8/5/2021- 7:55 p.m.
Gov. Gavin Newsom said California will require all of its roughly 2.2 million health care and long term care workers to be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus by Sept. 30.
Last month he would require health care workers to either be vaccinated or submit to weekly testing.
A new order issued Thursday by the California Department of Public Health does not give health care workers a choice. It says all must be fully vaccinated by the end of September.
Hospitals and other health facilities will also be required to verify that visitors are fully vaccinated or have tested negative for COVID-19.
The department said that since January, the most common settings for virus outbreaks were in residential care facilities.
California is averaging 18.3 new coronavirus cases per 100,000 people a day, with the delta variant causing most of the new infections. About 63% of Californians 12 and older have been fully vaccinated. Another 10% have been partially vaccinated.
