INDIANAPOLIS — Here are Monday'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.
Appeals court sides with IU on vaccine mandate
A federal appeals court has ruled that Indiana University can proceed with its plan to require students and employees to get vaccinated for COVID-19. Monday's ruling is the highest court decision regarding college immunization mandates.
The Chicago-based appeals court upheld a district court judge's ruling that found that the university was acting reasonably "in pursuing public health and safety for its campus communities."
Both courts rejected a request by eight IU students who sought to block the requirement while they challenge its legality, claiming it would violate their constitutional rights by forcing them to receive unwanted medical treatment.
The plaintiffs' lawyer says he will ask the Supreme Court to consider the case.
Target, Kroger latest in list of major retailers to update mask policies
Target is joining other major retailers like Walmart and Sam's Club in partially reinstating its mask requirement and Kroger said it will "strongly encourage" everyone in its stores to wear a mask.
Target will require employees in high-risk areas to wear masks and "strongly recommend" them for shoppers, the Minnesota-based retail giant announced Monday. Kroger already requires unvaccinated employees to wear a mask. Now the company said it will "strongly encourage all individuals, including those who are vaccinated, to wear a mask when in our stores and facilities."
Similarly, Walmart and Sam's Club reversed their mask policies. Walmart is requiring its workers, including those who are vaccinated, to wear masks in areas with high COVID-19 infection rates.
These changes follow the CDC backpedaling on some of its masking recommendations as the delta variant of the coronavirus becomes a cause for concern. The CDC is now recommending that even vaccinated people mask up indoors in counties where COVID-19 transmission levels are considered high or substantial.
State reports nearly 10K new residents fully vaccinated, 7 additional deaths
The Indiana State Department of Health added 9,919 new residents to the list of those fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of Monday morning. The state now has registered 2,954,416 people as fully vaccinated, with 223,468 of those receiving the single dose Johnson & Johnson shot, and the rest the two doses of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.
ISDH also reported 616 new cases of COVID-19 among residents. That brings to 774,097 the number of Indiana residents now known to have had the novel coronavirus following corrections to the previous day’s dashboard.
Adding 7 new deaths on Monday, Indiana has now lost 13,583 people to the virus.
IPS Schools back to the classroom today, with masks
One of the largest school districts in the state heads back to the classroom today.
Masks are required for all students and staff — regardless of vaccination status — in all Indianapolis Public School buildings and on school buses. Schools will provide disposable masks to students who forget to bring one. There will also be increased cleaning protocols.
This school year brings full in-person learning for all students. But they do have the option of virtual learning.
Schools will continue to cohort students as much as possible and practice social distancing of 3 feet when possible.
Also there will be assigned seating in classes, during lunch periods, and on buses to facilitate contact tracing in the event a student tests positive for COVID-19.
This week's mobile vaccination clinics in central Indiana
Today-Wednesday and Friday, 8 a.m. to noon:
Indianapolis Colts Training Camp
19000 Grand Park Blvd., Westfield, IN 46074
Thursday, 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.:
Statehouse Market
430 Robert D. Orr Plaza, Indianapolis, IN 46204
Thursday, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.:
Red Gold Orestes
120 E. Oak St., Orestes, IN 46063
Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.:
Block Party at Flanner House
2424 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St., Indianapolis, IN 46208
Patients with an appointment at a state-hosted public vaccination site can get a free Uber or Lyft ride. Call 2-1-1 or (866) 211-9966 to receive a voucher to cover the cost of an Uber ride to and from your vaccination appointments. IU Health offers free Lyft rides to any vaccine site in the state. Call 1.888.IUHEALTH (888-484-3258) and choose option 9 if you need transportation to your vaccine appointment.
Purdue University requiring masks indoors
Starting today, Purdue University will require everyone to "mask up" indoors on the West Lafayette campus.
All students, faculty, staff and visitors will have to wear a mask regardless of vaccination status.
The university is following CDC guidance recommending people wear masks in places with substantial or high transmission rates. Tippecanoe County, where Purdue is located, is one of those places.
Purdue hopes this step will allow them to continue in-person learning.
Pelosi, Democrats call on Biden to extend eviction ban
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Democratic leaders are calling on the Biden administration to immediately extend the nation’s eviction moratorium.
The Democrats are calling it a “moral imperative” to prevent Americans from being put out of their homes during a COVID-19 surge. An estimated 3.6 million Americans are at risk of eviction, some as soon as Monday.
Congress was unable to pass legislation swiftly to extend the ban, which expired at midnight Saturday. The White House had no direct response to the Democrats’ call for action, but administration officials have urged localities and states to tap aid already approved by Congress.
Arizona reports over 2,000 new COVID-19 cases
Health officials in Arizona on Sunday reported more than 2,000 new COVID-19 cases for the second consecutive day.
They say the 2,306 new cases and five additional deaths pushed the state’s totals to 929,541 cases and 18,251 known deaths since the pandemic began more than a year ago.
Arizona had reported 2,066 new cases and 22 deaths on Saturday, the highest daily total since early March. The numbers have been quickly climbing with 1,759 cases and 15 deaths reported Thursday and 1,965 cases and 24 deaths reported Saturday. Public health officials in the state and elsewhere attribute the worsening spread to the very contagious delta variant and low vaccination rates.
Latest US, world numbers
There have been more than 35 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States as of 12:30 a.m. ET Monday, according to Johns Hopkins University. There have been 613,224 deaths recorded in the U.S.
Worldwide, there have been more than 198.2 million confirmed coronavirus cases with more than 4.22 million deaths. More than 4.1 billion vaccine doses have been administered worldwide.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness like pneumonia, or death.
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