The Latest: Qantas furloughs 2,500 staff amid lockdown

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SYDNEY — Australia's Qantas Group says it expects Sydney’s COVID-19 lockdown to past for astatine slightest different 2 months and it volition furlough 2,500 unit owed to an associated downturn successful home flights.

Sydney and Brisbane, Australia’s biggest and third-biggest cities respectively, are successful lockdown owed to increasing clusters of the delta variant.

Qantas main enforcement Alan Joyce said Tuesday that 2,500 unit from Qantas Airways and fund subsidiary Jetstar would beryllium furloughed for an estimated 2 months. The airlines employment 26,000 unit successful Australia.

Joyce said that based connected existent regular tallies of caller infections, “it’s tenable to presume that Sydney’s borders volition beryllium closed for astatine slightest different 2 months.”

Sydney, wherever Qantas is headquartered, and surrounding cities successful New South Wales authorities person been locked down since June 26. The lockdown volition proceed until astatine slightest Aug. 28.

New South Wales connected Tuesday reported 199 caller cases successful the latest 24-hour period.

Brisbane and surrounding municipalities successful Queensland authorities locked down connected July 31 until Aug. 8.

Queensland connected Tuesday reported 16 caller cases successful the latest 24 hours.

Australia’s premier minister, meanwhile, has dismissed an absorption connection to wage radical to beryllium vaccinated arsenic an insult to Australians.

Only 19% of Australian adults had been afloat vaccinated by Monday. Most would similar Pfizer which is successful abbreviated supply. Many are acrophobic astir the flimsy hazard of humor clotting caused by AstraZeneca, the lone alternate successful Australia.

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MORE ON THE PANDEMIC:

— U.S. hits 70% vaccination rate a period precocious and amid a caller surge

— U.S. landlords, tenants capable courts arsenic eviction moratorium ends

— Rapid microorganism spread done Indonesia taxes wellness workers

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— Find much AP sum astatine https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic and https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine

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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

MINNEAPOLIS — The First Avenue euphony venue successful Minneapolis that was made celebrated successful Prince’s movie “Purple Rain” is requiring that each concertgoers supply impervious of vaccination against the coronavirus oregon amusement a antagonistic microorganism test.

The venue said Monday that the argumentation is effectual immediately.

Patrons indispensable person a completed vaccination paper that shows a last dose was administered astatine slightest 14 days earlier an event. If a patron is unvaccinated, they indispensable amusement impervious of a antagonistic coronavirus effect from a trial taken wrong 72 hours of an event.

First Avenue says connected its website that it antecedently required each its employees to beryllium vaccinated.

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is recommending that students and unit deterioration masks successful schools, but has stopped abbreviated of requiring them to bash so.

The politician besides ordered Monday that authorities workers indispensable deterioration masks indoors careless of vaccination presumption amid a emergence successful infections with the delta variant of the coronavirus.

Beshear warns that workers “face a overmuch higher likelihood that they get COVID and they get truly sick” if they don’t usage masks.

Sixty-two percent of Kentucky residents ages 18 and older person received astatine slightest 1 dose of a coronavirus vaccine. But lone 37% of those 18 to 29 person received astatine slightest 1 dose, portion 83% of residents 65 and older have.

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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansas has reported 42 caller deaths from COVID-19 and its biggest one-day spike successful hospitalizations since the pandemic began.

The Department of Health reported 81 caller hospitalizations Monday, bringing the state’s full to 1,220. The section says 451 of those patients are successful intensive attraction and 250 are connected ventilators. The state’s microorganism hospitalizations are nearing the precocious of 1,371 it acceptable successful January.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson is pleading with residents to get vaccinated, noting that astir each of the hospitalizations the authorities has seen are among the unvaccinated. In a tweet, the politician says: “Do your portion to help. Hospitals are afloat & the lone remedy is for much Arkansans to beryllium vaccinated.”

Arkansas lawmakers are preparing this week to instrumentality up Hutchinson’s connection to let nationalist schools to necessitate look masks.

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CHICAGO — McDonald’s says it volition necessitate employees and customers to resume wearing masks wrong immoderate U.S. restaurants careless of vaccination status.

The institution said Monday that the mandate volition use successful areas with precocious oregon important coronavirus transmission.

McDonald’s said it was acting successful effect to the latest guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. McDonald’s began requiring masks for each employees and customers past summer; it dropped the regularisation for vaccinated employees and customers successful May. McDonald’s has much than 14,000 U.S. stores.

The institution didn’t accidental however galore restaurants would beryllium impacted by the caller disguise mandate.

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INDIANAPOLIS — A national appeals tribunal has ruled that Indiana University tin proceed with its program to necessitate students and employees to get vaccinated for COVID-19.

Monday’s ruling is the highest tribunal determination regarding assemblage immunization mandates. The Chicago-based appeals tribunal upheld a territory tribunal judge’s ruling that recovered that the assemblage was acting reasonably “in pursuing nationalist wellness and information for its field communities.”

Both courts rejected a petition by 8 IU students who sought to artifact the request portion they situation its legality, claiming it would interruption their law rights by forcing them to person unwanted aesculapian treatment.

The plaintiffs’ lawyer says helium volition inquire the Supreme Court to see the case.

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