, to wear a mask when in its stores and facilities, the Cincinnati, Ohio-based supermarket operator said Friday, citing updated recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Previously, Kroger had required unvaccinated employees wear masks and requested that unvaccinated shoppers do the same. (7/30)
AP: Conn. Urges Masks Indoors; Young Adults In Mass. Lead Cases
The state Department of Public Health on Sunday issued an alert that strongly recommends all Connecticut residents over 2 years old wear face masks in indoor public spaces, whether they’re vaccinated or not, given the rapid increase in COVID-19 cases over the past two weeks because of the Delta variant. (8/1)
AP: Louisville Government Buildings To Begin Requiring Masks
Louisville officials are requiring masks in government buildings, prompted by a rise in COVID-19 cases. The new Metro Government policy takes effect Monday. It also extends to city-owned vehicles when another person is present. The city said the policy applies to everyone, regardless of their vaccinated status. (8/2)
Politico: Biden’s New Mask Guidance Too Little, Too Late For Parts Of The Country, Officials Say
Top Biden health officials have spent recent days debating how much more they can prod Americans to wear masks again — and acknowledge the fact that they have not been able to break through in more rural, conservative parts of the country. (Goldberg and Banco, 7/31)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin Parent Groups Reject Required Masks In Letter To Gov. Evers
In an open letter to President Joe Biden and Gov. Tony Evers, 38 Wisconsin parent organizations rejected "forced masking and lockdowns" detailing that the actions of lawmakers were "objectively cruel." Following newly revised mask guidance from the CDC, parents from school districts across the state said they would no longer submit to restrictions of their freedom through mask requirements. In their letter, parents said, "We will not allow you to use your private sector counterparts to enforce invasive mask mandates on our children in various stores or at community activities and subject our children to any further local, regional, or national lockdowns or movement restriction." (Fowlkes, 7/31)
In other news about masks —
The Washington Post: Protester Tests Covid Positive After Mask Mandate Meeting In St. Louis County, Missouri
Less than a week after an “angry mob” swarmed a St. Louis County council meeting to oppose a new mask mandate, public health officials in Missouri announced on Saturday that at least one person has tested positive for the coronavirus and may have exposed others who attended the meeting. The City of St. Louis Department of Health said it is trying to identify anyone who had close contact with the infected person and urged everyone who attended the council meeting to quarantine for nine days and look out for possible covid-19 symptoms. (Shepherd, 8/2)
The Washington Post: GOP Lawmaker Who Once Spurned Masks Urges People To Take Covid-19 Seriously After Eight-Month Illness
A Tennessee legislator who went from unmasked gatherings with fellow legislators to being placed on ventilator days later has emerged with a message for constituents after a harrowing eight-month experience with long-haul covid-19: Take the coronavirus seriously. “It is a disease that wants to kill us,” state Rep. David Byrd (R) said in a statement Friday. Byrd, 63, described an ordeal that included 55 days on a ventilator in which covid-19 ravaged his memory, his muscles and his organs — it led to him having a liver transplant in June; his condition was so grave that his family at least once began planning for his funeral. Stressing that covid-19 is real and “very dangerous,” Byrd encouraged people to get vaccinated. (Bellware, 8/1)
The Washington Post: Where Should You Wear A Mask When Traveling? What The CDC Says About 14 Top U.S. Cities.
Of the top 25 destinations this summer for flight bookings on the Hopper app, only two (Detroit and Minneapolis) fell in the “moderate” category as of Friday, according to CDC data. Officials recommend masking indoors for the other 23, a list that contains popular cities across the country that are seeing cases rise rapidly as the delta variant spreads. (Sampson, 7/30)
