California requires state employees to receive vaccinations or get tested regularly

[ad_1]

Governor Gavin Newsom announced Monday that California will require all state employees and health care workers to be vaccinated against the coronavirus or undergo regular and frequent testing.

“This is a requirement, to prove that you have had the vaccination — and if you do not, you will be tested,” Newsom said, adding that tests would be required at least weekly.

State and local officials, businesses and residents across the country are wrestling with whether to enforce vaccinations. The city of San Francisco, several Bay Area counties, the University of California, and various hospital systems across the country recently announced similar mandates.

Newsom said the new requirements in California will apply to nearly 246,000 state employees starting August 9 and will be implemented by August 23.

More than 64 percent of Californians have received at least one dose of the vaccine, according to federal data, but the speed of vaccination has slowed. The number of virus cases in California has risen to an average of more than 6,300 per day, more than double the daily rate two weeks ago.

[ad_2]