By Jeff Stein, Tyler Pager, Seung Min Kim and Tony Romm
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a moratorium on evictions for 60 days for U.S. counties with “substantial and high levels of community transmission” of the coronavirus, according to an agency news release. About 90 percent of the country will be covered by the ban as the virus’s delta variant spreads quickly throughout the country, Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a statement.
The 19-page order lists criminal penalties including fines and jail time if someone is found to have violated the eviction moratorium.
The Biden administration had previously said it had no legal authority to extend a separate national eviction moratorium that lapsed over the weekend. A statement from CDC Director Rochelle Walensky on Tuesday evening pointed to the emergence of the delta variant and said “it is imperative that public health authorities act quickly to mitigate such an increase of evictions, which could increase the likelihood of new spikes in SARS-CoV-2 transmission…
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