Cambridge, Mass. (AP)-COVID-19 cases have risen in the United States, prompting a large number of school districts, particularly in the Northeast, to return masked warrants and recommendations for the first time since at the end of winter. of Omicron and as the country approaches. 1 million people died in the pandemic.
The return of masks to schools is not as common as during a pandemic, especially public concern More viruses have been reduced. But the counties of Maine, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania have returned the masks, and few Massachusetts have recommended them, even as the school year enters its final weeks.
Maine’s largest school district in Portland said the masks would return this week, with supervisor Xavier Botana saying it was the “safest course so far” amid rising cases. Schools in Bangor, Maine have also restored the need for a universal mask.
High schools outside of Pittsburgh and in Montclair, New Jersey, a travel suburb of New York City, have also announced the return of the masks, albeit temporarily this week. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, most counties in the country, considered “high” COVID-19 levels, are located in the northeast.
In parts of Massachusetts where high levels of COVID-19 transmission have been reported, authorities also recommend face masks in schools.
Reactions range from responsive to angry. On the Facebook page of Woodland Hills High School, outside Pittsburgh, a woman called the change “#crazy”.
Diana Martinez and Owen Cornwall, who have first grade at Cambridge, Graham and Parks schools in Massachusetts, followed the recommendation to keep their daughter.
“We have so much fun here. “It gives us peace of mind,” said Martinez, a 42-year-old professor at Tufts University. “I think parents are usually inclined to wear them and that gives us comfort. The same thing happens in our kindergarten.” There will be parents who will not cover their children with a mask and we will cover the our children. “
Cornwall said there appears to be a general consensus in the school community in favor of safe play.
“We are fortunate in this area that they share our health concern,” said Cornwall, a 37-year-old visiting scientist in Tufts.
According to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, the average daily incidence rate in the United States is 79,000, up 50% over the past two weeks. This is part where the number of daily cases was earlier this year when they exceeded 800,000.
However, the number of current cases is very small due to a significant decrease in testing, and tests are done at home and not reported to health departments.
An influential group of models from the University of Washington in Seattle estimates that only 13 percent of cases are reported to U.S. health authorities, meaning more than half a million new infections are reported every day.
Despite the increase in cases and the return of a small number of schools Feedback from around the country Much has decreased, reflecting the fatigue of the community after more than two years incarceration.
Outside the schools, however, officers were less interested in returning disguised warrants.
Last month, Philadelphia lowered its mandate on internal masking just days after becoming the first major U.S. city to re-enforce the complaint in response to COVID-19 cases and increasing hospital admissions.
The United States is close to the bitter 1 million death mark from COVID-19. Worldwide, more than 6 million people have died as a result of the pandemic, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Staff from California Orange Providence Hospital of St. Joseph Hospital, struggling during the worst period of the pandemic, stopped by Wednesday to identify the victim.
Petsy Brandenburger, nursing coordinator in the intensive care unit, was among several hospital assistants who received a blessing from the hospital’s chaplain’s father, Patrick Okonquo, at a Roman Catholic ceremony.
He remembers the worst day of the pandemic, when the hospital was filled with hundreds of patients, including dozens of fans; The hospital now has only seven COVID-19 patients.
“The number of patients we see dead in the ICU is very, very, very heavy. And just families that don’t get along is very difficult for all of us,” Brandenburger said with tears in his eyes.
Reported by Catalin from Trenton, New Jersey. Associated Press writers Eugene Garcia in Orange, California, Patrick Whitley in Portland, Maine, and AP writers across the country.
Source: Huffpost
