(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.7 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 905,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
About 64.1% of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Here’s how the news is developing Tuesday. All times Eastern:
Feb 08, 6:54 am
Oregon to lift mask mandates for indoor public spaces, schools by March 31
Oregon will lift general mask requirements for indoor public places no later than March 31, state health officials announced Monday.
According to the Oregon Health Authority, scientists expect that about 400 or fewer people would be hospitalized with COVID-19 statewide by late March, which is the level of hospitalizations Oregon experienced before the highly contagious omicron variant began to spread. Mask mandates for Oregon schools will be lifted on March 31 to give school districts time to prepare.
However, the Oregon Health Authority said the state needs to keep mask requirements in place for now as COVID-19 hospitalizations crest and the health care system struggles to treat high numbers of severely ill patients.
The Oregon Health Authority has filed a new rule with the Oregon Secretary of State to require people to wear masks while indoors in public places. The new rule replaces a temporary one that expired Monday.
State health officials will consider lifting the general indoor mask requirement earlier than March 31 if hospitalizations decline to the levels projected by the end of March sooner than expected. Once the mandates are lifted, employers and businesses may continue to establish their own mask requirements to protect employees and customers, according to the Oregon Health Authority.
(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. Navy continues to investigate the death of 24-year-old SEAL candidate Kyle Mullen and the illness of a fellow SEAL candidate last Friday after both sailors successfully completed the arduous “Hell Week.”
Mullen is the fourth SEAL candidate to die during SEAL selection since 2001. The death of seaman Derek Lovelace in 2016 during a swimming exercise led to changes that aimed to increase instructor awareness of sailors who might be in physical distress. That included reducing the number of candidates who could be in a pool during swimming exercises.
“One such accident is one too many,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Monday. “We just don’t know what happened.”
Mullen, a New Jersey native, was hailed Monday by New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy as “a living legend” because of his athletic prowess in high school and collegiate football. Murphy ordered flags in the state to be flown at half-staff to honor Mullen, who joined the Navy 10 months ago on an enlistment contract to specifically pursue becoming an elite Navy SEAL.
Kirby urged patience as the Navy conducts its investigation and said it was premature to criticize the SEAL selection process.
“The training has to be demanding, given the work that our Navy SEALs do on behalf of this country every single day,” Kirby said. “So you would expect the standards to be very, very high for their readiness.”
Conducted during the third week of the course, “Hell Week” pushes SEAL candidates to their physical and mental limits with a series of constant physical tests during a 120-hour stretch when they only receive between two to four hours of sleep.
“Hell Week really is one week of a simulated combat environment,” said Cpt. Duncan Smith, a retired SEAL who served 32 years in the Navy and is now the executive director of the SEAL Family Foundation.
“It’s physical. It’s also mental and it’s also our early look at how people operate as a member of a team,” he added.
“It’s the thing that a lot of people decide, makes them choose to not be a SEAL anymore,” Smith said.
More than half of the SEAL candidates who enter “Hell Week” drop out at some point as they carry out long-distance swims in the ocean in uniform, carry heavy inflatable boats and run a combined 200 miles throughout the week.
“There’s nothing about Hell Week that’s meant to be abusive,” said Smith. “It’s demanding but there is a tremendous amount of science that goes into it.”
“There are medical professionals there every step of the way,” he added. “These are some of the most studied individuals medically with a goal of keeping them alive and healthy and strong.”
During the few hours of sleep that the SEAL candidates are allowed during the week, they are monitored individually by medical professionals, according to Eric Oehlerich, a retired SEAL and ABC News contributor.
“SEAL training takes you beyond your personal limits,” Oehlerich said. “It’s designed to push you beyond your perception of what’s possible, breaking glass ceilings of what you’re capable of both mentally and physically.”
“Adhering to the training curriculum keeps SEALs alive in combat,” he said.
(WASHINGTON) — The drug overdose epidemic in the United States, now primarily driven by synthetic opioids like ultra-deadly fentanyl, costs the nation roughly $1 trillion a year, according to a new bipartisan congressional report released Tuesday.
“Whether measured in lives or in dollars, the United States’ drug overdose epidemic should shock everyone,” the report reads. “It is unacceptable.”
The report provides a unique level of comprehensive review into the opioid crisis, with particular emphasis on the need to improve mental health services and expand health care access for those suffering from addiction.
A White House Council of Economic Advisers assessment pegged the cost of the opioid crisis at $700 billion three years ago.
The new report derives the new $1 trillion estimate based on the increase in overdose deaths seen since 2018.
Drug overdose deaths have more than doubled in recent years, from about 44,000 in 2013, to more than 100,000 between May 2020 and April 2021. Overdose incidents are responsible for more deaths in the U.S. each year than firearms, suicide, homicide or car crashes, according to the report.
When it comes to understanding the demand for synthetic opioids, the report’s authors wrote: “Authorities are largely flying blind.”
“The United States does not have the data infrastructure to adequately measure the amount of illegally manufactured synthetic opioids consumed in the United States or the number of people who use them,” the report reads.
Tracking fentanyl is difficult, especially when it comes mixed with other substances, including counterfeit pills, which users might not know are fake.
A series of target raids done across the U.S. last year as part of a new crackdown on counterfeit prescription medication resulted in the seizure of 1.8 million fake pills, and authorities saw increases in the number that contained fentanyl, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration. The number of fentanyl-laced pills seized during the enforcement push at the time was enough to kill 700,000 people.
“The United States has never experienced such a rapid and unprecedented shift in illegal drug markets, especially a shift that is causing so much death,” the report reads.
Rep. David Trone, D-Md., and Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., chair the bipartisan commission that produced the over 500-page report.
Combating the opioid crisis is personal for Trone, as his 24-year-old nephew died from a fentanyl overdose in 2016. That family tragedy has fueled his continued work on the issue.
“We’ve got to put names behind these statistics, because we’re numbed,” Trone said. “We just hear these big numbers.”
Transnational criminal organizations rely on raw materials sourced from China and trafficking routes through Mexico to maintain an expansive supply chain which has funneled fake versions of Oxycontin, Vicodin and Xanax, or stimulants like Adderall.
“The cartels are entrepreneurs and are phenomenally powerful with $100 billion-plus business and they have really shaped their drug to fit the American market,” Trone said.
A significantly greater level of potency, about 50 times that of heroin, combined with being relatively easy to manufacture, makes fentanyl an attractive product for drug traffickers.
Counterfeit versions of real prescription drugs also create challenges in identifying the scope of the demand and marshaling resources for treatment, according to the congressional report.
“It’s incomprehensible that our government’s reaction has been so inadequate,” Trone said.
The report recommends elevating the head of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy to a cabinet level position and empowering the office to analyze trends and respond to threats more quickly.
This week, the DEA announced the launch of a new enforcement initiative aimed at dismantling illicit drug trafficking networks in communities across the country. A majority of the networks already identified by the DEA are known for distributing fentanyl or methamphetamines.
“DEA will bring all it has to bear to make our communities safer and healthier, and to reverse the devastating trends of drug-related violence and overdoses plaguing our Nation,” the agency’s chief administrator, Anne Milgram, said Monday.
But the new congressional report is clear to emphasize the need for a public health solution as well. Methadone and buprenorphine, two treatment medications designed to reduce opioid cravings and withdrawal symptoms, are identified as two of the most effective intervention methods.
(CHICAGO) — The Civilian Office of Police Accountability in Chicago is investigating the deaths of London Marquez and Irene Chavez — two women who died while in police custody over the past two months.
Marquez, 31, died on Jan. 27 while in the custody of 11th District police, COPA said, while Chavez died after an “attempted suicide” on Dec. 18 at the 3rd District Police Station.
The cause and manner of death in both cases are still unknown, pending autopsy results.
Members of Marquez’s family gathered on Sunday outside Area 4 Police Headquarters, where she died, and urged the police for answers.
“She was someone who was loved. She has many siblings. She has a mom. She has a dad. You know, we need answers,” her sister, Tatoyia Marquez, told reporters.
“People saw her that same day being active, nothing wrong with her, walking around,” she added.
They also said that Marquez was seven months pregnant with her first child at the time of her death.
“It’s a cold city and it’s even colder what happened to my litter sister,” her brother, Marquez Marquez, told reporters.
It’s unclear why Marquez was put in custody.
A spokesperson for COPA confirmed to ABC News on Monday that the civilian oversight agency is investigating the case, including “why she was arrested.”
The Chicago Police Department referred all questions regarding the case to COPA.
COPA announced on Jan. 29 that the agency is investigating an “incident” in which a civilian died while in police custody.
The person was later identified as Marquez.
The cause and manner of her death remain unknown at this time.
A spokesperson for the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Officer said that an autopsy was performed on Jan. 28 and COPA was present, but the results are “pending at this time.”
COPA is also investigating the death of Chavez, who died in the early hours of Dec. 18, 2021, following a medical emergency related to an attempted suicide.
According to COPA, Chavez was in “critical condition” when she was transported to the University of Chicago Hospital, where she died hours later.
Chavez was arrested after being involved in “an incident” at the Jeffery Pub Tavern, hours before her death, COPA said, but the cause of death is still unknown.
Iris Chavez, Irene’s sister, told reporters that police have not provided details surrounding her sister’s death and the family is demanding answers.
Iris Chavez started a GoFundMe account to support the family in covering costs related to her sister’s death and said that Irene was her only sister.
“When I say my heart is what one would call broken glass in a bag…MY absolute FAVORITE PERSON IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD and ONLY SISTER HAS PASSED AWAY,” she wrote.
“Irene taught me all things are possible and things aren’t always what they seem. To always do deep research and open my mind to ALL sides before I make a blind decision,” she added. “I just always have to remember what I find may not be what I want or am even ready for. BUT for MY SISTER I AM GOING THE DISTANCE to find out absolutely every piece of answer I could get Even if it just is what it is! TRUTH…TRUTH AND ANSWERS IS ALL I SEEK.”
A spokesperson for the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Officer told ABC News that an autopsy was performed on Dec. 18, 2021 and COPA was present, but the cause and manner of death are “pending at this time.”
Last month, COPA announced that it obtained video and other materials related to Chavez’s death and said that the civilian oversight agency plans on releasing the materials within 60 days of the incident “as part of COPA’s continued commitment to transparency.”
COPA told ABC News on Monday that the agency will “work in coordination with the family and their representative” in releasing the materials, but did not provide a date.
“This is the second incident in Chicago in regards to our Black and brown community — are arrested and brought in custody one way, but leave in a body bag,” Rabbi Michael Ben Yosef of the Chicago Activist Coalition For Justice told reporters on Sunday.
The Chicago Police Department has referred questions regarding both cases to COPA.
(WASHINGTON) — The chairman of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol said Monday it was “too early” to know if the probe has been impacted by the discovery that Donald Trump took boxes of presidential records with him when he left the White House last year.
National Archives officials confirmed Monday that the agency recently retrieved 15 boxes of presidential records from the former president’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida that were “improperly” removed after the end of his time in the White House.
According to National Archivist David Ferriero, representatives for Trump are “continuing to search” for more records that may have been improperly taken from the White House.
Sources tell ABC News that the documents, which were retrieved last month, included communications between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jung Un, as well as a letter from former President Barack Obama to Trump that was left as per custom ahead of Trump’s inauguration.
Officials say the records should have been transferred to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) from the White House at the conclusion of the Trump administration in January 2021, as required by the Presidential Records Act.
“NARA pursues the return of records whenever we learn that records have been improperly removed or have not been appropriately transferred to official accounts,” Ferriero said.
The Washington Post first reported the news of the records being retrieved from Mar-a-Lago.
A spokesperson for Trump did not respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
Last month the U.S. Supreme Court paved the way for the House committee investigating Jan. 6 to access hundreds of National Archives records as part of its probe.
Committee chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., told ABC News that it was “too early” to know how Trump’s handling of White House records has impacted the committee’s work to date — and whether it has prevented investigators from obtaining key documents and records.
Thompson on Monday said the committee “would not hesitate” to make a criminal referral to the Justice Department if lawmakers determine that Trump willfully violated the Presidential Records Act.
“We will continue to review, and if the review shows that a referral is warranted, we won’t hesitate to do it,” Thompson said.
As previously reported by ABC News, House investigators have discovered that Trump had a habit of shredding documents, notes and other White House records into little pieces that at times left aides scrambling to pick them up off the floor of the Oval Office, sources said.
“The destruction of documents, the reports of large quantities of documents in Mar-a-Lago, all point to a violation of the record-keeping requirements, and the tearing up certainly seems like a willful violation of the law,” committee member Adam Schiff, D-Calif., told ABC News.
“We’re going to look at how we can have a more effective mechanism of ensuring compliance,” Schiff said. “There is substantive concern about it, and it’s not a concern that began in the last administration, but it certainly has reached a new height.”
(WASHINGTON) — Following a day of heavy criticism, President Joe Biden’s top science adviser, Dr. Eric Lander, has resigned after an investigation into his mistreatment of staff.
“The President accepted Dr. Eric Lander’s resignation letter this evening with gratitude for his work at OSTP on the pandemic, the Cancer Moonshot, climate change, and other key priorities,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement Monday night. “He knows that Dr. Lander will continue to make important contributions to the scientific community in the years ahead.”
In his letter to the president, Lander said that his resignation “is my fault and my responsiblity.”
“I am devastated that I caused hurt to past and present colleagues by the way in which I have spoken to them,” he wrote.
He cited “ambitious goals” as the driving force behind his demanding behavior.
“I have sought to push myself and my colleagues to reach our shared goals — including at times challenging and criticizing. But it is clear that things I said, and the way I said them, crossed the line at times into being disrespectful and demeaning, to both men and women,” he wrote. “That was never my intention. Nonetheless, it is my fault and my responsibility. I will take this lesson forward.”
Psaki was asked about Lander several times during Monday’s briefing.
She condemned his behavior and said an investigation had taken place. Senior White House officials told him his behavior was inappropriate and “corrective actions needed to be taken,” she said.
“Nothing about his behavior is acceptable to anyone here — at all,” Psaki said at one point.
But the fact that Lander still had a job garnered special scrutiny because of a pledge Biden made on his first day in office.
“If you’re ever working with me and I hear you treat another colleague with disrespect, talk down to someone, I promise you I will fire you on the spot — on the spot,” he said. “No ifs, ands, or buts — everybody, everybody is entitled to be treated with decency and dignity. That’s been missing, in a big way, the last four years.”
Lander said his resignation would be effective “no later than” Feb. 18 “in order to permit an orderly transfer.”
(AUSTIN, Texas) — All residents and businesses of Texas’ capital city are still being advised to boil tap water before consuming it after a staff error caused the temporary shutdown of the city’s largest treatment plant.
The precautionary citywide boil notice was issued Saturday by the utility Austin Waters due to high turbidity, or cloudiness, detected in the water at its Ullrich Water Treatment Plant.
“We all need to do our part when something like this happens, and we will. We can also be frustrated, as I am, that there’s yet another situation to deal with,” Austin Mayor Steve Adler said in a statement.
The boil notice will be over once water samples show no quality issues and The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality lifts the notice. Sampling began Monday and it takes 24 hours to receive the results, according to Austin Water.
“We can be thankful, too, that the situation was noticed quickly and steps taken, any public health risk is very, very small, and we’re much better prepared right now with equipment and supplies as we open water distribution stations. It appears this will be over in a couple of days, and the city will keep everyone informed along the way,” Adler said.
Turbidity, according to Austin Water, can create an area where disease-causing organisms can live; the symptoms of which can include nausea, diarrhea and headaches.
“These symptoms can be particularly severe in people who are not as resistant to infections as most of the population,” the utility said in a release.
If you experience symptoms, the city said you should consult your doctor.
Austin Water Director Greg Meszaros said the turbidity spike was low and that no water contamination was reported, according to ABC News Austin affiliate KVUE-TV.
“We have no indication that there’s a contamination,” Meszaros said Saturday at a press conference. “This was a very short-term event, internal process water, very low risk, but regulations are regulations and we have to do this boil water notice.”
Water distribution sites are available at various sites throughout the city, including at the Glen Bell Service Center and North Service Center. Customers must bring an empty water container.
(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. Supreme Court has reinstated Alabama’s new GOP-drawn congressional map over the objection of civil rights groups and decisions of two lower courts finding that it dilutes the influence of Black voters in violation of the Voting Rights Act.
The vote to temporarily stay a lower court order blocking the map was 5-4, with Chief Justice John Roberts joining the court’s three liberals in dissent.
The decision means Alabama will not immediately have to redraw its political lines to include a second majority-Black district, as had been ordered by a District Court judge, allowing the original maps to take effect for midterm elections.
At the same time, the Supreme Court’s majority said it would take up the Alabama redistricting case on the merits later this year.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, in a statement concurring with the decision, argued that the court should stay out of the political process so close to an election, insisting the decision makes “no new law regarding the Voting Rights Act” and simply allows time for a full briefing and oral argument.
“To reiterate: The Court’s stay order is not a decision on the merits,” he said.
The court’s liberals, however, weren’t buying it.
Justice Elena Kagan, in a pointed dissent, accused her colleagues of going “badly wrong” and forcing “Black Alabamians to suffer what under that law is clear vote dilution.”
“That decision does a disservice to our own appellate processes, which serve both to constrain and to legitimate the Court’s authority. It does a disservice to the District Court, which meticulously applied this Court’s longstanding voting-rights precedent,” Kagan wrote. “And most of all, it does a disservice to Black Alabamians who under that precedent have had their electoral power diminished—in violation of a law this Court once knew to buttress all of American democracy.”
Roberts also wrote in dissent that he would have allowed the District Court’s order to stand given that its analysis of the case in his view “seems correct.”
“We are disappointed by today’s decision. The fight for fair representation for Black voters in Alabama has been a winding road, generations long,” said Evan Milligan, an Alabama voter who helped bring the legal challenge to the state’s new map. “We won’t dishonor their legacy by putting down the torch they have handed to us. We will continue striving to ensure that our legislature honors the Voting Rights Act and that Black Alabamians have an opportunity to elect a candidate of their choice.”
In a highly fact-intensive review, the lower court concluded Alabama’s maps likely violated the Voting Rights Act by depriving Black voters of influence. Section 2 of the landmark civil rights law makes it illegal to deny minority voters equal opportunity to elect representatives of their choice.
Just over a quarter of Alabama voters are Black, according to Census data, but under the proposed maps the state would have just one majority-Black district out of seven. The appeals court panel said an additional Black-majority district needed to be added.
“Black voters have less opportunity than other Alabamians to elect candidates of their choice to Congress,” the panel wrote.
All three judges were appointed by Republican presidents — two by former President Donald Trump, one by former President Ronald Reagan.
Alabama is appealing the decision, saying it would force the state to draw lines based solely on race and at a “late hour” ahead of midterms, creating voter chaos. Republicans allege the claims are less about racial representation than they are about Democrats trying to take back power.
Experts say the Supreme Court’s reasoning in the case, after it’s argued and decided on the merits, could potentially have a sweeping impact, serving as the basis for challenges to maps in California, Texas, New York, North Carolina and other states where maps face similar objections from minority voters.
(NEW YORK) — Even in the face of mounting backlash, streaming giant Spotify is standing by embattled podcast host Joe Rogan.
While the controversy initially centered around the spread of COVID-19 misinformation emanating from Rogan’s namesake podcast, “The Joe Rogan Experience,” a viral video of the host using a racial slur dozens of times has intensified calls for action in recent days. The video was posted by Grammy award-winning musician India.Arie, who said she was joining fellow musicians in seeking to remove her music from Spotify because of Rogan. Spotify made headlines back in 2020 for reportedly licensing a $100 million deal to exclusively host Rogan’s often controversial digital talk show.
In the wake of the ever-evolving saga and immense social media backlash against Rogan, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek apologized to staffers in a memo Sunday obtained by ABC News. Ek said Rogan chose to remove several episodes from Spotify, but made clear that: “I do not believe that silencing Joe is the answer.”
“There are no words I can say to adequately convey how deeply sorry I am for the way The Joe Rogan Experience controversy continues to impact each of you,” Ek wrote. “Not only are some of Joe Rogan’s comments incredibly hurtful — I want to make clear that they do not represent the values of this company. I know this situation leaves many of you feeling drained, frustrated and unheard.”
Ek said Spotify has had conversations with Rogan and his team about his “history of using some racially insensitive language,” and that Rogan made the choice to remove some past episodes from the streaming platform.
“While I strongly condemn what Joe has said and I agree with his decision to remove past episodes from our platform, I realize some will want more,” Ek added. “And I want to make one point very clear — I do not believe that silencing Joe is the answer. We should have clear lines around content and take action when they are crossed, but canceling voices is a slippery slope.”
Ek said that one of the company’s core values is having an open platform, and because of this, they “must also believe in elevating all types of creators, including those from underrepresented communities and a diversity of backgrounds.”
The chief executive also said the company is committing to an “incremental investment of $100 million” for the licensing, development and marketing of music and audio content from historically marginalized groups.
“While some might want us to pursue a different path, I believe that more speech on more issues can be highly effective in improving the status quo and enhancing the conversation altogether,” Ek wrote.
In a video posted to Instagram on Saturday, Rogan said his past use of racial slurs is “the most regretful and shameful thing that I’ve ever had to talk about publicly.” He said the video compilation of him using a certain racial slur is “made of clips taken out of context” from 12 years of conversations on his podcast.
“Now I know that to most people, there’s no context where a white person is ever allowed to say that word, never mind publicly on a podcast, and I agree with that,” Rogan said. He added that he hasn’t used the racial slur “in years” and “never used it to be racist,” though he acknowledged that “I clearly have f—– up.”
“I can’t go back in time and change what I’ve said, I wish I could, obviously that’s not possible,” Rogan added. “But I do hope that this can be a teachable moment. For anybody that doesn’t realize how offensive that word can be coming out of a white person’s mouth, in context or out of context.”
Spotify previously responded to backlash over Rogan’s COVID-19 misinformation last week by saying it will add a “content advisory” label to any podcast episode that includes a discussion about COVID-19 and directs listeners to its “COVID-19 Hub” for up-to-date information on the virus as shared by public health authorities. Rogan also promised to add more guests with “differing opinions.”
While Spotify has managed to avoid the same level of scrutiny as fellow tech giants such as Facebook and Twitter for years, the firestorm of controversy surrounding Rogan has put the streaming giant at the center of a renewed public debate over the platform companies give to characters like Rogan.
(NEW YORK) — Several states across the country are considering lifting mask mandates in schools in an attempt to return to some semblance of normalcy.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and Delaware Gov. John Carney announced Monday that mask mandates in schools will come to an end in March. Illinois school districts will be deciding whether or not to make masks optional after a judge ruled against the state’s mandate.
Additionally, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin issued an executive order last month allowing parents to choose whether their child will wear a mask in schools, although it was temporarily halted by a judge Friday.
Experts say it is too soon to end mask mandates in schools because vaccination rates are not high enough yet among the school-age population and new cases are still being reported.
“It is not safe at this time for schools to rescind mask mandates [because] even though we do have decent levels of vaccination in the older age groups, as populations get younger, the proportion who are vaccinated gets lower,” Dr. Mercedes Carnethon, vice chair of the department of preventive medicine and a professor of epidemiology and pulmonary and critical care at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, told ABC News.
Currently, 22.6% of Americans ages 5 to 11 and 56.4% of those ages 12 to 17 are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“The proportion of parents who have chosen vaccination for their children is very low and we know that masking works to stop the spread of the coronavirus,” Carnethon said. “Rescinding those mandates where children 5 and up spend their days, I believe we will see rapid spread.”
Proponents of mask mandates say COVID-19 is not an endemic disease yet and lifting mandates will trigger a major rise in cases.
In Wyoming, Laramie County School District 1 — located in the capital of Cheyenne — reported a spike in cases just two weeks after the Board of Trustees voted to end the mask mandate.
First reported by the Wyoming Tribune Eagle, nearly 400 students and 100 staff have tested positive between Jan. 24 and Feb. 4, an ABC analysis of school district data shows.
Similarly, Hopkinton High School in Massachusetts was the first public school in the state to drop masks altogether but reinstituted the mandate after a rise in cases.
Murphy said a drop in COVID-19 infections linked to the omicron variant led him to lift the mask mandate.
“Balancing public health with getting back to some semblance of normalcy is not easy,” Murphy tweeted. “But we can responsibly take this step due to declining COVID numbers and growth in vaccinations.”
Dr. Stanley Weiss, a professor of biostatistics & epidemiology at Rutgers School of Public Health, called it a politically motivated decision.
“Gov. Murphy’s decision is a politically-based one because there is tremendous pressure coming upon everyone to get rid of the pandemic and stop talking about it and stop dealing with it because we’re all tired of this pandemic,” he told ABC News. “It is not scientifically based and I don’t think it is a rational approach based upon what we’re still seeing.”
According to Patch New Jersey, in-school transmission in the state has increased over the past month.
Between Jan. 4 and Jan. 10, there were 11 cases among students and 17 cases among staff. However, between Jan. 25 and Jan. 31, there were 398 cases among students and 57 among staff.
“I have problems with the change in policy,” Weiss said. “Yes, it’s a limited number of cases, but if you look over time, the new outbreaks have been continuing to increase in schools. The number of student cases and staff cases has not declined. It hasn’t gone away.”
In Illinois, some districts have already made mandates optional after a judge ruled school districts statewide cannot require students to wear masks in classrooms.
“If data were driving these decisions, we wouldn’t at all remove mask mandates right now,” said Carnethon. “The school districts in the regions of Illinois that are making this optional appear to be closely aligned with the geopolitical sentiment.”
Carnethon said districts where schools mask mandates are being removed are typically ones with limited testing ability and “limited enthusiasm” for policies such as requiring vaccinations in public spaces.
“These communities continue to be high-district transmission communities. These are the very decisions that are going to prolong the pandemic and lead to far more suffering than we need to have happen,” she said.
Those in favor of ending the mandates in schools say the public health focus needs to shift to learning to live with COVID-19 and more attention should be given to individual choice.
An increase in cases isn’t necessarily a bad thing due to children’s low risk of severe illness, according to some experts. Others, like Dr. Julia Raifman, disagree.
“I think cases are a problem,” Raifman, an assistant professor of health law, policy and management at Boston University School of Public Health who researches state-level policy responses to the pandemic, told ABC News.
She continued, “Cases are a problem because more cases do mean more hospitalizations and deaths. There’s no way around that. More cases mean more missed work and more missed school. More cases mean more people with lingering symptoms. More cases mean more of the unknown health impacts 10 years later.”
Raifman added that school mask mandates should not disappear completely and that one way to keep them in place is to have more outdoor class time for kids because masks are not recommended for outdoors and students and teachers could take a break from wearing face coverings.
She gave the example of Nevada, which has a policy that enacts mask mandates when cases in a county are high.
“If people are really eager for them to end, I recommend that they not end them, that they put in place a data-driven approach that turns on the mask policies when we need them when there are big surges,” Raifman said.
