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Apple delays return to workplace till January as Covid instances surge

Apple delays return to office until January as Covid cases surge

This photo, taken in March 2019, shows Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, California.

felixmizioznikov | iStock editorial team | Getty Images

Apple employees won’t be returning to the office until January amid fears of rising coronavirus cases, CNBC has confirmed.

News of the delay was first reported by Bloomberg.

The company has told employees that it will continue to monitor the coronavirus situation and give them at least a month’s notice before they have to go back to the office. The delay applies to all of the company’s employees worldwide.

Apple offices and stores will remain open.

The number of Covid cases in the USA is increasing. According to CNBC analysis of the data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, Florida, Louisiana, Hawaii, Oregon and Mississippi all hit new highs in their seven-day average of new cases on Sunday.

Apple isn’t the only big tech company putting its office return plans on hold. Last week, Facebook said it would postpone its plan to bring U.S. employees back to the office until January 2022 due to concerns about the Covid-19 Delta variant.

Meanwhile, Amazon announced a similar plan for corporate employees earlier this month.

Apple had already postponed the planned return of the office to October after it had initially announced that it would send employees three days a week from September.

Some large US companies are also bringing back mask requirements for workers regardless of their vaccination status, amid concerns about an increase in Covid-19 infections.

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Politics

Biden Administration to Use Federal Civil Rights Workplace to Deter States From Faculty Masks Bans

Biden Administration to Use Federal Civil Rights Office to Deter States From School Mask Bans

The nation’s most vulnerable students, namely students with disabilities, low-income students and students of color, have suffered the deepest setbacks when districts pivoted to remote learning, and their disproportionate disengagement has long drawn concern from education leaders and civil rights watchdogs.

Under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, students are entitled to a free, appropriate public education, known as FAPE, and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination based on race, color and national origin.

The department could initiate its own investigations into districts, if state policies and actions rise to potential violations of students’ civil rights. It could also review complaints from parents and advocates who make the case that prohibiting masks mandates is, in effect, a civil rights violation because it could deny a student their right to an education by putting them in harm’s way in school. Such investigations could result in resolution agreements, as many investigations by the office often do, and in the most extreme cases result in revocation of federal funding.

Dr. Cardona said conversations with parents of children with autism, respiratory illness or weak immune systems, “who rely on school for socialization and the important building blocks of learning,” had contributed to his sense of urgency.

“I’ve heard those parents, saying ‘Miguel, because of these policies, my child cannot access their school, I would be putting them in harm’s way,’” Dr. Cardona said. “And to me, that goes against a free appropriate public education. That goes against of the fundamental beliefs of educators across the country to protect their students and provide a well rounded education.”

The administration will also send letters to six states — Arizona, Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah — admonishing governors’ efforts to ban universal masking in schools.

Last week, Dr. Cardona sent similar letters to the governors of Texas and Florida, reminding them that districts had both the funding and the discretion to implement safety measures that the C.D.C. recommended for schools. The secretary also made clear that he supported district leaders who defied the governors’ orders.

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Health

Put Your Smartphone to Work for Your Return to the Workplace

Put Your Smartphone to Work for Your Return to the Office

With some people returning to the office or classroom after more than 18 months of Covid-19 disorder, maintaining social distance remains a problem, especially given the highly contagious Delta variant across the country. Here are a few simple suggestions for using your smartphone to stay informed and safe when you return to the office or school.

Regular reviews of school, community, and state websites can keep you updated on mask requirements, vaccination requirements, quarantines, and other Covid-related news. Get your facts faster by bookmarking these websites that you can open right from your home screen.

Credit…Google; Apple

Open the page you want to bookmark. Steps vary by browser and phone, but if you’re using the Chrome browser on an Android device, tap the “More” menu in the top right corner and select “Add to Home Screen”. On an iOS device with the Safari browser, tap the action menu icon in the lower center of the screen and select “Add to Home Screen”.

In addition to its informative website, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has its own mobile app. For local virus news, visit your app store as many states have their own apps to track outbreaks, provide personal exposure notifications, provide vaccine information, and offer general news alerts.

Certain institutions, venues, and employers now require vaccinations, and many New York City companies require proof and will enforce it next month. While your paper vaccination card serves as proof, you can keep it safely at home and digitize it. Some states have electronic vaccination records that you can store in your phone’s digital wallet and view upon request. The Excelsior Pass program in New York is an example.

Credit…Apple; Google

Paper photos of your vaccination card can also act as a digital backup, and some employers may accept the images as proof of vaccination, especially in apps like NYC Covid Safe. However, the card contains personal information, so keep your phone locked when it is not in use. Apple’s iOS software settings provide a passcode, Face ID, or Touch ID to help protect the device.

Android users can also set up a screen lock in the system settings. In addition to a PIN or passcode, some phone models (including those from Google and Samsung) use biometric keys such as facial recognition. For added protection, Android users can save vaccination card images in a locked folder in Google Photos – just open the card image, tap the More menu and select Move to Locked Folder.

Updated

Aug. 18, 2021, 5:50 p.m. ET

Socially distant commuting is more of a challenge for people who don’t drive and walk or use public transport to get around. Over the past year, both Apple and Google added coronavirus-related business information to their map apps.

If you’re taking the trains outside of rush hour or want to stroll the less traveled trail, Apple Maps and Google Maps both offer real-time timetables and optional walking routes. Specialized apps like Citymapper cover multiple modes of transport, including bike rentals and ferries. And localized transit apps (like New York City’s MYmta for Android and iOS) can also be useful for service status and updates.

Credit…Google

And when you go to work with your face on your Android phone, the heads up notifications on some models remind you to see where you are going. Activate the function in the digital wellbeing settings.

If a drive-through window is not an option for remotely picking up your breakfast or lunch, there are other ways to minimize your exposure, such as walking around the corner. Loyalty apps from convenience stores like 7-Eleven and Wawa or restaurants (McDonald’s, Panera Bread, and Starbucks, to name a few) offer online ordering and mobile payment to zip things with minimal contact.

And don’t forget contactless payment systems like Apple Pay, Google Pay or Samsung Pay so that you don’t fumble with cash and quickly get through at the cash register or at the subway turnstile. (A contactless credit card from your financial institution is another option that allows you to pay by tapping the card on the till reader.)

Now that you’ve actually made it out of the house, there are a few more apps you might want to consider to help you make the transition. With the mobile version of your company’s favorite video conferencing app, you can leave a conference room and hold a meeting anywhere, even without your computer.

Credit…Google; Zooming

After working remotely for more than a year, it can be especially difficult to leave your fuzzy work colleague when you return to the world. If the breakup worries you, consider an inexpensive streaming webcam that allows you to check your pet in real time using your phone. The Wirecutter site has recommendations for camera options so you can virtually stay in the house until you get home.

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Politics

Everytown for Gun Security to Prepare Volunteers to Run for Workplace

Everytown for Gun Safety to Train Volunteers to Run for Office

Gun control group Everytown for Gun Safety plans to spend $ 3 million to recruit and train its volunteers for the candidacy, with the goal of getting 200 races in the next election cycle.

The program is the latest step in a year-long effort by groups supporting stricter gun laws to become politically competitive with the National Rifle Association, which has a strong grip on American politics amid the rise in mass shootings.

That dynamic has started to shift as the NRA loses its hold on moderate Democrats and more gun restrictions are passed by state lawmakers. But even proposals with broad bipartisan support among voters, such as universal background checks and red flag laws, have failed in Congress.

Everytown’s new program, called Demand a Seat, will begin this fall and will include training on the fundamentals of running a campaign, as well as instruction from lawyers who have become legislators, such as Rep. Lucy McBath, Democrat of Georgia. It is aimed at members of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, two branches of Everytown supported by Michael R. Bloomberg.

“Our volunteers have fought to have the people at the table listen to them, and some wouldn’t, so now our volunteers and gun violence survivors will be fighting to occupy those seats,” said Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand action.

Everytown said more than 100 of its volunteers ran for office last year and 43 won.

The group said more than 50 former volunteers were elected to state parliaments, 18 to city or district councils, eight to school boards, and two to Congress: Ms. McBath and Marie Newman, Democrats of Illinois.

Ms McBath, who was first elected in 2018, said in an interview on Monday that as a lawyer for Moms Demand Action, she learned how to organize people, give speeches and talk about politics with different audiences. But she said, “I had no idea how to campaign.”

“I’ve never run for office,” said Ms. McBath, who joined Moms Demand Action after her son Jordan Davis was fatally shot. “I got a bit of help from people around me and went to bootcamp training over a weekend, but I wish I had this kind of structure, an ongoing structure that I could relate to all the time.”

State Representative Jo Ella Hoye, a Democrat, was elected to the Kansas Legislature in November after leading the chapter of Moms Demand Action in Kansas for about three years. She said she mostly staffed her campaign with other volunteers making more than 10,000 calls for her.

“You have this lightbulb moment: I used this database for our organization and I will use it for our campaign. We attend training on messaging and social media, ”said Ms. Hoye. “If you formalize it, the lightbulb will click just a little earlier.”

You and Ms. McBath will advise the participants in the program, as will, among others, the Mayoress Keisha Lance Bottoms of Atlanta, a Democrat; former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, a Democrat; and former Florida MP David Jolly, who was Republican during his tenure but has since left the party.

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Politics

Prime Cuomo aide’s father lobbied the governor’s workplace earlier this 12 months

Top Cuomo aide's father lobbied the governor's office earlier this year

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (L) speaks with Secretary to Governor Melissa DeRosa (R) during his daily press conference on March 20, 2020 in New York City.

Bennett Raglin | Getty Images

A firm run by the father of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s closest adviser was actively lobbying members of the governor’s team for clients earlier this year when former Cuomo advisors made allegations of sexual harassment and the governor was under investigation by the attorney general.

Giorgio DeRosa, the father of the governor’s powerful secretary Melissa DeRosa, is listed in lobbyists ‘disclosure reports as part of a group that actively engaged Cuomo’s staff in the Executive Chamber during Attorney General Letitia James’ investigation into the governor for alleged sexual harassment of several women, as records show.

The disclosure reports show that Giorgio DeRosa, a head of the influential Bolton-St. Johns and his team lobbied the Cuomo Executive Chamber from January through April. Melissa DeRosa’s brother, who also works at the company, is also listed in disclosure reports showing the group targeted the governor’s office during the same period.

Bolton-St. Johns made just over $ 80,000 in that time lobbying Cuomo’s team, the revelations show.

The first former Cuomo adviser went public in December on allegations of sexual harassment against the governor. James announced in late February that he would take over the investigation.

The attorney general’s report found that Cuomo sexually molested eleven women and violated state and federal laws. It is also alleged that Melissa DeRosa was an architect to protect the governor from the allegations. Cuomo continues to deny wrongdoing. A new Quinnipiac poll says 7 out of 10 voters think Cuomo should step down.

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Between January and February, Giorgio DeRosa was part of a team hiring Cuomo’s consultants on a variety of topics for phone giant Verizon, food service company Delaware North and casino giant Caesars Entertainment.

Recent lobbying by the team also targeted members of the attorney general of the Live Nation ticket company later in the year, although those investigating Cuomo were not listed as the people contacted by Giorgio DeRosa and his team.

Melissa DeRosa said she has withdrawn from anything to do with her father and her entire family. Giorgio DeRosa has stood up for Cuomo’s team in the past.

Still, the lobbying reports show that he and his company continued to have access to the governor’s inner circle at the start of and during an investigation highlighting his daughter’s role in the alleged attempt to protect the governor from scrutiny.

After CNBC asked questions about Melissa DeRosa’s father’s recent lobbying efforts, a Cuomo spokesman dismissed CNBC’s coverage as “nonsensical”. The spokesman reiterated that the governor’s secretary had withdrawn from all matters related to her family.

“As has been publicly announced for years, Melissa is being proactively withdrawn on any specific matter that involves members of her family, and the premise of this article is nonsensical,” Rich Azzopardi, a Cuomo spokesman, said in an e- Mail to CNBC on Friday.

Azzopardi is also mentioned repeatedly in the attorney general’s report.

The attorney general’s report shows, among other things, that in March Melissa DeRosa twice requested that Larry Schwartz, who was Cuomo’s Covid vaccine czar at the time, call the Democratic district governments to take her pulse on whether the governor should resign in light of the allegations.

“On the call, Ms. DeRosa asked Mr. Schwartz to contact the Democratic District Councils to clarify their positions on whether the governor should resign in light of the sexual harassment allegations. Mr. Schwartz said he agreed to make the calls because Ms. DeRosa, the governor’s secretary, had asked, “the report said. “Two weeks after Mr. Schwartz made his first round of calls, Ms. DeRosa asked him to make another round of calls to the county boards to review their positions. Mr. Schwartz made those calls again and reported back to Ms. DeRosa.”

Ethics experts have previously questioned Melissa DeRosa’s attempt to distance herself from her father. Susan Lerner, the executive director of the guard dog Common Cause / New York, told CNBC in a telephone interview on Friday that after she and her group initially asked Melissa DeRosa for greater transparency, she received a call from the secretary to the governor.

“She refuses to provide a list of the matters that she has withdrawn from. When she was first appointed we raised this issue and she said she would withdraw herself,” Lerner said. “We said, ‘OK, let the public know which of these customers you are not going to discuss with.’ She refused and called to yell at me and say it was out of my turn to address these issues. “

Lerner said there were always the appearances of ethical issues when Giorgio DeRosa swayed the governor’s office while his daughter worked for the governor.

“It’s built into the situation and that was clear from the start,” she said. “By the time she was selected, there would be at least the semblance of inappropriateness that everyone in the executive who met with her father was very much aware of the relationship between the governor’s secretary and the lobbyist’s meeting with. It certainly is obvious to customers. “

Melissa DeRosa was first appointed secretary in 2017.

Giorgio DeRosa defended the company, saying it always acted in accordance with the laws of the state.

“Bolton-St.Johns has been rated as the top lobbying firm in New York for over two decades. Clients hire our firm to leverage our diverse knowledge and political know-how to support effective results-oriented strategies, ”he said in an email on Friday. “This topic has been covered extensively by other media in the past, and only the impeccable compliance with state law has been reported.”

For Verizon, the Executive Chamber’s lobbying focused, according to the disclosure, on “New York State budget items that affect Verizon’s services” and an “ongoing approval issue at the Verizon workplace.”

During the same period, Giorgio DeRosa and his team, along with members of the state legislature, participated in the Cuomo Executive Chamber on “Sports Betting Issues in NYS”. [New York State]“For Caesars.

In April, Cuomo signed a budget bill for fiscal year 2022 that would enable online sports betting in the Empire State. Giorgio DeRosa’s group supported Cuomo’s team on the same issues for Delaware North, which also owns casinos.

Giorgio DeRosa’s lobbying work towards the Executive Chamber did not end there. It was not until April that he and his company continued to advocate for Caesars on issues related to sports betting.

From March through April, they also got access to the executive chamber of FuelCell Energy, a Connecticut-based clean energy provider.

Giorgio DeRosa and his law firm also targeted state legislators for FuelCell with discussions about the review of the “Definition of Renewable Energy in New York State”.

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Health

Return to workplace is determined by whether or not workforce is vaccinated, Dr. Celine Gounder says

Return to office depends on whether workforce is vaccinated, Dr. Celine Gounder says

Dr. Celine Gounder, an epidemiologist who advised the Biden government, highlighted the importance of a vaccinated workforce as employers consider returning to the office.

“If you are able to vaccinate your workforce, I think that is a very different calculation than if you are not,” Gounder said Monday evening in an interview on CNBC’s “The News with Shepard Smith” . “Vaccination is the way out of this pandemic.”

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Monday issued a vaccination mandate for the 68,000 transit workers who operate the city’s vast subway and bus system. Workers must either be vaccinated or have weekly tests starting on the day of work. He also suggested that private businesses like bars and restaurants require proof of vaccination against Covid-19 as a prerequisite for approval. The announcement comes less than a week after the governor issued the same requirement for all civil servants.

Host Shepard Smith also asked Gounder about the rise in delta variant cases in children and whether or not they affected differently from other variants. The NYU epidemiologist stated that the Delta variant is different and therefore affects children more.

“The virus concentration in infected people is 1,000 times higher in the nose and throat than in the early strains of the virus,” said Gounder. “So if you imagine that there are so many more viruses in the body, even if a child might not have had a serious infection at the beginning of the pandemic, now with so many more viruses we are seeing children getting sick.”

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SkyBridge’s Anthony Scaramucci mandates Covid vaccines at his workplace

SkyBridge's Anthony Scaramucci mandates Covid vaccines at his office

Anthony Scaramucci, founder and co-managing director of SkyBridge, told CNBC on Friday that he had commissioned Covid recordings in his hedge fund’s office.

He also urged all eligible Americans to get vaccinated.

“We are a private company. If someone wants to argue with me about the vaccine mandate, that’s fine. Let’s take it to court, ”said Scaramucci in“ Squawk Box ”and begged other companies to follow suit.

“Make a decision. You’re a private company. Let’s shut it out. We need to keep people safe. Get vaccinated. If you don’t want to get vaccinated, go. That should be the message, and that People will start getting you vaccinated. “

Scaramucci’s comments come at a critical time in the coronavirus pandemic as the US sees a spike in new infections related to the highly communicable Delta variant and health officials scramble to combat reluctance and resistance to Covid vaccines.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 49% of the US population are fully vaccinated and 56.4% have received at least one dose of vaccine. Most of the people in the country who received injections received vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna that require two doses. Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine requires a shot. These are the only three approved for emergency use in the United States

However, vaccination rates have slowed significantly since mid-April, when the seven-day average of daily doses administered exceeded 3.4 million. On July 17, the weekly average of the administered daily doses was just under 450,000 according to CDC data.

Scaramucci, who briefly served as White House communications director in the Trump administration, tried to push back various conspiracy theories about the Covid vaccines. He stressed that they are safe and effective in preventing serious illness and death, and has been shown to reduce the transmission of the virus.

“I don’t have a microchip in my body. It has not genetically modified my cells. It protects me from the worst pandemic in the last 100 years and enables our economy to open up,” said Scaramucci, who also sees it as his responsibility as a father from children who are not yet eligible for the vaccine. “When you have young children … vaccinate yourself to protect your children.”

Scaramucci acknowledged that some people might be suspicious of government and large institutions, but he said the science of vaccination is clear. The more Americans get vaccinated, the better for the whole country, he said.

“I don’t like totalitarian nonsense. That’s not the point. It’s about the fact that we have to unite as a society from time to time to protect each other,” said Scaramucci. “If we all get vaccinated, we will be in society faster and the economy will grow faster and there will be more jobs and more incomes.”

Companies requiring their employees to be vaccinated have been a controversial issue throughout the pandemic, in part because the Food and Drug Administration only issued emergency clearances for the three vaccines.

Former FDA chief and Pfizer board member Dr. Scott Gottlieb told Squawk Box that he expects companies and organizations to take a more binding position on vaccination regulations once full regulatory approval is obtained.

“Hopefully when we go into the fall and winter the vaccines will get full approval … I think you will see more mandates come in. Surely, in the healthcare sector, you start to see” this is becoming commonplace, “he said .

“The business wants to start again. People want to resume activities, and to the extent that the vaccines provide an extra measure to do it safely and protect places where you bring people together, I think we will have more sports teams and more business premises see and start prescribing vaccinations. ”

Disclosure: Scott Gottlieb is a CNBC employee and a member of the board of directors of Pfizer, genetic testing startup Tempus, health technology company Aetion Inc., and biotechnology company Illumina. He is also co-chair of the Healthy Sail Panel of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings and Royal Caribbean.

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Health

Biden to Nominate Rahul Gupta to Run Nationwide Workplace of Drug Management Coverage

Biden to Nominate Rahul Gupta to Run National Office of Drug Control Policy

Charleston’s program was nationally recognized, but it was criticized by the city’s mayor when Dr. Gupta was the health commissioner. Dr. Gupta’s department issued an audit that found fault with the program, including shoddy record keeping, which led to the program’s decertification after the city had already shut it down.

Public health experts said its closure had a chilling effect on other programs, and kept some from getting off the ground.

As a state health official, Dr. Gupta had no authority to stop the closure. In a 2018 interview with West Virginia Public Broadcasting shortly before he left the health commissioner’s job, Dr. Gupta said that the closure was “not in the best interest of the community” and that needle exchange programs like Charleston’s should not be shut down “reactively.”

But critics faulted him for not using his platform forcefully enough to defend the program.

Gregg Gonsalves, an epidemiologist at Yale University and a longtime AIDS activist, on Tuesday called Dr. Gupta a “terrible choice” who “represents a return to the old ways of thinking about drug use in America, and is not the forward-thinking leader we need right now.”

Other experts said that Dr. Gupta was caught in a difficult situation with the battle over the syringe exchange. Mr. Raymond, while describing the closure of the Charleston program as “a tragedy,” called Dr. Gupta an “excellent choice.” That assessment was echoed by Dr. Joshua M. Sharfstein, a public health expert at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health who worked with Dr. Gupta to address the opioid crisis in West Virginia.

“He knows the value of syringe service programs, he understands the evidence on harm reduction and he is very supportive,” Dr. Sharfstein said. “West Virginia is a very difficult environment for discussion of these topics, and he had to navigate under those constraints.”

The White House announced the selection of Dr. Gupta in a statement on Tuesday, along with 10 other nominations, including that of Jeff Flake, the former Republican senator from Arizona, to be the ambassador to Turkey and that of the writer Atul Gawande to a post at the U.S. Agency for International Development.

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World News

‘Black Widow’ nabs $13.2 million in field workplace gross sales Thursday

Disney to debut 'Black Widow,' 'Cruella' in theaters and Disney+

Scarlett Johansson plays Natasha Romanoff, AKA Black Widow, in Marvel’s “Black Widow”.

Disney | wonder

“Black Widow” sold $ 13.2 million in preview tickets Thursday, raising the box office bar of the pandemic era.

The Marvel movie is expected to gross between $ 80 million and $ 110 million in box office revenue this weekend.

Universal’s “F9” grossed $ 7.1 million in its Thursday previews last month and $ 70 million on its debut weekend. Both were records for a film released in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

The revenue for “Black Widow” on Thursday is equal to the $ 15.4 million raised from “Spider-Man: Homecoming” and the $ 14.5 million raised from “Thor: Ragnarok” . Both films were released in 2017. “Spider-Man” grossed $ 117 million on its three-day opening weekend and “Thor: Ragnarok,” according to Comscore, $ 123 million.

The strong preview numbers – coupled with pre-sales of tickets that keep pace with several Marvel films released before the pandemic – suggest fans will see this feature hit the big screen, despite it being available at Disney + for US $ 30 Dollar is available.

“This is the weekend Marvel fans have been waiting for, and their enthusiasm is reflected in Thursday’s preview figures, which point to what may well be the best pandemic-era opening weekend for Black Widow,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore. “Despite its availability on Disney +, ‘Black Widow’ is undeniably a big screen event and once again proves the essence of the cinematic experience.”

The number of cinemas open to the public is still below the level of 2019. Before the weekend, around 81% of the cinemas will sell tickets, reports Comscore.

Regardless, Black Widow is headed for the biggest opening of the pandemic, and the industry is likely to see the highest total weekend box office gross since March 2020. This will be a massive step up from the $ 901,000 domestic box office made during the same weekend last year.

Disclosure: NBCUniversal is the parent company of Universal Studios and CNBC.

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Health

Simply because the field workplace hit its stride, the delta variant appeared

Just as the box office hit its stride, the delta variant appeared

A slow and steady increase in box office receipts could be threatened by a new variant of the coronavirus.

The domestic box office has gained momentum since March, bringing in up to $ 98.7 million in ticket sales last weekend, a record during the pandemic era.

Around 80% of the cinemas are open to the public this weekend, and mask restrictions on those who have received the coronavirus vaccination have been relaxed. With cinemas opening wider and Covid cases falling, studios have been confident of releasing big blockbuster pictures.

Last weekend, Universal’s “F9” hit the highest opening weekend of any movie released during the pandemic for a grand total of $ 70 million and helped increase total weekend loot to $ 98.7 million, another record for the industry .

Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards

More than half of the US population has received at least one dose of the vaccine, which has resulted in a sharp decrease in the number of deaths from Covid, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The number of new cases had fallen significantly in the last few weeks and is still well below its peak. However, public health officials are watching the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant in communities with low vaccination rates, which has led to a surge in cases recently.

It is feared that an increase in the cases of Delta variants could lead to a resurgence of health and safety restrictions not only domestically but also internationally and discourage worldwide moviegoers from going to the movies.

Cities like Los Angeles have already chosen to reverse mask guidelines and strongly recommend that both unvaccinated and vaccinated individuals wear masks in public places such as restaurants, shops, and movie theaters. Cinema chains have told CNBC that cinema locations will continue to comply with all local regulations.

“Each state is loosening mask strategies so many companies could be affected if it flares up,” said Eric Handler, media and entertainment analyst at MKM Partners. “I hope the vaccines can help fight it off enough that it’s not a big problem.”

CDC director Rochelle Walensky said Wednesday that the US has a high vaccination rate and its highly potent vaccines have allowed them to relax mask restrictions and social distancing measures. In comparison, much of the world is still unvaccinated and there is currently evidence that vaccines developed outside of the United States have been less effective.

“The global outlook also remains important as studios and exhibitors closely monitor key international markets and the evolution of their various vaccine distributions in the second half of the year,” said Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at Boxoffice.com.

In some countries where the Delta variant is on the rise, new lockdown measures have been imposed.

The Delta variant currently accounts for about 25% of the new cases sequenced in the US, and officials believe it will become the dominant strain in the country. In some counties, the delta variant rates are up to 50% according to the CDC.

The US government is concerned about parts of the US where vaccination rates are low. Domestically, about 1,000 counties in the United States have a vaccination coverage rate of less than 30%, Walensky said Thursday. These counties are mainly in the Southeast and Midwest and are the most prone to getting Covid infection, she said. The authority already sees increasing disease rates in these districts due to the further spread of the more transmissible delta variant.

“The movie industry, like many others, has been considering variant scenarios similar to the current one under the reopening plans and nothing is taken for granted,” said Robbins. “At this point, however, there is no evidence of an immediate impact on domestic cinemas as long as the vaccinated individuals remain protected, as health officials have widely reported.”

– CNBC’s Rich Mendez contributed to this report.

Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. NBCUniversal is the distributor of “F9”.