State employees in California will need to show proof they have received a COVID-19 vaccine or face weekly testing under the new mandate, state officials said on Monday.
The new rule is due to come into effect next month.
It comes amidst rising coronavirus cases in the State, as well as a rise in hospitalizations. Those primarily effected, both by cases and hospitalization, are unvaccinated individuals.
The new number of cases is still below the peak, though hospitalizations are now at 3000 – up from 900 in June.
“We are dealing now with a pandemic of the unvaccinated, and it’s going to take renewed efforts to protect California from the dangerous delta variant,” says Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The new mandate will affect 238,000 state employees and 2 million health care workers. The Associate Press reports that workers across public and private sectors will be impacted by the new rule.
Fears of the new Delta Variant are largely behind these new rules. The Delta Variant now accounts for 80% of COVID-19 cases in California alone.
Vaccination rates among eligible Californian residents now stands at 75% with one dose and 65% with two. However the vaccination take-up rate has dropped significantly recently.
“The delta variant is up to 60% more infectious than the alpha strain but many times more infectious than the original COVID-19 strain,” says Mark Ghaly, California Health and Human Services Secretary. “If you’ve been waiting to get vaccinated, now is the time.”
Despite this warning, Ghaly has been hesitant to restore safety restrictions like mask requirements and social distancing. The state opened up its restrictions last month.
Local officials around California have independently restored safety measures, such as mask wearing. Los Angeles brought back indoor mask-wearing, including for those who have been vaccinated. In Santa Clara County, officials say they intend to vaccinate all 22,000 county employees.