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More than 8 out of 10 campers at a summer program in Illinois––all children and young adults––have tested positive for COVID, and one of the young adults has been hospitals. In an effort to curb the spread of COVID in situations like this, Abu Dhabi is banning unvaccinated people from public spaces. Royal Caribbean is taking a different approach: they now require unvaccinated people to have COVID insurance.

 In a move with terrifying echoes of March 2020, Hong Kong has banned all flights from the United Kingdom in order to stop the spread of the Delta COVID variant. The variant is already spreading rapidly around the world. More than 2/3 of COVID cases in Lisbon, Portugal are from the Delta variant, which is beginning to spread around the country. The World Health Organization has encouraged fully vaccinated people to keep practicing COVID precautions as the Delta variant spreads rapidly.

In Springfield, MO, there has been a 225% increase in hospitalizations since June 1, in large part thanks to the new Delta variant. The Delta variant, a more infectious variant of COVID-19, is infecting a rising number of people in rural Kansas and Missouri. The spread of the variant likely stems from the regions low vaccination rates.

The Delta variant has also been found in Arizona. Its arrival is alarming because, so far, only a handful of states have reached the goal of a 70% vaccination rate. Anheuser-Busch is even giving away free beer when America reaches its vaccine goal. The fewer people who are fully vaccinated, the more likely there is to be another surge or new variants.

Fully vaccinated people in several southern California towns have tested positive for COVID, serving as a reminder that the vaccines are not 100% effective and thus as many people as possible need to get it. COVID rates are slowing in the South and the plains states, worrying health experts. Appointments for the first COVID shot have plummeted by about 50% in Los Angeles, worrying public health officials in a state thrashed by the virus.

Last month, one of the Indian COVID variants was reported in Texas, affecting two children under 12.

The World Health Organization has classified a COVID variant from India as a global health risk because of its highly contagious nature and evidence suggesting that it can evade some vaccine protections.

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