Covid-19 latest updates Lollapalooza begins in Chicago drawing huge crowds raising worries on virus spread

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The massive Lollapalooza music festival kicked off Thursday in Chicago, drawing tens of thousands of revelers to the city’s downtown and renewing worries about the coronavirus spreading in the tightly packed crowds.

The four-day festival is expected to be one of the largest gatherings in the United States since the pandemic began. About 100,000 people are set to attend each day of the event, which is being held at Chicago’s Grant Park and will feature 170 bands on eight stages.

Organizers say those attending will need to show proof of full vaccination or a negative coronavirus test if unvaccinated. The unvaccinated must also wear a face mask throughout the site.

But there are still widespread concerns that the highly infectious delta variant may show up at large live events this summer.

“We want you to have fun, but please keep all rules and requirements in mind and continue to #ProtectChicago,” Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot tweeted.

Here are some significant developments:

Masks will once again be required indoors in D.C. beginning Saturday, Mayor Muriel E. Bowser ordered, in a reversal of recent policy driven by new federal guidelines that recommend indoor masking in areas where coronavirus transmission is high.

The pharmaceutical giant Pfizer predicted Wednesday that coronavirus vaccine boosters would soon be needed, a declaration that came on the same day the company published data showing that its shots remained robustly protective six months after vaccination.

Israel is now moving toward making booster shots available for older adults, after Health Ministry experts agreed late Wednesday that a third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine should be offered to the elderly. The experts cited local data showing an apparent decline in the vaccine’s efficacy over time, as well as a surge in new cases fueled by the delta variant.

Walt Disney World Resort in Florida announced that it’s now requiring all guests to wear face masks indoors, reversing a June decision not to mandate them for the vaccinated.

Thailand on Thursday reported a record number of new coronavirus cases and deaths, registering 17,669 infections and 165 fatalities as neighboring Cambodia imposed lockdowns in its provinces along the border.

Australia’s New South Wales state, in which Sydney is located, saw its highest daily caseload on Thursday as 239 new infections were reported. State Premier Gladys Berejiklian, who extended an already strict lockdown, said Thursday that the outbreak has forced her to impose “the harshest restrictions Australia has ever seen.”

Summer music festivals, silenced by the pandemic last year, have returned as vaccines have become widely available and local governments have eased public health restrictions. But the delta variant, responsible for infection surges in all 50 states, has raised fears that the gatherings could become superspreader events.

Even well-ventilated, outdoor sites pose risks, according to infectious-disease experts. Festivalgoers are likely to have a hard time keeping the necessary physical distance when crowds are packed in, and everyone is dancing, singing, sweating, and drinking.

There is also a risk of increased transmission at chokepoints such as entrances, bathroom lines and at the space nearest to the stage where crowds tend to pack in the tightest, experts say.

To control the spread of the variant, some local and state governments are bringing back indoor mask mandates that many lifted in the spring as infections were falling.

Washington on Thursday became the latest major metropolitan area to do so, reviving its requirement for everyone to wear masks indoors regardless of their vaccination status. The city’s daily case rate has risen by nearly 44 percent over the past week, though it remains far lower than it was during the worst months of the pandemic.

Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) said she was optimistic that residents would support the new rules.

“I know D.C. residents have been very closely following the public health guidelines, and they will embrace this," she said in a news conference.

The District previously had one of the country’s strictest mask mandates, requiring residents to use face coverings both indoors and outdoors when people came in close contact for more than a “fleeting” amount of time.

The move comes after federal health officials this week called for people to resume masking indoors in virus hot spots. Nevada officials brought back the state’s indoor mask mandate following the announcement. Several metropolitan areas have also revived their rules, including Los Angeles County; St. Louis; Kansas City, Mo.; and Savannah, Ga. Other cities and states, including California, said they recommended indoor masking but stopped short of requiring face coverings.

On Wednesday, the Defense Department said it was requiring everyone, regardless of vaccination status, to wear masks indoors at military facilities in areas where transmission is high. The rules mirror the new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, covering all service members, federal employees, on-site contractor employees and visitors.

In Florida, Walt Disney World Resort announced Wednesday that it’s now requiring all guests to wear masks indoors, reversing a June decision not to mandate them for the vaccinated. The rules take effect from Friday for all guests ages 2 and up.

“As we have done since reopening, we’ve been very intentional and gradual in our approach to our COVID-19 health and safety protocols,” Disney said in a statement. The company added, “We encourage people to get vaccinated.”

With cases rising, some employers are taking the additional step of mandating vaccinations at their businesses. In New York, restaurant mogul Danny Meyer announced Thursday that his eateries would require vaccines for all staff and that diners show proof they’ve gotten the shots.

“We feel like we’ve got an amazing responsibility to keep our staff members and our guests safe, and that’s what we’re going to do,” Meyer told CNBC.

As the Olympics entered their second week in Tokyo, the Japanese government on Thursday announced it was planning to extend a state of emergency in the city and expand the measure to four other regions as the nationwide number of new daily coronavirus cases soared past 10,000 for the first time, local media reported.

The rapidly growing outbreak has cast a shadow over the Games, where authorities reported a record number of new infections for the third straight day Thursday.

Olympic athletes and other visitors are under strict rules separating the Games from the rest of the city. But organizers Thursday announced another 24 infections among competitors and attendees, including two who were hospitalized.

The new cases brought the total number of Games-related infections to 193 since July 1. The state of emergency in Tokyo and other regions such as Okinawa will last until Aug. 31, according to media reports.

Experts in Japan warned of a deepening crisis they said could quickly overwhelm the health-care system if more stringent measures are not imposed.

“The greatest danger now is that the severity of the current situation isn’t being communicated to the public,” Japan’s top medical adviser, Shigeru Omi, told a parliamentary panel Thursday.

“If that sense of urgency isn’t conveyed sufficiently, the virus will spread further and the burden on the health-care system will become increasingly severe,” he said.

Japan has refrained from enacting hard lockdowns and instead relies on a generally cooperative public to adhere to health protocols such as masking and social distancing.

The state of emergency designation mostly generates stricter rules for restaurants and other entertainment venues, including earlier closing times. Central Tokyo, however, has remained crowded during the day, with many residents ignoring the regulations.

As a result, hospitalizations are on the rise. Authorities blame the swift-moving outbreak on the more contagious delta variant now present in at least 132 countries, according to the World Health Organization.

Meanwhile, Oxford-AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine was getting a second look after rich countries spurned it in preference for messenger RNA shots like those made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. Amid a prolonged outbreak in Sydney, Australia’s vaccine authority now advises all adults in the country’s largest metropolitan area to “strongly consider getting vaccinated with any available vaccine including covid-19 vaccine AstraZeneca.”

The AstraZeneca shot is also getting renewed attention in Japan, which is considering using it to vaccinate people in their 40s and 50s, the Nikkei Asia news website reported.

Julie Zauzmer contributed to this report.

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