Schools reopen with masks optional in many US classrooms
3 years, 5 months ago

Schools reopen with masks optional in many US classrooms

Associated Press  

MCDONOUGH, Ga. — As Tussahaw Elementary opened this week for a new school year, teary-eyed mothers led in kindergartners dwarfed by backpacks and buses dropped off fifth graders looking forward to ruling their school. “They’re not vaccinated because they’re too young, and I don’t know if someone else is carrying it in,” said Dorsey, who is doubtful about the school system’s ability to maintain in-person instruction amid rising infections. “And what we know today is that schools are not catalysts for community spread.” At least 28 of Georgia’s more than 180 school districts are requiring masks, encompassing more than 38% of the state’s public school students. He said he thinks the school system should require masks — “at least until the cases go down.” Daniel Denny sent both his children to Tussahaw with masks but said face coverings should be up to parents. “You take care of your household how you choose.” Kimberly Vining, a parent of two middle school students, strongly approved of the policy, saying it will make things much easier for children with asthma or anxiety about wearing masks.

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History of this topic

Opinion: California’s new rules allow COVID-positive kids in school. Here’s the problem
11 months, 2 weeks ago

Opinion: California’s new rules allow COVID-positive kids in school. Here’s the problem

LA Times  

The California Department of Public Health recently updated its COVID guidance to allow people who have tested positive to exit isolation sooner than before. This change came as a surprise to many — and it prompted some outrage when the Oakland Unified School District announced a new policy as a result, one in which students who test positive without symptoms …

Measures such as lockdowns and masks ‘unequivocally reduced Covid infections’
1 year, 4 months ago

Measures such as lockdowns and masks ‘unequivocally reduced Covid infections’

The Independent  

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Measures taken during the Covid-19 pandemic such as social distancing …

Atlanta college brings back Covid mask mandates as Government doctors in Seattle call for face coverings to be compulsory for healthcare workers - amid rise of new Covid variant BA.2.86
1 year, 4 months ago

Atlanta college brings back Covid mask mandates as Government doctors in Seattle call for face coverings to be compulsory for healthcare workers - amid rise of new Covid variant BA.2.86

Daily Mail  

This is because patients in the hospital are likely to be vulnerable due to age Calls for Covid face masks to return are ramping up amid increasing virus rates and the rise of a highly-mutated new variant. Morris Brown College, a private liberal arts school, is requiring students and employees to wear face masks in hallways and lecture halls for …

With COVID-19 ‘over’, applying the lessons learnt
1 year, 8 months ago

With COVID-19 ‘over’, applying the lessons learnt

The Hindu  

Approximately 1,192 days since January 30, 2020, when COVID-19 was announced as a ‘public health emergency of international concern’, the World Health Organization, on May 5, 2023, declared that COVID-19 was no longer a public health emergency of international concern. Misinformation during the second wave In April-May 2021, there was a COVID-19 misinformation blitzkrieg: that a ‘third wave in India …

DC Edit | Masks advisable as Covid could disrupt lives again
1 year, 9 months ago

DC Edit | Masks advisable as Covid could disrupt lives again

Deccan Chronicle  

Covid-19 is back in the news not just as a regular rejoinder but as a potential disruptor. The Union government must revisit the Covid protocols and prod state governments to decide what is to be introduced now. Several waves of the pandemic and different variants of the virus that have visited humanity in the last three years have given us …

Mask mandate dropped for school campuses
1 year, 9 months ago

Mask mandate dropped for school campuses

China Daily  

Students and teachers are no longer required to wear masks on campuses, according to the latest COVID-19 epidemic control plan for schools and universities. No mass nucleic acid testing should be carried out at universities, yet they can conduct antigen tests or nucleic acid tests on staff members such as medical workers and canteen staff, the plan said. The plan …

Mask mandate dropped for school campuses
1 year, 9 months ago

Mask mandate dropped for school campuses

China Daily  

Students attend their first class after winter break at Beijing Huajiadi Experimental Primary School on Feb 13, 2023. Students and teachers are no longer required to wear masks on campuses, according to the latest COVID-19 epidemic control plan for schools and universities. No mass nucleic acid testing should be carried out at universities, yet they can conduct antigen tests or …

Children who can’t afford toothpaste are wearing Covid masks to hide bad breath
1 year, 11 months ago

Children who can’t afford toothpaste are wearing Covid masks to hide bad breath

The Independent  

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Children are being bullied at school for not brushing their …

Covid Restrictions creep back into American life - as Michigan and Massachusetts begin Mask Mandates
1 year, 11 months ago

Covid Restrictions creep back into American life - as Michigan and Massachusetts begin Mask Mandates

Daily Mail  

Hundreds of thousands more students across the US have been placed under Covid restrictions as schools and colleges bring back mask and testing mandates. It means more than 600,000 students are living with Covid rules — despite little evidence that they reduce transmission — after students in New Jersey and Pennsylvania were also put under mask mandates last week. Superintendent …

Health officials are urging masks again amid high COVID, flu levels
2 years ago

Health officials are urging masks again amid high COVID, flu levels

LA Times  

With COVID-19, the flu and other respiratory diseases circulating widely in Los Angeles County and elsewhere, many officials are urging residents to use a familiar tool to help thwart transmission: masks. As case rates rise, “your chance of catching COVID during your routine activities — grocery shopping, eating out, running errands, going to work — will increase,” according to Los …

The Best KN95 Face Masks For Kids To Wear Back To School
2 years, 5 months ago

The Best KN95 Face Masks For Kids To Wear Back To School

Huff Post  

Back-to-school season is upon us, and as your little ones prepare to resume their studies, the best way to help protect them from COVID -19 is with a mask or face covering. Despite most U.S. public schools making masking optional this school year, it’s still a good idea to wear one: The new BA.5 subvariant is highly transmissible, infections are …

L.A. schools drop aggressive COVID-19 rules: No more testing for all and masks stay optional
2 years, 5 months ago

L.A. schools drop aggressive COVID-19 rules: No more testing for all and masks stay optional

LA Times  

When Los Angeles schools open on Aug. 15, mask wearing will be optional and other COVID-19 safety rules relaxed to match with county requirements. Los Angeles Unified school leaders on Tuesday officially stepped back from COVID-19 safety protocols that have been among the most far-reaching in the country, choosing instead to mirror current county requirements and join most other school …

Doctors call for masks and vaccines in Queensland schools as COVID-19 cases and deaths rise
2 years, 5 months ago

Doctors call for masks and vaccines in Queensland schools as COVID-19 cases and deaths rise

ABC  

Queenslanders may be sick of hearing about COVID-19 and want to pretend it has gone, but the virus is still killing dozens across the state each week, a frontline doctor warns. Key points: The government is "strongly advising" students wear masks at school Doctors say the government needs to do more Fewer than 50 Queensland state schools have had ventilation …

Maharashtra schools to reopen on June 15 with all possible precautions: Education minister
2 years, 7 months ago

Maharashtra schools to reopen on June 15 with all possible precautions: Education minister

India Today  

Maharashtra schools will reopen on June 15 with all possible precautions, said Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad on Monday. The education minister said that students in Classes 1 and 2 have never been to school due to the Covid-19 pandemic for the last two years. School-going students have been severely impacted due to the Covid-19 curbs in the last two years …

A third of US should be considering masks, officials say
2 years, 7 months ago

A third of US should be considering masks, officials say

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — COVID-19 cases are increasing in the United States — and could get even worse over the coming months, federal health officials warned Wednesday in urging areas hardest hit to consider reissuing calls for indoor masking. “Prior increases of infections, in different waves of infection, have demonstrated that this travels across the country,” said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the CDC …

2 more bills targeting COVID rules head to Ducey’s desk
2 years, 7 months ago

2 more bills targeting COVID rules head to Ducey’s desk

Associated Press  

PHOENIX — Two more bills restricting responses to the coronavirus pandemic are heading to Republican Gov. Doug Ducey’s desk, including one that would impact the ability of future state leaders to respond to another airborne-spreading disease and a second blocking the state from ever requiring schoolchildren to get a COVID-19 vaccine. Senators also approved a bill barring the state Health …

Hawaii public school students to remain masked for summer
2 years, 7 months ago

Hawaii public school students to remain masked for summer

Associated Press  

HONOLULU — Public school students in Hawaii will be required to wear masks while indoors for summer classes and related activities. Hawaii is the only state in the nation that still has a universal indoor mask requirement for public school students. Hawaii’s State Epidemiologist Sarah Kemble said officials are still discussing whether to keep the rule in place for the …

Creeping COVID-19 cases result in few schools mask mandates
2 years, 7 months ago

Creeping COVID-19 cases result in few schools mask mandates

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy U.S. COVID-19 cases are up, …

Even as COVID cases rise, mask mandates stay shelved
2 years, 8 months ago

Even as COVID cases rise, mask mandates stay shelved

LA Times  

The CDC urges people to mask up in indoor public places where cases are rising, but few local jurisdictions are bringing back requirements. In New York City, cases are again rising and this week crossed the city’s threshold for “medium risk” due to the widening spread of the Omicron subvariant knowns as BA.2. “I don’t anticipate many places, if any, …

Even as COVID cases rise, mask mandates stay shelved
2 years, 8 months ago

Even as COVID cases rise, mask mandates stay shelved

Associated Press  

NEW YORK — An increase in COVID-19 infections around the U.S. has sent more cities into new high-risk categories that are supposed to trigger indoor mask wearing, but much of the country is stopping short of bringing back restrictions amid deep pandemic fatigue. In New York City, cases are again rising and this week crossed the city’s threshold for “medium …

Mask mandates return to US college campuses as cases rise
2 years, 8 months ago

Mask mandates return to US college campuses as cases rise

Associated Press  

The final weeks of the college school year have been disrupted yet again by COVID-19 as universities bring back mask mandates, switch to online classes and scale back large gatherings in response to upticks in coronavirus infections. But several Northeast cities have seen a rise in cases and hospitalizations in recent weeks, as the BA.2 subvariant of the omicron variant …

Mask mandates return to U.S. college campuses as cases rise
2 years, 8 months ago

Mask mandates return to U.S. college campuses as cases rise

LA Times  

Signs indicating that protective face masks must be worn in classrooms are displayed outside lecture halls at Columbia University in New York. But several Northeast cities have seen a rise in cases and hospitalizations in recent weeks, as the BA.2 subvariant of the Omicron variant continues to rapidly spread throughout the U.S. “As much as we would like to move …

Are masks still effective even when many aren’t wearing them? What experts say
2 years, 8 months ago

Are masks still effective even when many aren’t wearing them? What experts say

LA Times  

Airports and airlines dropped their mask requirements after a Florida federal judge voided the Biden administration’s mask mandate for planes, trains and buses. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wanted a couple more weeks to make sure the recent modest increase in coronavirus cases wouldn’t threaten hospitals, and giving that time to the agency’s scientists would’ve helped “make sure …

Covid-19: No masks required on planes and trains, rules US federal judge
2 years, 8 months ago

Covid-19: No masks required on planes and trains, rules US federal judge

Hindustan Times  

The US Transportation Security Administration will stop requiring passengers on airplanes, trains and other public transportation to wear masks, after a federal judge struck down the mandate earlier Monday. “Today’s court decision means CDC’s public transportation masking order is not in effect at this time,” an administration official said in a statement. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki called the …

Usage of masks should be relaxed among children say experts as skin infection risk increased
2 years, 9 months ago

Usage of masks should be relaxed among children say experts as skin infection risk increased

Firstpost  

Also, as the benefit of using masks is low when the virus circulation is limited, experts feel the central government should remove the compulsion for kids. “It is a medical truism that everything that has effects also has side effects,” said Dr Maninder Singh Dhaliwal, associate director of pediatrics, Medanta Hospital, Gurgaon, when asked about the usage of face masks. …

In L.A. Unified, some masks come off; others keep wearing them
2 years, 9 months ago

In L.A. Unified, some masks come off; others keep wearing them

LA Times  

Students Joshua Martinez, left, and Alyssa Stein read in class at Pomelo Community Charter School on March 23 in West Hills. “We will wear a mask when it’s mandatory and when it becomes optional, then we are going to do that on a day-to-day basis,” said Jones, who was wearing a mask. Eighth-grader Valery Rivas, who got sick with COVID-19, …

L.A. Unified to lift indoor mask mandate next week in agreement with teachers union
2 years, 9 months ago

L.A. Unified to lift indoor mask mandate next week in agreement with teachers union

LA Times  

Alberto Carvalho talks with science students at Washington Preparatory High School in South L.A. Please consider your situation and do what is best for you or your child.” The district also agreed to: Maintain a supply of high-grade masks and provide them to employees upon request “Strongly encourage” indoor masking “at every school and worksite through ongoing communications” Maintain a …

In union poll, 58% of L.A. Unified teachers want to keep mandatory masking
2 years, 9 months ago

In union poll, 58% of L.A. Unified teachers want to keep mandatory masking

LA Times  

Parents protest on Tuesday against the continued mask mandate for L.A. Unified students outside the headquarters of United Teachers Los Angeles. More than half of Los Angeles Unified teachers who responded to a union poll want to continue the district’s indoor mask mandate, and union leaders have proposed lifting the requirement at schools where at least 75% of staff and …

A first school day without mask mandates, except in L.A., where teachers union is in talks
2 years, 9 months ago

A first school day without mask mandates, except in L.A., where teachers union is in talks

LA Times  

Third-graders, Alton Chan, left, and Caroline Kim work on assignments Monday at Tulita Elementary School in Redondo Beach, on the first day of optional masking in L.A. County. A sizable number of L.A. Unified parents are frustrated — even livid — that L.A. Unified is not, in their view, “following the science” or “following the health department guidance.” Health officials …

Is it too risky for kids to go maskless at school and day care? What experts say
2 years, 10 months ago

Is it too risky for kids to go maskless at school and day care? What experts say

LA Times  

With mask mandates easing, some parents and schools will have much to think about in the coming weeks. Because children under 5 aren’t eligible to be vaccinated, day care centers with those younger kids “still need to use masks.” Maldonado, who chairs the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Infectious Diseases, said people who say masks and distancing don’t work …

Requiring masks in K-12 schools cut Covid-19 infections, study shows
2 years, 10 months ago

Requiring masks in K-12 schools cut Covid-19 infections, study shows

CNN  

CNN — As states roll back masking requirements for students, a new study shows that masks helped cut Covid-19 infections in public K-12 schools that required them in the fall. Compared with districts that didn’t require masks, districts that did had 22% fewer Covid-19 cases among students in kindergarten through fifth grade; 31% fewer cases among students in grades six …

NYC sheds vaccination mandate, school masks precautions
2 years, 10 months ago

NYC sheds vaccination mandate, school masks precautions

Associated Press  

NEW YORK — New York City shed major COVID-19 precautions on Monday as masks became optional in city schools and restaurants and cultural attractions could stop asking patrons for proof of vaccination. Let’s enjoy our city,” Mayor Eric Adams said after visiting several restaurants in Manhattan’s East Village. The Democratic mayor urged New Yorkers to “enjoy the city and spend …

Chicago Public Schools drop mask requirement in classrooms
2 years, 10 months ago

Chicago Public Schools drop mask requirement in classrooms

Associated Press  

CHICAGO — Chicago Public Schools will stop requiring face masks for staff and students in the nation’s third-largest school district starting March 14, officials announced Monday. “CPS was one of the first to require universal masking in schools, and we would not be moving to a mask-optional model unless the data and our public health experts indicated that it is …

USC lifts mask mandate for most campus facilities
2 years, 10 months ago

USC lifts mask mandate for most campus facilities

LA Times  

USC on Monday will lift its indoor masking requirement for most campus facilities, officials announced. Masks will still be required at healthcare facilities and aboard public transportation, including USC shuttles, wrote Provost Charles F. Zukoski and Senior Vice President of Administration David Wright in a message to students. That comes after Los Angeles County issued a revised health order removing …

Florida Gov DeSantis berates students for wearing masks
2 years, 10 months ago

Florida Gov DeSantis berates students for wearing masks

Associated Press  

TAMPA, Fla. — A visibly annoyed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis admonished a group of high school students for wearing face masks at an indoor news conference Wednesday, saying it was time to stop what he called “this COVID theater.” The Republican governor approached the students and asked them to remove their masks as they waited for him at the press …

Masks optional in many New York schools after mandate ends
2 years, 10 months ago

Masks optional in many New York schools after mandate ends

Associated Press  

BUFFALO, N.Y. — School districts across New York state, including many of the largest, made mask wearing optional for students and staff beginning Wednesday as a statewide mandate came to an end. “I thought it was good because I could finally breathe better.” In New York City, which has the nation’s largest school district, an indoor mask mandate is expected …

Illinois COVID-19 mask mandate ending for most indoor spaces
2 years, 10 months ago

Illinois COVID-19 mask mandate ending for most indoor spaces

Associated Press  

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The need for face coverings in most indoor spaces in Illinois was ending Monday as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic eases. In the rest of Chicago, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said last week that the city would also lift its mask mandate Monday, along with a requirement that people show proof of vaccination at places such as …

Lamont: About 85% of Connecticut schools dropping mask rule
2 years, 10 months ago

Lamont: About 85% of Connecticut schools dropping mask rule

Associated Press  

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont and the head of state’s association of school superintendents say about 85% to 90% of school districts across the state have elected to drop mandatory face mask wearing as of Monday, the day when local officials were allowed to decide whether to extend the state’s mask mandate. “I do have a mom …

L.A. County will align with state to end school mask mandate after March 11
2 years, 10 months ago

L.A. County will align with state to end school mask mandate after March 11

LA Times  

New L.A. schools Supt. Alberto Carvalho talks with masked students after teaching part of a biology class during a February visit to Fremont High School in South L.A. Los Angeles County health officials on Monday said they will align with the state’s move to end indoor school masking requirements after March 11, giving officials in the county’s 80 schools districts …

California is lifting more indoor mask rules. What does this mean for me?
2 years, 10 months ago

California is lifting more indoor mask rules. What does this mean for me?

LA Times  

Band members play while wearing special masks at Maywood Center For Enriched Studies. The statewide requirement that unvaccinated people remain masked in indoor public settings has remained consistent since California fully reopened last June. Most counties in California — including San Diego, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura — on Feb. 16 allowed the state’s two-month old universal masking-wearing order …

Mask mandates are being ditched by more states and schools. But a decision on public transportation is still up in the air
2 years, 10 months ago

Mask mandates are being ditched by more states and schools. But a decision on public transportation is still up in the air

CNN  

CNN — Even some of the most ardent supporters of Covid-19 precautions are ditching mask mandates as health officials release new guidelines and hospitalizations plummet. Dr. Mark Ghaly, state Health and Human Services Agency secretary, said he’s “pleased with how the data has come down.” Los Angeles County is aligning itself with California’s new masking guidance by no longer requiring …

California to lift school mask mandate after March 11
2 years, 10 months ago

California to lift school mask mandate after March 11

LA Times  

Indoor masking will no longer be mandatory at California schools and child-care facilities after March 11, a long-debated and much-anticipated move that comes as the state continues its steady emergence from the Omicron wave of COVID-19. But, he added during a briefing call with reporters, the new guidance may “be received with some trepidation, and acknowledging that and giving communities …

New York to lift statewide school mask mandate by March 2
2 years, 10 months ago

New York to lift statewide school mask mandate by March 2

Associated Press  

NEW YORK — New York’s statewide masking requirement in schools will be lifted by March 2, Gov. Hours later, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said he’s considering lifting vaccine mandates on restaurants, bars and theaters by early next week if infections and hospitalizations continue their downward trend. A mask mandate on the city’s approximately 1 million schoolchildren could also …

Some Americans welcome new CDC mask guidance. Others are wary
2 years, 10 months ago

Some Americans welcome new CDC mask guidance. Others are wary

LA Times  

Patrons take off their masks inside Philippe’s restaurant in downtown Los Angeles on Friday. J.B. Pritzker said that the statewide school mask mandate will be lifted Monday in response to the new guidance, although Chicago Public Schools officials said they will continue to require masks “to maintain health and safety measures.” Los Angeles on Friday began allowing people who are …

Governor Kathy Hochul says New York indoor school mask mandate to be lifted this week
2 years, 10 months ago

Governor Kathy Hochul says New York indoor school mask mandate to be lifted this week

CNN  

CNN — New York will no longer require students to wear masks in schools beginning on Wednesday, Gov. Counties and cities that have a higher rate of Covid-19 transmission have the “flexibility” to keep the mask requirement in schools, Hochul said, and parents and guardians may still send their children to school in masks. “If we see no unforeseen spikes …

Washington officials to assess new mask guidance from CDC
2 years, 10 months ago

Washington officials to assess new mask guidance from CDC

Associated Press  

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Washington’s March 21 date to lift the statewide mask mandate remains in place for now as state officials review new guidance Friday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that says people in most places can safely take a break from wearing facial coverings. Jay Inslee, said in an email Friday that the office has not …

CDC: Many healthy Americans can take a break from masks
2 years, 10 months ago

CDC: Many healthy Americans can take a break from masks

Associated Press  

Most Americans live in places where healthy people, including students in schools, can safely take a break from wearing masks under new U.S. guidelines released Friday. CDC’s previous transmission-prevention guidance to communities focused on two measures — the rate of new COVID-19 cases and the percentage of positive test results over the previous week. With many Americans already taking off …

CDC to significantly ease pandemic mask guidelines Friday
2 years, 10 months ago

CDC to significantly ease pandemic mask guidelines Friday

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration will significantly loosen federal mask-wearing guidelines to protect against COVID-19 transmission on Friday, according to two people familiar with the matter, meaning most Americans will no longer be advised to wear masks in indoor public settings. The change comes as nearly all U.S. states that had put in place indoor mask-wearing mandates for the winter …

COVID-19 mask rules explained for every state and territory
2 years, 10 months ago

COVID-19 mask rules explained for every state and territory

ABC  

Masks will be coming off indoors today across much of the east coast, while a mask mandate has been extended in Western Australia. Australian Capital Territory From today, masks will no longer be mandatory in most indoor settings in the ACT, but will still be required on public transport, and in hospitals and aged-care facilities. While NSW has scrapped mask …

New US COVID guidelines allow most Americans to go mask-free
2 years, 10 months ago

New US COVID guidelines allow most Americans to go mask-free

Al Jazeera  

New US coronavirus masking policy is broken down into three risk categories based on hospital capacity and cases. The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has dramatically eased its COVID-19 guidelines for when people should wear masks indoors, a move that means 72 percent of the US population will reside in communities where indoor face coverings are no …

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