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 The move by the two liberal cities came on the same day that school
board members in Houston voted to support a mandate by the district
superintendent to require students to wear masks in classrooms and
on school buses.
One Houston school board member, Judith Cruz, said she would also
support requiring children to be vaccinated. That suggestion was not
formally considered on Thursday.
The Houston mask order sets up a potential clash between local
officials and Republican Governor Greg Abbott, who has banned such
mandates.
As the start of the academic year coincides with a rise in COVID-19
infections linked to the Delta variant, schools have become the
flashpoint in a national debate over the authority of state, federal
and local governments to order masks and vaccines.
The number of daily nationwide infections has doubled in the last
two weeks, according to a Reuters tally, reaching a six-month peak.
The average number of daily deaths has increased 85% in that same
time span.
In Virginia, where some school district officials have said they
would not require students to wear masks, Governor Ralph Northam, a
Democrat, issued an order on Thursday requiring them.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican, has threatened to
withhold the salaries of school officials who require students to
cover their faces, defying the administration of U.S. President Joe
Biden, a Democrat.
The White House is considering reimbursing Florida school officials
if DeSantis, who is considered a possible presidential candidate in
2024, follows through with his threat.
The Delta variant appears to be slowing the pace of a U.S. economic
recovery after an upswing in the first half of 2021, according to
Oxford Economics U.S. Recovery Tracker.
'PHYSICAL AND MENTAL EXHAUSTION'
"Sharply deteriorating health conditions are the main reason why the
South’s recovery is now losing momentum," Oxford's lead U.S.
economist Oren Klachkin said.
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 The worst of the U.S. COVID
outbreak is concentrated in the South, including
Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and
Texas, where intensive care units have been
stretched to capacity. Florida has asked
Washington to send more ventilators to the state
while at the same time flouting federal mask
recommendations.
"Our frontline health care heroes are finding
themselves stretched thin and physical and
mental exhaustion is taking its toll," Florida
Hospital Association President Mary Mayhew said
in a statement on Tuesday. San
Francisco's new vaccine mandate for indoor businesses extends to
employees as well as patrons. Employees of restaurants, gyms and
other venues have until Oct. 13 to show proof of full vaccination,
the order says.
Proof of vaccination will also be required for attendees at indoor
events of 1,000 people or more.
San Francisco's mandate, which begins Aug. 20, requires proof of
full vaccination. The New York and New Orleans health orders require
only one dose. Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines
require two doses several weeks apart. Johnson and Johnson has a
one-dose vaccine.
California, Illinois, Kentucky and New Jersey, all led by Democratic
governors, have required masks in all schools.
On Thursday, the National Education Association President Becky
Pringle, who leads the largest teachers' union in the country, said
she supported vaccine mandates for teachers. Her statement followed
a similar endorsement from the American Federation of Teachers'
president earlier this week.
(Reporting by Gabriella Borter and Manas Mishra in Washington,
Sharon Bernstein in Sacramento, Peter Szekely and Dan Burns in New
York and Dan Whitcomb in Los AngelesEditing by Lisa Shumaker and
Raju Gopalakrishnan)
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