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Students in New Jersey have been required to wear masks since September 2020, when most schools reopened after a four-month lockdown. In September 2021, Mr. Murphy expanded the mandate to apply to children 2 and older in day care and preschool a rule that will also be lifted March 7.
Masks protect both the wearer from infection and those nearby from being infected. People who reported always wearing a mask indoors in public were less likely to test positive for the virus, according to a report released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Two studies published in September by the C.D.C. which continues to recommend that children 2 and older wear masks at school and in day care also found evidence that masks help prevent in-school transmission.
But prominent doctors, in a flurry of recent opinion essays and news appearances, have begun to question the validity of requiring students to wear masks as virus cases rapidly decline across the country. Doctors supportive of removing masks cite the extraordinary mental health strain children have faced during the pandemic and the educational value of seeing full faces, particularly for students who are nonnative English speakers or are learning to read.
We need to get them back to normal, said Dr. Lucy McBride, an internist in Washington, D.C., who has joined other doctors in calling for an end to school mask mandates.
I think the dam is breaking, she added.
Hochul Scraps Booster Mandate For Health Care Workers Cites Staff Shortages
They couldnt mask their excitement.
Adorable video shows young kids at a Las Vegas school jumping for joy when told they could ditch their face masks.
The footage, , captured the class of youngsters at an unnamed elementary school jumping up, dancing and cheering in glee when told Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak had rescinded the states COVID-19 mask mandate earlier in the day.
Starting tomorrow, we dont have to wear masks anymore! a teacher shouts to the students, prompting the kids to jump out of their seats and pump their fists in elation, the clip shows.
Other students bust out dance moves or scream in jubilation, while the footage shows a boy in a hoodie instantly pulling down his mask.
Is anybody excited?! the teacher asks, eliciting another round of screams from the kiddies.
Stop what youre doing and watch this. Kids at a Las Vegas elementary school burst out into cheers after learning they no longer have to wear a mask to school
Courtney Holland
One version of the video posted on Twitter had been retweeted about 15,600 times as of early Friday.
Champion hoodie kid is literally all of us right now, a person wrote. Kid is about to throw the chair out of the window in excitement. God bless him.
The rowdy celebration came after Sisolak lifted the states mask mandate but said school districts may set their own policies. Masks will still be required on school buses because of federal regulations.
Here Are The Dates You Need To Know For The 2019
NEW YORK Summer won’t officially end until Sept. 23, but it might as well be over on Sept. 5 for New York City’s public school students. That’s when they will head back to class for the first day of school, according to the Department of Education’s 2019-20 school year calendar.
The calendar includes nearly 30 important dates, including vacations, holidays and parent-teacher conference days. See the list below and mark your calendars now. Also check the links to download the calendar yourself so you don’t forget.
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How Cases Hospitalizations And Deaths Are Trending In Washington Dc
This chart shows how three key metrics compare to the corresponding peak per capita level reached nationwide last winter.
- Cases
Weve seen a precipitous drop in case levels for Omicron, and this is where weve landed, Ms. Bowser, a Democrat, said at a news conference. What we know is that we have to be nimble if something should change, like it changed in December with a new, very contagious variant.
President Biden recently said that it was probably still too soon to lift indoor mask mandates, though he acknowledged that it was a tough call. All the variants have had a profound impact on the psyche of the American people, he told Lester Holt of NBC News.
In Maryland, Gov. Larry Hogan said that the mask mandate for state office buildings will end on Feb. 22. He has also on the state board of education to rescind its school mask policy.
Mr. Hogan, a Republican, pointed to greatly reduced transmission and infection and the widespread availability of vaccines for children 5 or older. He added that Covid hospitalizations in Maryland had dropped below 1,000. Last month, the figure peaked at close to 3,700, according to a New York Times database. In Maryland, 73 percent of residents are fully vaccinated.
Californias Mask Requirement In Schools Continues
California states health authorities said on Monday that although the state was easing some pandemic restrictions, mask requirements for schoolchildren would remain for at least another two weeks.
The announcement by Dr. Mark Ghaly, the states top health official, comes as cases are plummeting in California and elsewhere and as Democratic-run states have begun to shift away from emergency pandemic measures and toward more long-term strategies for living with the virus.
Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that California had a date with destiny, and set a Feb. 15 deadline for lifting the statewide requirement that vaccinated people wear masks in indoor public spaces. Unvaccinated people will still be required to wear masks.
But as in other states, masks have remained a contentious issue, with unionized school employees pushing for continuing mask requirements as a workplace protection against unvaccinated children and a vocal minority of parents arguing that the masks are uncomfortable and possibly detrimental for children.
Dr. Ghaly said that Californias school mask mandates would remain at least until Feb. 28, at which point the health authorities will reassess, based on the levels of new infections, pediatric hospitalizations, case positivity rates, vaccination rates and other metrics.
But, Dr. Ghaly added, masking requirements were never put in place to be there forever.
Correction:Correction:
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House Democrats Press The Cdc To Justify A Health Rule Used To Expel Migrants
Thirty-three House Democrats are asking Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to provide a detailed explanation for the agencys continued use of an obscure public health rule that has been used to turn back migrants who cross the southwest border during the coronavirus pandemic.
The rule was put in place by the Trump administration at the beginning of the pandemic, with a stated purpose of preventing the virus from spreading at points of entry or Border Patrol stations. It has been criticized by immigration and human rights advocates for denying people their right to seek asylum in the United States.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, border agents have turned away migrants more than 1.5 million times under the rule, known as Title 42.
For nearly two years now, the C.D.C. has made various determinations on the continued application of Title 42 with very little transparency into the factors that justify this inhumane policy, the lawmakers wrote in a letter to Dr. Walensky on Monday.
It was the latest example of pushback from members of President Bidens own party over pandemic precautions. Last week, after some Democratic governors lifted mask mandates, Dr. Walensky said the federal government was not ready to do the same, warning, We are not there yet.
Last week, the C.D.C. renewed the public health order again, reasserting that the countrys borders were closed because of the pandemic.
Here’s The Nyc Public School Calendar For 2021
If you’ve got a child in public school, you live by the public school calendar, and after a year of fits and starts, delays, and COVID-induced quarantines and closures, parents are wondering what the new school year will bring. With less than three weeks before the first day of school, we’re republishing the public school calendar. Many local NYC preschools follow the public school schedule, too. The New York City Department of Education’s calendar for the 2021-2022 school year is below, and you’ll want to bookmark it now for referenceand to help with planning family vacations and school break camp coverage.
One notable change for the upcoming school year: There will be no snow days. Plan on logging your kiddos on for a day of remote learning whenever buildings are closed for snow or other emergencies.
These are all of the dates you can count on your kiddos being out of school during the 2021-2022 school year.
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Find Out What’s Happening In New York Citywith Free Real
- May 7 Parent-teacher conferences for elementary and K-8 schools
- May 14 Parent-teacher conferences for middle schools
- May 21 Parent-teacher conferences for high schools, K-12 schools and 6-12 schools
- May 25 Memorial Day
The 2019-20 New York City school calendar can be downloaded in several languages at the following links:
Nyc Fires 1430 Workers Less Than 1 Percent Of City Employees Over A Vaccine Mandate
New York City fired 1,430 city workers on Friday for failing to comply with its vaccine mandate, a figure that represent less than 1 percent of the citys work force, but likely the nations largest mass termination of municipal employees in response to a Covid vaccine mandate.
Mayor Eric Adams announced on Monday that 1,428 workers, who had already been on unpaid leave for months, were sent termination notices after they failed to receive a first dose of the vaccine. Two newer hires, who faced more stringent requirements, were also fired for failing to receive two vaccine doses. Nearly 4,000 city workers had faced a deadline of Friday to comply with the vaccine mandate.
Mr. Adams celebrated that many of the citys 370,000 workers got vaccinated by the deadline. About 95 percent of the citys workers have received at least one dose of the vaccine, an increase from 84 percent when the mandate was first announced in October.
Our goal was always to vaccinate, not terminate, and city workers stepped up and met the goal placed before them, Mr. Adams said in a statement on Monday.
Many medical experts say mandates have been effective in persuading more people to get vaccinated, which they say is essential to helping prevent the spread of the virus. Mandates at companies and elsewhere have been typically successful once implemented, including at private companies like Tyson Foods.
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Newssegregation School Funding Inequalities Still Punishing Black Latino Students
But as well-intentioned as that may seem, separating students by race can have the unintended effect of reinforcing divisions, and there are better alternatives that educators can seek out, experts say.
“By separating kids you start down a slippery slope,” said Roslyn Mickelson, a sociology professor at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte, and a longtime advocate for desegregating schools. “You might then find reasons to separate students in other settings, not just homeroom.”
Little Red School House, which consists of pre-K through grade 12, is about 65 percent to 70 percent white, the school’s director, Phil Kassen, said in a 2016 interview on WNYC‘s “The Brian Lehrer Show.” He did not immediately return a request for comment Tuesday.
During the 2017-18 school year, all of the students of color in the two middle school grades were placed in the same homeroom. The students were in these groups for about 30 percent of their school day, Kassen said in his letter to parents.
It’s not unheard of for a school to create groups based on race and other factors, such as gender or learning ability.
The Lancaster high school’s program was not mandatory â unlike what the Little Red School House had tried.
Nyc School Vacation Dates 2021/22
Planning ahead? We are here to help you stay up to date with the NYC private and independent school calendar. The following are the recommended NYC school vacation dates for independent schools in the 2021/22 academic year, provided by the Guild of Independent Schools. Please note that these are simply suggested dates and not all schools follow the calendar exactly. Looking for the 2022/23 Vacation Dates? You can find them here.
Labor Day: Monday, September 6
Rosh Hashanah: Tuesday, Wednesday, September 7, 8
Opening Day: Thursday, September 9
Yom Kippur: Thursday, September 16
Columbus Day: Monday, October 11
Thanksgiving: Thursday, Friday, November 25, 26
Winter Vacation:
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Sweden Recommends Fourth Vaccine Shots For People 80 And Older
Swedens public health agency recommended on Monday that people 80 and over receive a second booster dose of coronavirus vaccine, which would be a fourth overall shot. It also warned, as the country removes its pandemic restrictions, that the virus is spreading increasingly among people who are at elevated risk of severe illness.
The country is among the few places to recommend a fourth dose as a booster, beyond the initial shots and one booster that experts say most adults should receive.
Data published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week suggested that the added protection from booster shots tends to diminish significantly after about four months, raising the possibility that people who would be at high risk of serious complications or death if they contracted Covid-19 may need another dose.
Before Omicron emerged, officials and scientists debated whether boosters were necessary or advisable for people of various ages as a wide swath of nations authorized them anyway. But there was a broad shift in that thinking as Omicron, which evades immune defenses better than previous variants, swept the world, leading to more support for boosters.
We believe that people who are 80 years and older will benefit from a second booster dose, said Anders Tegnell, chief epidemiologist at Swedens public health agency.
Matt Surman
New York City To Phase Out Gifted And Talented Public School Programs That Critics Call Racist
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio unveiled a plan Friday to phase out the gifted and talented programs for elementary school students that many educators say discriminate against Black and Hispanic children enrolled in the nations largest public school system.
It will be replaced by a program called Brilliant NYC that will expand the pool of students being offered accelerated learning, and not limit it to just the incoming kindergarteners who scored well on an optional exam that put them on a path to attend the citys elite middle schools and high schools.
The era of judging 4-year-olds based on a single test is over, de Blasio said in a statement. Brilliant NYC will deliver accelerated instruction for tens of thousands of children, as opposed to a select few. Every New York City child deserves to reach their full potential, and this new, equitable model gives them that chance.
De Blasios announcement, which came in the waning days of his final term in City Hall, sent shock waves through New York City that are likely to be felt in public school systems across the country grappling with similar kinds of racial disparities.
Currently, the program admits only 2,500 pupils a year out of 65,000 kindergartners citywide.
Critics, including some fellow Democrats, quickly pounced on de Blasios move.
Some public school parents also expressed alarm.
Im African American, and a lot of African American children are going to charter schools now, she said.
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The Coronavirus Pandemic: Key Things To Know
Queen Elizabeth tests positive.The 95-year-old British monarch has been infected with the coronavirus and is experiencing mild coldlike symptoms, Buckingham Palace said. She recently met with her son Prince Charles, who had tested positive this month.
The virus in the U.S.President Biden said that he would extend the national emergency first declared in March 2020 in response to the pandemic, which was set to expire on March 1. The decision comes as an Omicron wave recedes, though it now accounts for more deaths than Deltas did.
In New York.The New York health commissioner announced that the state would not enforce a booster-shot requirement for health care workers set to take effect on Feb. 21. Too many workers were refusing to comply, leading to worries that the health care system would be disrupted with a mandate in place.
But health experts who advised Mr. Biden as he prepared to take office have publicly urged him to adopt a strategy geared to the new normal of living with the virus indefinitely, not to wiping it out.
New Jerseys policy shift is based on the states precipitous drop in new cases and the declining severity of the disease, as well as a request Pfizer and its partner, BioNTech, made last week to the Food and Drug Administration to authorize a vaccine for children younger than 5, aides to Mr. Murphy said.
The governor has frequently noted that requiring students and staff members to wear masks all day was never intended to be a permanent solution.
New York Public Schools To End Gifted And Talented Program
New York City is phasing out its program for gifted and talented students
NEW YORK — New York City will phase out its program for gifted and talented students that critics say favors whites and Asian American students, while enrolling disproportionately few Black and Latino children, in the nation’s largest school system.
Starting in the next school year, the city will stop giving 4-year-olds a screening test used to identify gifted and talented students, according to an outline of the plan released by the city’s education department on Friday.
The program currently admits only 2,500 pupils a year out of 65,000 kindergartners citywide.
Mayor Bill de Blasio said the change will help tens of thousands get advanced instruction, instead of just a select few.
The era of judging 4-year-olds based on a single test is over,” he said in a statement. Every New York City child deserves to reach their full potential, and this new, equitable model gives them that chance.
The city will instead train all kindergarten teachers to provide accelerated learning in which students use more advanced skills such as robotics, computer coding, community organizing or advocacy on projects while staying in their regular classrooms. The city will also screen students going into third grade to determine if they would benefit from accelerated learning in various subjects while staying in their classrooms.
A report released in June by UCLA’s Civil Rights Project was especially damning.
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