Covid-19 Live Updates: U.S. Begins New Pandemic Phase

Newly reported coronavirus cases in the U.S. edged up from a day earlier but on average continued a broad decline, as federal health officials revised their recommendations for fully vaccinated people.

Federal health officials said those who are fully vaccinated don’t need to wear a mask or physically distance during outdoor or indoor activities, large or small. The fully vaccinated should continue to wear a mask while traveling by plane, bus or train, and the guidance doesn’t apply to certain places such as hospitals, nursing homes and prisons, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.

The fully protected can, however, resume doing many of the things they had to give up because of the coronavirus pandemic, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said.

The news comes as vaccinations opened up for adolescents and parents rushed to get their children appointments.

Some 35.8% of people in the U.S. are now fully vaccinated, with 46.6% having received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, according to CDC data. The overall pace of vaccinations has slowed somewhat, with an average of 2.1 million doses administered daily over the past week, according to a Journal analysis of CDC data.

Vaccination levels vary by state. In Maine, 47.3% of the population is fully vaccinated and 58.2% have had at least one dose. In Mississippi, 25.5% of residents are fully vaccinated and 32.3% have had one shot.

The country, meanwhile, reported 38,087 new cases for Thursday, according to the latest data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Thursday’s figure was slightly higher than the 35,878 new cases reported on Wednesday but marked the sixth consecutive day that the daily total was below 40,000.

Not all states report new data on a daily basis. The seven-day moving average of Covid-19 infections, which smooths out states’ irregular data reporting schedules, was 35,384 as of Thursday, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of Johns Hopkins data, while the 14-day average was 40,273. When the seven-day average is lower than the 14-day average, as it has been since April 17, it indicates that cases are falling.

Hospitalizations stood at 35,010, according to the latest data posted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The country reported 802 Covid-19 fatalities for Thursday, bringing the total death toll to more than 584,500, according to Johns Hopkins data.

Pointing to the improving conditions and the academic, emotional and social effects that more than a year of disrupted school have had on students, the president of one of the nation’s largest teachers unions said school should reopen five days a week this fall.

“There is no doubt: Schools must be open, in person, five days a week, with the space and facilities to do so,” American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten said in a speech streamed online.