L.A. schools drop aggressive COVID-19 rules: No more testing for all and masks stay optional
2 years, 8 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 systems throughout the region, marking a reordering of priorities as the pandemic seeps into a third academic year. What that means for students and parents is a continued deferment of L.A. Unified School District‘s vaccination mandate for students and voluntary masking in the nation’s second-largest school system. “However, we have also learned a lot, and we now have better tools and technology at our disposal.” Most of the county’s 80 school systems appear to be following a course similar to L.A. Unified. “The unique challenge of COVID is the chronic uncertainty,” said Toby Gilbert, a spokesperson for the Alhambra Unified School District, which had enough tests on hand for one month of weekly testing.

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History of this topic

Donald Trump moves to cut funds for schools enforcing COVID-19 vaccine mandates
1 month, 2 weeks ago

Donald Trump moves to cut funds for schools enforcing COVID-19 vaccine mandates

Live Mint  

Schools, colleges, and states that require students to be vaccinated against COVID-19 may lose federal funding under an executive order signed by President Donald Trump. Limited national impact The order is expected to have minimal impact nationwide, as most schools and colleges have already dropped COVID-19 vaccine mandates. Rationale for the Order Citing the “incredibly low risk” of serious illness …

Opinion: California’s new rules allow COVID-positive kids in school. Here’s the problem
1 year, 2 months 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 …

COVID outbreaks hit workplaces, schools across California as summer illnesses worsen
1 year, 6 months ago

COVID outbreaks hit workplaces, schools across California as summer illnesses worsen

LA Times  

The summer COVID bump is worsening in California, with infections spreading at schools and workplaces, and hospitalizations ticking up. Among the work sites in L.A. County where there are active COVID-19 outbreak investigations are the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, CBS Studio Center Stage 18, the L.A. City Department of Public Works’ Bureau of Street Services, the Westchester-Loyola Village Branch …

Schools across America bring back Covid MASKS in classrooms amid rise in infections - in call back to dark days of pandemic
1 year, 6 months ago

Schools across America bring back Covid MASKS in classrooms amid rise in infections - in call back to dark days of pandemic

Daily Mail  

A slew of schools across America are reinstating mask mandates amid a surge in positive Covid tests - despite evidence they harm children's learning. Kinterbish Junior High School in Alabama has asked all students, staff and visitors to start wearing face masks in classrooms and hallways 'due to the slow rise of Covid cases in the area' since late last …

Mask mandate dropped for school campuses
2 years 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
2 years 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
2 years 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 …

Opinion: California gave up on mandating COVID vaccines for schoolchildren. Here’s why that’s wise
2 years, 1 month ago

Opinion: California gave up on mandating COVID vaccines for schoolchildren. Here’s why that’s wise

LA Times  

A California Supreme Court decision last week reaffirmed that individual school districts lack the authority to require students to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Unlike the other vaccines required for school enrollment in California, the COVID vaccines are unreliable at preventing infection or transmission, providing at best modest protection against infection for only a couple of months. We never had any …

California won’t require COVID vaccine to attend schools
2 years, 1 month ago

California won’t require COVID vaccine to attend schools

Associated Press  

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Children in California won’t have to get the coronavirus vaccine to attend schools, state public health officials confirmed Friday, ending one of the last major restrictions of the pandemic in the nation’s most populous state. Gavin Newsom first announced the policy in 2021, saying it would eventually apply to all of California’s 6.7 million public and private …

California’s COVID-19 student vaccine mandate, on hold since April, is dropped
2 years, 1 month ago

California’s COVID-19 student vaccine mandate, on hold since April, is dropped

LA Times  

Sarginoor Kaur gets a COVID-19 vaccination from nurse Chelsea Meyer at Arleta High School in 2021. California will not enact its student vaccine mandate, Public Health Department officials said. California’s student COVID-19 vaccine mandate — which has been on hold since April — has been quietly dropped as the state prepares to end emergency pandemic restrictions later this month, public …

Anxiety over ‘tripledemic’ has these LAUSD parents pleading for mask mandate
2 years, 2 months ago

Anxiety over ‘tripledemic’ has these LAUSD parents pleading for mask mandate

LA Times  

Some students wear masks in this first-grade class at 75th Street Elementary School in Los Angeles during a December visit from L.A. schools Supt. “I told them that day that they have to help, too.” Lopez’s concerns typify the voices of many Los Angeles parents who are navigating another troubling winter of health worries. “As parents who advocate for an …

Covid Restrictions creep back into American life - as Michigan and Massachusetts begin Mask Mandates
2 years, 2 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 …

COVID-19 guidelines: Uttarakhand makes 'mask' compulsory in schools amid rising cases
2 years, 3 months ago

COVID-19 guidelines: Uttarakhand makes 'mask' compulsory in schools amid rising cases

India TV News  

Uttarakhand COVID-19 guidelines : The state of Uttarakhand has made mask compulsory in schools amid rising COVID-19 cases in many countries of the world. According to the data shared by the Union Health Ministry today, the total recovery rate reached at around 98.80 per cent and total recoveries data reached to 4,41,43,665. The total active cases of COVID-19 in India …

L.A. County hits high COVID-19 community level, but mask mandate far from certain
2 years, 3 months ago

L.A. County hits high COVID-19 community level, but mask mandate far from certain

LA Times  

Los Angeles County has again entered the high COVID-19 community level, further indication that the continuing spike in cases is starting to exert pressure on the region’s hospitals. L.A. County hasn’t been in the high COVID-19 community level since summer, the last time when it appeared a mask mandate might be imminent. The county’s move into the high COVID-19 community …

San Diego Unified’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate struck down in court — again
2 years, 4 months ago

San Diego Unified’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate struck down in court — again

LA Times  

Nurse Zoe Reza administers a COVID-19 vaccine to Blossom Bess, 15, at a mobile clinic at Crawford High School in San Diego in January. A California appeals court ruled against the San Diego Unified School District’s COVID-19 student vaccine mandate, which has been on pause for the last half-year. “This is a great win for children and the rule of …

L.A. County strongly recommends indoor masking as COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations jump
2 years, 4 months ago

L.A. County strongly recommends indoor masking as COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations jump

LA Times  

A sign at a Chinatown business reminds customers to wear a face covering in July 2021. L.A. County is now strongly recommending indoor masking as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations climb. “Indoor masking is, as it has been in the past during times of elevated transmission, strongly recommended for all individuals,” county health officer Dr. Muntu Davis said Thursday. California L.A. …

FACT FOCUS: States, not CDC, set school vaccine requirements
2 years, 5 months ago

FACT FOCUS: States, not CDC, set school vaccine requirements

Associated Press  

A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory committee on Thursday voted that the agency should update its recommended immunization schedules to add the COVID-19 vaccine, including to the schedule for children. “The CDC is about to add the Covid vaccine to the childhood immunization schedule, which would make the vax mandatory for kids to attend school,” Carlson tweeted on …

FACT FOCUS: States, not CDC, set school vaccine requirements
2 years, 5 months ago

FACT FOCUS: States, not CDC, set school vaccine requirements

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. “The CDC is about to add the Covid vaccine …

L.A. County could soon drop this key COVID mask rule. Here’s why
2 years, 6 months ago

L.A. County could soon drop this key COVID mask rule. Here’s why

LA Times  

Los Angeles County’s requirement that riders wear masks aboard public transit or in transportation hubs such as airports could end this month if coronavirus case rates decline further. And because the person with COVID is often capable of infecting others for up to 48 hours before they develop any symptoms — and some people never develop symptoms and yet can …

CDC drops quarantine, distancing recommendations for COVID
2 years, 7 months ago

CDC drops quarantine, distancing recommendations for COVID

Associated Press  

NEW YORK — The nation’s top public health agency relaxed its COVID-19 guidelines Thursday, dropping the recommendation that Americans quarantine themselves if they come into close contact with an infected person. The CDC also dropped a “test-to-stay” recommendation, which said students exposed to COVID-19 could regularly test — instead of quarantining at home — to keep attending school. “After two …

L.A. County reports 12th pediatric COVID death. How to keep kids safe as school begins
2 years, 7 months ago

L.A. County reports 12th pediatric COVID death. How to keep kids safe as school begins

LA Times  

Paolo Canizales gets a shot of the Pfizer vaccine March 16 at Helen Keller Elementary School in Lynwood. There’s a possibility of a small increase in cases as the academic year begins — especially at elementary schools, due to the lower vaccination rates — but there are ways to reduce risk, said Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer. …

‘I’m over it.’ Many in L.A. shrug off COVID-19 wave despite super-infectious subvariants
2 years, 8 months ago

‘I’m over it.’ Many in L.A. shrug off COVID-19 wave despite super-infectious subvariants

LA Times  

People shop and work in Santee Alley in downtown Los Angeles this month. But it is getting better.” In Los Angeles County, public health officials are likely to reinstate an indoor mask mandate by the end of this month because the county is now in the “high” COVID-19 community level as defined by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and …

L.A. County goes it alone in push for new coronavirus mask rules, igniting familiar debate
2 years, 8 months ago

L.A. County goes it alone in push for new coronavirus mask rules, igniting familiar debate

LA Times  

A masked traveler walks through the main lobby of Los Angeles’ Union Station on July 12. Sustained growth in coronavirus-positive hospitalizations has Los Angeles County on the brink of a new public indoor mask mandate, a move officials say could help curb still-widespread transmission, but it has raised some concerns among business groups and sparked questions about its necessity. Although …

Youngkin eases day care, school masking, quarantine guidance
2 years, 8 months ago

Youngkin eases day care, school masking, quarantine guidance

Associated Press  

RICHMOND, Va. — Quarantining after exposure to COVID-19 is no longer recommended for unvaccinated, asymptomatic children in child care, K-12 schools and camp settings, Gov. The guidance announced Thursday evening by the Republican governor’s office also said masking is no longer routinely recommended in those settings, except in limited circumstances. Youngkin said the guidance, which is a departure from federal …

With COVID surging, Los Angeles may soon require masks
2 years, 8 months ago

With COVID surging, Los Angeles may soon require masks

Associated Press  

LOS ANGELES — Nick Barragan is used to wearing a mask because his job in the Hollywood film industry has long required it. “We’re asking you to take a sensible step, when there’s this much transmission with a highly transmissible variant, to go ahead and put back on a well fitting high-filtration mask when you’re indoors around others.” Nationwide, the …

With ultra-contagious BA.5 rising, how close is L.A. to an indoor COVID mask mandate?
2 years, 8 months ago

With ultra-contagious BA.5 rising, how close is L.A. to an indoor COVID mask mandate?

LA Times  

People wear masks while waiting in line for COVID-19 tests in Los Angeles in January. However, it is looking more likely, as cases and admissions have continued to increase, that we’ll enter the high community level designation later this month,” L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said Thursday. Assuming L.A. County were to enter the high COVID-19 community level …

School’s out. Will that help California get ahead of COVID-19?
2 years, 9 months ago

School’s out. Will that help California get ahead of COVID-19?

LA Times  

Angel Cardenas, a freshman at Hiram W. Johnson High School in Sacramento, wears his mask as he works on a math worksheet in class this week. “It’s very hard to accurately predict,” said L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer. “If nothing else, I’ve learned this virus throws us curve balls all the time.” The county’s official case count will …

Call for SA children to get vaccinated for flu as well as COVID-19 as primary school vaccination hubs open
2 years, 10 months ago

Call for SA children to get vaccinated for flu as well as COVID-19 as primary school vaccination hubs open

ABC  

South Australian parents have been urged to get their children vaccinated against influenza on the same day as a COVID-19 vaccination blitz has begun in the state's schools. Key points: About half of this year's flu cases are in children No decision has been made on making the flu vaccine free for everyone A program of COVID-19 vaccination clinics at …

The limits to school security become clear as parents demand answers after Texas shooting
2 years, 10 months ago

The limits to school security become clear as parents demand answers after Texas shooting

LA Times  

A woman waits outside after school at Yorkdale Elementary in Highland Park on Wednesday, one day after 19 children and two adults were killed at a school in Texas. The Texas school shooting has prompted questions among Los Angeles-area parents about school security measures that could prevent similar violence on their children’s campuses. “Moments like these force us as educators …

UCLA reinstates indoor mask mandate as L.A. County coronavirus cases rise
2 years, 10 months ago

UCLA reinstates indoor mask mandate as L.A. County coronavirus cases rise

LA Times  

A student walks near Royce Hall at UCLA, which has reinstated its indoor mask mandate as coronavirus cases continue to climb in Los Angeles County. UCLA has ordered a mask mandate in indoor settings on campus, effective Friday, as coronavirus cases continue to climb in Los Angeles County. During a briefing Thursday, she said “should we continue to see a …

Creeping COVID-19 cases result in few schools mask mandates
2 years, 10 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, …

L.A. school board delays student COVID-19 vaccine mandate without any discussion
2 years, 10 months ago

L.A. school board delays student COVID-19 vaccine mandate without any discussion

LA Times  

Sarginoor Kaur, 7, gets the COVID-19 vaccine from nurse Chelsea Meyer at Arleta High School in November. The Los Angeles Board of Education on Tuesday unanimously approved a delay of a student vaccine mandate for COVID-19 that had been scheduled to take effect next fall, under a recommendation from Supt. About 78% of Los Angeles Unified School District students age …

L.A. schools chief pushes to delay student COVID vaccination mandate
2 years, 11 months ago

L.A. schools chief pushes to delay student COVID vaccination mandate

LA Times  

The Los Angeles Unified School District should delay its requirement that students be vaccinated against COVID-19 until next year, its superintendent recommended Thursday, given the system’s already high vaccination rates among older students as well as low transmission rates in schools. “We also know that the district’s high vaccination rates played a crucial role in keeping kids in school throughout …

Mandate COVID Vaccination for Adults, Don’t Make School-going Children a Scapegoat
2 years, 11 months ago

Mandate COVID Vaccination for Adults, Don’t Make School-going Children a Scapegoat

News 18  

Schooling has been a matter of enthusiastic, and often passionate, debate since the COVID-19 pandemic struck the world. The second cause of worry is the assumption that with schools being open, children would infect each other and spread it to their teachers or carry it home and infect the adults, especially the grandparents who we do know have a higher …

Covid-19: No sharing, masks a must, temperature checks in fresh school guidelines in Delhi
2 years, 11 months ago

Covid-19: No sharing, masks a must, temperature checks in fresh school guidelines in Delhi

Hindustan Times  

In a bid to limit the spread of Covid-19 in schools, the Delhi government on Friday issued standard operating procedures asking administrations to ensure that students do not share food, books or stationery, even as it stressed that no student, teacher, or guest be allowed inside campus without a temperature check. The Delhi Disaster Management Authority in its Wednesday meeting …

Covid-19 cases rise again: How can you keep your children safe in schools, home
2 years, 11 months ago

Covid-19 cases rise again: How can you keep your children safe in schools, home

India Today  

Weeks after the Omicron cases subsided across India, coronavirus is once again on the rise. Parents and teachers can keep a few things in mind to keep children safe both at school and at home as new cases pop up. How to keep children safe from Covid-19 in schools, at home? Graphic: Pradeep Singh Saini Health experts have urged schools …

California delays coronavirus vaccine mandate for schools
2 years, 11 months ago

California delays coronavirus vaccine mandate for schools

Associated Press  

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California is sticking with its coronavirus vaccine mandate for schoolchildren, but it won’t happen until at least the summer of 2023, Gov. “So based on these two facts — we don’t have full FDA approval, and we recognize the implementation challenges that schools and school leaders would face — that we are not moving to have a …

California pauses plans to require COVID-19 vaccinations for schoolchildren
2 years, 11 months ago

California pauses plans to require COVID-19 vaccinations for schoolchildren

LA Times  

California will not require schoolchildren to be immunized for COVID-19 after Gov. Newsom’s office said that after the FDA approves the vaccine for children 12 and older, state public health officials will consider recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other groups “prior to implementing a school vaccine requirement.” Currently, …

California says asymptomatic people exposed to coronavirus don’t need to quarantine
2 years, 11 months ago

California says asymptomatic people exposed to coronavirus don’t need to quarantine

LA Times  

Students from King/Drew Magnet High School of Medicine and Science in Los Angeles wait for the arrival of U.S. The California Department of Public Health still recommends everyone who tests positive or shows COVID-19 symptoms, regardless of vaccination status, isolate and stay home for at least five days following the onset of illness or after the date of the first …

School coronavirus outbreaks rise in L.A. County after mask orders are lifted
2 years, 11 months ago

School coronavirus outbreaks rise in L.A. County after mask orders are lifted

LA Times  

The number of K-12 school coronavirus outbreaks is rising in Los Angeles County after many schools lifted mask-wearing requirements. Among K-12 campuses, “that’s one of the largest outbreaks we’ve ever had at a school since the beginning of the pandemic,” Ferrer said. Another factor behind the rise in school outbreaks, Ferrer said, is “the change in the state’s quarantine guidance …

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

How will L.A. County find warning signs of the next coronavirus surge?
3 years ago

How will L.A. County find warning signs of the next coronavirus surge?

LA Times  

Felipe Ramirez, left, Adriana Aranda and Jacqueline Macias of AltaMed Health Services canvass at Arry’s Burger to share information about COVID-19 vaccinations and distribute test kits Thursday in Montebello. L.A. County also will monitor the number of outbreaks in four specific settings of concern: Nursing homes: The goal is to keep the number of weekly outbreaks at skilled nursing facilities …

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

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

NYC sheds vaccination mandate, school masks precautions
3 years 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
3 years 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 …

Is it safe to lift indoor mask rules at California schools? Here’s what health experts say
3 years, 1 month ago

Is it safe to lift indoor mask rules at California schools? Here’s what health experts say

LA Times  

Junior Robert Menjivar, right, wears a mask in the class of teacher Cordell Haynes at Hawthorne High School. There’s the data that supports it,” both in terms of declining coronavirus cases and impacts on hospitals, Dr. Mark Ghaly, California’s health and human services secretary and a pediatrician, said Monday. But Ghaly said state officials are still “strongly recommending” mask wearing …

Mask mandates are being ditched by more states and schools. But a decision on public transportation is still up in the air
3 years, 1 month 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
3 years, 1 month 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 …

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