Category Archives: Covid-19

Confirmed cases of COVID-19 have passed 334.1 million globally, according to Johns Hopkins University. The number of confirmed deaths has now passed 5.55 million. More than 9.73 billion vaccination doses have been administered globally, according to Our World in Data.

Japan is set to widen COVID-19 curbs to the capital, Tokyo, and a dozen regions covering half the population as the Omicron COVID-19 variant drives record new infections.

There is no evidence at present that healthy children and adolescents need booster doses of COVID-19 vaccine, the World Health Organization's chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan said yesterday.

China has reported its lowest daily count of local confirmed COVID-19 infections in two weeks.

The US government's new website that allows American households to order four free COVID-19 tests is up and running ahead of its official launch today, the White House said yesterday.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has warned against travel to 22 countries and territories as a result of rising COVID-19 cases.

Finland is set to ease COVID-19 restrictions from mid-February, Prime Minister Sanna Marin said yesterday.

Britain has reported its highest daily COVID-19 death toll in almost a year, with 438 new deaths.

Viet Nam has reported its first cases of the Omicron COVID-19 variant in the community, state media has reported.

Daily new confirmed COVID-19 cases per million people in selected countries.

Image: Our World in Data

As part of work identifying promising technology use cases to combat COVID, The Boston Consulting Group recently used contextual AI to analyze more than 150 million English language media articles from 30 countries published between December 2019 to May 2020.

The result is a compendium of hundreds of technology use cases. It more than triples the number of solutions, providing better visibility into the diverse uses of technology for the COVID-19 response.

To see a full list of 200+ exciting technology use cases during COVID please follow this link.

Countries around the world continue to report record daily COVID-19 infections as the Omicron variant causes cases to surge.

The Czech Republic has reported 28,469 new COVID-19 cases - the highest figure since the start of the pandemic in 2020.

In Bulgaria, more than 11,000 confirmed daily COVID-19 cases have been reported for the first time, as infections hit 11,181. Total confirmed infections are more than 840,000 in the eastern European nation.

Mexico has reported its own record daily confirmed caseload - some 49,343 in a single day.

New daily COVID-19 cases have crossed 100,000 in Germany for the first time, reporting 112,323 on Wednesday.

And in Brazil, 137,103 new confirmed COVID-19 cases were reported in the last 24 hours, the Health Ministry said yesterday.

An expert panel has told a Davos Agenda virtual session that vaccine equity is vital to getting out of the pandemic phase of COVID-19.

World Health Organization's (WHO) Emergencies Director Mike Ryan said that over half of the world's population has received both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, but only 7% of the population has been fully vaccinated in Africa.

"The problem is we are leaving huge swathes of the world behind...But vaccines are absolutely central. There is no way out of the pandemic right now without vaccines as the central strategic pillar."

John Nkengasong, director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control, said it was "unacceptable" that Africa was lagging so far behind other countries in vaccination and called it 'collapse of global cooperation and solidarity'

"The only way to prevent other variants challenging the global efforts and advances we have seen is to vaccinate on scale, including Africa," said John Nkengasong.

Written by

Joe Myers, Writer, Formative Content

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

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COVID-19: Top news stories about the pandemic on 19 January - World Economic Forum

We're heading towards the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has disrupted lives and livelihoods across the planet and led to at least 5.5 million deaths around the world.

As the Omicron COVID-19 variant surges in many countries - and indeed saw the deferral of an in-person meeting in Davos - the pandemic has been front of mind for many at The Davos Agenda.

So, where is the virus headed? Here's what speakers from different sectors have said so far this week.

Xi Jinping, President of the People's Republic of China, opened this week by reminding us of the work that's already been done.

"The international community has fought a tenacious battle," he said.

The global vaccination drive has played a major role in the progress we've made so far, with Richard Hatchett, the CEO of CEPI, reminding us of the work of COVAX.

The vaccine-sharing facility, which CEPI co-leads alongside Gavi and the World Health Organization, delivered its one billionth dose of COVID-19 vaccines over the weekend.

The pandemic has impacted every aspect of our lives, though, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett reminded us - and that has driven the response in his country.

Cumulative confirmed global COVID-19 cases.

Image: Our World in Data

The history of infectious diseases can tell us something about the next stages of the pandemic, Anthony Fauci, the Director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, explained.

Endemicity would mean 'a non-disruptive presence without elimination', he said. Similar to other cold-weather upper respiratory infections or parainfluenzas, he explained.

We're not going to eliminate this virus, he said.

Richard Hatchett said his long-term view is that we should anticipate COVID-19 will behave more like flu.

"It will continue to circulate, it will be around, people will get sick and there will be continual evolution of the virus."

Mike Ryan, the Executive Director of the WHO's Health Emergencies Programme, struck a cautionary tone though in the Meeting the Challenge of Vaccine Equity session.

"We won't end the virus this year," he said. "We may never end the virus. Pandemic viruses end up becoming part of the ecosystem. What we can end is the public health emergency."

And, in terms of endemic versus pandemic, he was clear. "Endemic does not mean good," he said, citing the examples of endemic malaria or endemic HIV which kill 100,000s of people. "Endemic just means it's here forever."

"What we need to do is get to low-levels of disease incidence, with maximum vaccination of our populations, so nobody has to die." That's the end of the emergency, that's the end of the pandemic, he concluded.

As Dr Ryan explained, COVID-19 vaccines are key to ending the public health emergency. But we must do better to distribute these equitably, he stressed.

"We need vaccine equity now," urged UN Secretary-General Antnio Guterres on Monday. This will allow us to find a way out of the pandemic, he said.

If we fail, we'll "run out of letters in the Greek alphabet for new variants", Olaf Scholz, Federal Chancellor of Germany, warned.

And what of the vaccines themselves? The vaccines are holding up very well against Omicron, Moderna CEO Stphane Bancel said. And manufacturers are working on developing COVID-19 vaccines for the northern hemisphere autumn.

Moderna is working towards a single shot that would contain a booster for COVID-19 and for flu, he said.

Beyond the health impact, the pandemic has also had significant economic and social impacts. So what next for jobs, for economies, for growth?

Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio looked towards the future of capitalism on Tuesday. He called for a new form of liberal democratic capitalism, balancing economic growth and distribution.

Inequalities in the labour market will need to be addressed, too, explained Jonas Prising, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ManpowerGroup.

And Svein Tore Holsether, President and Chief Executive Officer, Yara International ASA, told us that a move from shareholder to stakeholder capitalism isn't just needed, it's expected, he said.

And, sustainability and environmental concerns will remain paramount - particularly in light of COP26.

Our lifestyles and our throwaway culture have exacerbated the climate challenge, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday. It's essential we move towards a circular economy, he explained.

The path is unlikely to be smooth though. Beyond the health challenges discussed above - vaccine equity, for example - hurdles need to be overcome in areas from trust to reform in global systems.

Sharan Burrow, General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation, explained more about the issue of trust.

And she wasn't alone. Speakers at the announcement of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurships Social Innovators of the Year 2022 award were also clear on the issue of trust.

The global community needs to work together, even more than it has already, speakers from across sessions agreed. This is particularly important to ensure the equitable distribution of vaccines, explained President Xi Jinping.

And reform is needed, whether of global financial systems, or the means by which we can equitably produce and distribute vaccines.

Written by

Joe Myers, Writer, Formative Content

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

Continued here:

What will happen with the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022? - World Economic Forum

Sure, there are official CDC quarantine guidelines and a new state hotline and website for people who test positive. You should consult both. But sometimes its good to hear from another human. These Oregonians share what was hard and what helped them get through.

Tyson Bittrich

Courtesy of Tyson Bittrich

Name: Tyson Bittrich

Variant: probably delta.

Days in isolation: 13

Most useful coping strategies: living on separate floors, buying a pulse oximeter.

Tyson Bittrich, 40, is a musician whos studying renewable energy engineering at the Oregon Institute of Technology in Wilsonville.

He started feeling cruddy on the Tuesday after Halloween. He went to get a test on Thursday with his partner, but it took two days to get the results.

Saturday morning I woke up and I couldnt smell my coffee. I couldnt smell my oatmeal. And sure enough, my results came back Saturday afternoon that I was a positive case, he said.

Bittrich says hed been doing all the right things: wearing a mask; getting vaccinated twice with Pfizer.

I guess there was a sense of surprise and also guilt or shame or something, Bittrich said.

When you test positive for something like this, its not just like a: Oh, wow. Im in harms way. Its: Oh, wow, Im letting the team down.

Before testing positive, Bittrich and his partner were cooking, eating, sleeping, even practicing yoga together. But when he tested negative, they wore masks whenever they got close. Friends offered to put his partner up for the duration, but they decided to stay together and distance, especially because there are two floors in their apartment.

I stayed in the top floor and she stayed in the bottom floor. Since I was feeling fairly crummy, she took care of me. I would have not made it through as well without her of course.

They separated their toiletries in the bathroom. She cooked and when they ate together he sat 15 feet away. They separated their toothbrushes, but didnt sanitize the door handles in the apartment, figuring the greater risk was from breathing in aerosolized virus, rather than via contaminated surfaces.

He contacted any friends and bandmates that he thought he might have infected, but hasnt heard that anybody else caught COVID-19 from him. After testing positive at Zoomcare, Bittrich talked online to an advice nurse.

The advice I got from the nurse, which I followed, was just keep track of two vitals, high fever and your oxygen saturation, he said.

He bought a pulse oximeter, delivered to the house by Target for about $30, to keep track of his oxygen levels. He took his temperature and measured his oxygen saturation three times a day.

I didnt get my taste back until Thanksgiving, but it gave me peace of mind, right? That Im not doing the wrong thing by not going into urgent care, he said.

Bittrichs partner did not get the virus, even though they were in close proximity before he started feeling sick. Their theory is that shed received a booster three weeks earlier, so she had high levels of antibodies to ward off infection.

The times I felt the scariest were the days when my lungs felt the heaviest and head felt like an over-inflated balloon.

Natasha Schwartz

Courtesy of Natasha Schwartz

Name: Natasha Schwartz

Variant: omicron

Days in isolation: 20

Advice: Take the time you need to recover five days wont be enough for some health workers. Use a primary care doctor or immediate care/urgent care clinic, rather than the emergency department. An Apple watch can serve as a heart rate and oxygen-saturation monitor.

Schwartz is an acute care nurse at Oregon Health & Science University, working in the emergency general surgery unit. She lives with her partner, a medical student at OHSU, and has been vaccinated and boosted. Schwartz says shes spent the last two years limiting her social contact to avoid the virus.

Schwartz believes she was likely exposed at work by a patient or co-worker. Until recently, OHSU only tested patients on her unit for COVID-19 if they were showing symptoms, she said.

Her symptoms started on Dec. 23. At first, it was just a headache.

I get migraines, so I thought it was just another migraine, Schwartz said, and then as my shift progressed, I developed some congestion.

After her shift she got a rapid PCR test, and through that OHSUs occupational health program found out she was positive for COVID-19.

She felt angry, defeated, and guilty that shed gotten the virus in spite of wearing a mask and PPE at work and being so careful to protect herself from exposure over the last two years.

I was at work and I knew that I could have been contagious, you know, two days prior to that. Just thinking about potentially exposing my co-workers and patients to COVID really was the biggest thing, she said.

Understanding how much more contagious the omicron variant is than previous variants has helped her with those feelings.

Schwartz called her unit and let the charge nurse and her manager know shed tested positive, and asked her to share the news with the people shed interacted with.

Christmas was coming up and people were going to probably go see family members and you know elderly relatives and I just didnt want people to potentially infect their family members over the holidays, she said.

She canceled her own in-person Christmas with her parents and video chatted over Zoom instead.

Schwartz takes a medication that suppresses her immune system and is considered immunocompromised. At home, she monitored her heart rate and oxygen levels using an Apple watch, kept track of her temperature, and took Tylenol.

She experienced a wide range of symptoms: fever, body aches, severe fatigue and shortness of breath. Five days after she tested positive, her symptoms worsened and she decided to see a doctor. She was too sick to walk around the house or prepare food for herself.

My heart rate was getting really elevated and I was just having so much physical pain from the body aches. I just really wasnt able to move much, she said.

To avoid a long wait in the emergency department, she emailed her primary care doctor and ended up getting seen at an immediate care facility. There, she was prescribed monoclonal antibodies, and treated through an at-home infusion service.

I think the hardest part of it was getting access to care and the fear that, if I needed to go to the hospital, the system is just really overwhelmed. Even as a nurse, I may not have access to the care I need, she said.

Schwartz said after three weeks, shes mostly recovered and getting ready to return to work. She believes the antibody treatment helped.

However, she still has lingering symptoms. She wears a heart monitor to track her heart rate, which is still elevated.

Her partner only had symptoms for a few days and has no residual symptoms.

Schwartz says her doctors recommended that she quarantine for a full 20 days because of her compromised immune system, which might lead a person to shed the virus for a longer period of time.

Shes returning to work. New guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention allow hospitals with staffing shortages and high patient demand to return COVID-19 positive staff to work after just five days of quarantine, with or without a negative test.

Those guidelines have been condemned by nursing organizations, including the Oregon Nurses Association where Schwartz sits on the board.

Schwartz says OHSU is requiring a negative antigen test first from anyone returning five to 10 days after their symptoms start, an additional step she finds reassuring.

But after her experience with COVID-19, shes concerned about the pressure other nurses may face to work while they are still sick.

Even if my symptoms had improved and I wasnt contagious, theres no way I could have gone back to safely taking care of patients after five days, she said.

Her advice to other nurses is to take the time they need to recover and to accept their physical limitations.

Aarti Kamalahasan

Courtesy of Aarti Kamalahasan

Name: Aarti Kamalahasan

Variant: omicron

Days in quarantine: five

Advice: Get your kids their boosters as soon as you can.

Kamalahasan is an instructional coach for a large school district in Washington County. Shes recently remarried and lives with her husband and a 22 year-old daughter who works in health care. Her son, who is in high school, splits his time between living with her and with his dad.

Kamalahasan and her children have a history of asthma, so shes been afraid COVID-19 could hit them all particularly hard. She got a booster for herself, and pushed to get both her children boosters in mid-December, as soon as they qualified.

After Christmas, her son got a Snapchat message from a school friend who had tested positive for COVID-19. Within a few days, that had snowballed into five or six friends whod all tested positive.

Kamalahasan spent several days hunting for at-home antigen tests after both her son and daughter started experiencing possible symptoms exhaustion and a scratchy throat but was unable to find them anywhere.

They decided to assume they were positive until they knew otherwise.

Tests were hard to come by, and we didnt know what to do, she said. We finally got both of them into their pediatrician and they tested positive. And then I started showing symptoms later that day.

Kamalahasan usually works in-person, supporting and coaching other teachers. She got permission to shift to online-only work.

She went through a rollercoaster of symptoms: serious nausea, chills, a headache and body aches, and shortness of breath.

I kept telling myself, this is mild, she said.

Kamalahasan says they stuck to her sons parenting schedule, so he quarantined at his dads house. Her adult daughter, who usually lives with her, also ended up quarantined at a separate home.

Neither got as sick as she did, but not being able to see her children while they were sick was the hardest part of the experience. Shed try to listen to how their breathing sounded over the phone.

I was just not able to sleep at all, constantly texting, calling, snapchatting. My kids were like, mommy were okay. Im like, okay, but Im going to call you again in an hour.

They were all able to manage their symptoms with over the counter pain medication, lots of hydration, and their inhalers. Mainly what we realized we needed was loads and loads of rest, she said.

Ultimately, knowing her children had their boosters was a major relief. She wasnt afraid theyd wind up hospitalized.

Science had my back, she said.

She was able to finally get antigen tests from Walmart and all three have now tested negative.

Name: Eva McCarthy

Variant wave: wild-type (original)

Days in quarantine: 21

Advice: Accept that it may take time to fully recover and be ready to adapt your routines.

McCarthy practices family medicine in Sublimity, Oregon.

She had a mild case of COVID-19 in the relatively early days of the pandemic, before vaccines were available, in November 2020.

McCarthy was symptomatic for about a week with sinus congestion and upper respiratory symptoms.

At the time, there were much longer isolation guidelines in place, so she had to wait a full 21 days before returning to in-person work.

In the meantime I did telemedicine from home and received a lot of pies and chicken soup on my porch, which I couldnt taste but were very thoughtful, she said.

Even though McCarthy considers herself lucky to have had had only a mild case, she says she still hasnt fully recovered her sense of taste and smell.

Speaking with co-workers who are more recently recovering from COVID, there is a general consensus of surprise over how long the alteration in taste and smell has lasted and how it has changed the things we used to enjoy. For example, I no longer like cilantro or sour foods. Lemon, lime, and orange flavors also have a bad aftertaste and my tolerance of spice has gone way down (and Im Korean so that is sad), she said.

I also hear from colleagues and patients that brain fog and fatigue is real and it has affected work performance for some.

McCarthy wishes shed received better guidance on what to expect, and how long symptoms can last for some people.

Everyones recovery will be slightly different, and in her experience, it helps to focus on the things you can control. Change what you eat to accommodate your new taste buds, or spend more time walking and stretching rather than jumping right back into high intensity workouts.

I also want people to remain fully vigilant of the potential to get re-infected as I have personally known people who have had it again after being fully vaccinated, she said. While I hope that I will not get re-infected and have been boosted, I am not ruling it out and I dont think my taste buds could tolerate another round of COVID.

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My COVID-19 infection: Oregonians whove had it share their advice - OPB News

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) With positive COVID-19 cases in our area surging, many teachers and school staff out because of quarantine, and school systems trying to do all they can to stay open five days a week, WAVY.com is focused on the quality of education for children in our area. We spoke with teachers on the front lines, as well as school administrators, to find out where the quality of education stands right now.

Now that the kids are back five days per week, we can see their learning loss, and we have made adjustments to the learning loss, and we now have kids catching back up and getting to where they should be because their schools are open five days per week, said Dr. Don Robertson, Chief of Staff for Virginia Beach City Public Schools.

Dr. Robertson says schools want to keep that progress growing. The challenge is many teachers are home in quarantine.

Were about 50% higher per day than we would be in any normal year, said Dr. Robertson.

So, with that record number of teachers out, and substitutes, specialty teachers, and even staff from the central office covering classes, how can we guarantee our kids are getting a quality education?

Schools have the ability to mobilize their staff to ensure that a qualified individual is in front of every classroom in every school. So, fast forward to where we are right now. We can put a qualified individual in front of the classroom in every school in every class in all 86 of our buildings. Weve been able to do that for the last six days. The (positive COVID-19 test) numbers are higher, but again, through the plan that we have of the staff, of principals, using the existing staff in their building, and weve identified through our chief officers those individuals who have worked in a school before, or have a college degree, and have been in a school setting, to go in and sub. Weve identified 50 of those individuals, and we deploy about 30 of those a day out to schools, said Dr. Robertson.

He makes it clear that the school system is doing everything it can to keep schools open five days a week while giving children the education they deserve.

We all recognize that theres no replacement for the teachers in the classrooms. but what we are providing is a superior alternative to not having that teacher in the classroom, said Dr. Robertson.

Both Robertson and Dr. Kipp Rogers, who is the Chief Academic Officer of Virginia Beach City Public Schools, have subbed several times this year.

The substitute plans that have been laid out for those who are substituting have been second to none, said Dr. Rogers.

Dr. Rogers sings the praises of teachers making sure those filling in have everything they need to succeed. He cites a time this month when he subbed for a 5th grade teacher.

The lesson plan was designed for a teacher, and I struggled for about 20 minutes in making sure that I had solid understanding on what I was supposed to do. I had reading groups, three separate reading groups. I had three separate math groups. The lesson plans were extremely detailed. So, it was as if the teacher was actually in that classroom. Additionally, I think the cultures been set in Virginia Beach such that we operate as a team. So, in that one classroom, there were also three other 5th grade teachers who constantly checked in with me to make sure that I had every detail that I needed in order to make sure that the lesson plans were executed as they were presented, he explained.

Dr. Rogers also says there is some common planning among grade levels and subjects. So, in an instance where a substitute teacher may need something, they are able to go to a colleague whos teaching the same subject matter, or grade level, to get the activity.

WAVY.com asked teachers throughout Hampton Roads how they feel about the quality of education they can provide right now. Were keeping their comments anonymous to protect them from potential repercussions.

A Virginia Beach City Public Schools teacher said:

Unfortunately, the massive increase in positive cases, and quarantine, has impacted both staff and students and the quality of instruction that our teachers are able to provide. We have so many students out that teachers are not only having to plan for the students who are in the classroom, but also to catch the students up who were absent, as well as use their planning time to communicate with parents and sick/quarantined students (at times meeting virtually with them or creating videos and additional resources for them due to missed instruction). This leaves very little time to adequately plan new lessons or provide feedback. This is especially true at the elementary level where planning time is nearly nonexistent. The sheer number of the staff that are out sick, and unable to write substitute plans, also impacts the staff that remains as they give of their planning time to help out, and since there is a substitute shortage, specialists are routinely being pulled to cover classes, so they are not able to collaborate with the teachers. For instance, our reading and math specialists are needed more than ever to collaborate with and help teachers differentiate for students that are behind because of the pandemic, but when they are pulled daily to cover classrooms, they are not able to do their jobs and instruction suffers. And again, due to the lack of substitutes, the students are not truly receiving quality instruction when there is a revolving cast of adults teaching their classroom from day to day. This also greatly impacts our students with special needs, as changes in personal routine can trigger behaviors, and substitutes dont necessarily know how to de-escalate the situations. We have experienced more behaviors and interruptions in instruction this year as a result. The teachers that arent out sick are completely burned out, and the only thing that was helping them stay afloat was the additional planning time on Wednesdays, which will not be continued after January 26th. Our best teachers are considering leaving the profession due to the impact on their emotional well-being and the inordinate amount of expectations continuing to be placed on them. We have had several resign between last year and this year, and filling positions sometimes takes months as there are no teachers to be found. No one wants to go into education anymore, which sadly will impact the future of education for years, if not decades, to come.

A Norfolk Public Schools teacher said:

I havent noticed any negative impact on education in my school. We had record number of staff out last week, and everyone pulled together to take extra kids. We also had some specialists covering classes. We made extra copies and got the needed materials to cover our extra students and just kept on trucking. Im really impressed by the way my colleagues came together to support one another and help out the kids.

A Newport News Public Schools teacher said:

The quality of education that teachers are able to provide right now is limited. Teachers are drowning right now! We are trying our best to give our students the best education, but it is impossible when so many students and teachers are out sick. We are having to use so much time outside of work to prepare work online for students quarantining, as well as for our kids in person. We cannot do it during the day because many of our planning periods, and breaks, are being canceled or taken away due to staff shortages. And with so many students quarantined at different times, its hard to catch them up with the material they are missing, especially when many are not completing online work and teachers cannot properly monitor this because we are trying to do our best to teach the kids we do have in person. Its just super overwhelming and upsetting. Of course, Id rather be in school, but I fully support temporarily going virtual to get cases under control. Instead, it seems like everyone would rather push teachers to the limit: giving more work and responsibilities, taking away time to do it, all while we are trying to keep ourselves from getting sick and bringing the virus home to our families. This, along with other systematic problems with education, are why many teachers will be leaving after this school year. Its bad now, but I guarantee the staff shortages will be even worse come next school year.

A Suffolk Public Schools teacher said:

I feel that, with all of the current struggles in the world, our team has really come together to make sure that we are making the students our priority and focusing on education, SEL, and the students needs. Just having the students back in the classroom is a huge motivation for the teachers.

A second Virginia Beach City Public Schools teacher said:

My concern right now in terms of quality of education is not the teacher absences (that is a concern, too, of course), but the student absences. Ive had 15-17 kids out across A/B day classes, and thats hell on them for catching up. Every class Ive had since the return from winter break has had about a quarter of the students absent. The math teachers are swimming in it trying to catch individual kids up when theyve been absent. Posting an asynchronous video isnt enough to help our students who have to recover from 5-10 days out of school. All the testing/accreditation requirements are still in place and putting pressure on everyone to continue the pace of the curriculum. As a school, if we were to pivot to virtual for a week or two, everyone could get well and decrease exposure and we could work with the kids who have been absent. Why cant we do that? I dont want to go back to all virtual or hybrid teaching, but what were doing now is not working. Weve been able to cover all staff absences by using counselors and subs and specialists and other teachers who volunteer to cover, but as a result, the counseling office is on an emergencies only situation because they have people out too and the ones left are covering. Its very tenuous, and if were going to continue the pace as usual (due to those accreditation requirements) then were going to leave many children behind. We need someone in charge to pump the brakes and let us get caught up.

The path to quality education during this pandemic is exhausting and ever changing, but Dr. Rogers makes one thing clear.

All students in Virginia Beach City Public Schools are being cared for by caring adults and staff that want to see them be successful.

That is something that resonates throughout all schools in Hampton Roads.

Original post:

How COVID-19 is impacting the quality of education in Hampton Roads - WAVY.com

Talks between Chicago school leaders and the teachers' union have resumed amid a standoff over remote learning and other COVID-19 safety measures

By SOPHIA TAREEN Associated Press

January 9, 2022, 9:03 PM

4 min read

CHICAGO -- Talks between Chicago school leaders and the teachers' union resumed Sunday amid a standoff over remote learning and other COVID-19 safety measures that canceled three days of classes and loomed over the start of another week in the nation's third-largest district.

Disputed issues included testing and metrics to close schools. The Chicago Teachers Union wants the option to revert to districtwide remote instruction, and most members have refused to teach in-person until there's an agreement, or the latest COVID-19 spike subsides. But Chicago leaders reject districtwide remote learning, saying it's detrimental and schools are safe. Instead, Chicago opted to cancel classes as a whole two days after students returned from winter break.

Chicago Public Schools face the same pandemic issues as other districts nationwide, with more reverting to remote learning as infections soar and staff members are sidelined. But the situation in union-friendly Chicago has been amplified in a labor dispute that's familiar to families in the mostly low-income Black and Latino district who have seen disruptions during a similar safety protocol fight last year, a 2019 strike and a one-day work stoppage in 2016.

What the teachers' union did was an illegal walkout. They abandoned their posts and they abandoned kids and their families, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Sunday on NBC's Meet The Press. We are working diligently every singe day at the bargaining table to narrow the differences and get a deal done.

Her statements weren't as dismissive as a day earlier when shortly after the union made its latest offer public, she said, CTU leadership, youre not listening and vowed not to relent." The offer she rejected included remote learning starting Wednesday. Both sides have filed complaints to a state labor board.

Union leaders accused Lightfoot of bullying, saying they agree that in-person instruction is better, but the pandemic is forcing difficult decisions. Attendance was down ahead of the cancelations due students and teachers in isolation from possible exposure to the virus and families opting to keep children home voluntarily.

Educators are not the enemy Mayor Lightfoot wants them to be, the union said in a statement Sunday, adding that the desire to be in the classroom must be balanced by ensuring those classrooms are safe, healthy and well-resourced, with the proper mitigation necessary to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

There was some progress.

The district said late Saturday it will allow more incentives for substitute teachers, provide KN95 masks for all teachers and students, and that Illinois will provide about 350,000 antigen tests. But both sides remained far apart on key issues including COVID-19 metrics that will lead to individual school closures and compensation. The district said it won't pay teachers failing to report to schools, even if they tried to log into remote teaching systems. The union doesn't want any of its roughly 25,000 members to be disciplined or lose pay.

District leaders have said some schools, where enough staff showed up, may offer instruction Monday even without an agreement; all buildings have remained open for meal pickup. However, only a handful of principals said they had staff to open and many preemptively canceled Monday classes, anticipating shortages.

School leaders have touted a $100 million safety plan, which includes air purifiers in each classroom. Also, roughly 91% of staff are vaccinated and masks are required indoors.

Since the start of the academic year, some individual classrooms have temporarily switched to remote instruction when there are infections. But in rejecting a widescale return to remote learning, city health officials argue most students directed to quarantine because of possible classroom exposure dont get COVID-19. The district is piloting a test to stay program to cut isolation times.

The union argues that the measures fall short, especially considering the omicron-fueled surge that has upended the return to work and class. It has also criticized the district for not enrolling enough students in a testing program and an unreliable database of COVID-19 infections.

Seven district families, represented by the conservative Liberty Justice Center in Chicago, filed a lawsuit in Cook County over the closures last week, while roughly 5,000 others have signed a petition urging a return to in-person instruction.

Follow Sophia Tareen on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sophiatareen.

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Chicago's COVID-19 fight with teachers hangs over a 2nd week - ABC News

As lines grow ever longer at COVID-19 testing sites, county health officials are warning that some pop-up operations may be unlicensed and out to scam people.

San Diego County Chief Medical Officer Eric McDonald said he personally encountered an unlicensed testing station near the Old Town Transit Center and could quickly tell it was not legitimate.

Weve seen these pop-up occur somewhat near our county stations and other legitimate testing stations, he said. Its fairly easy to see theyre not legitimate when you ask some very basic questions, like what test do you use, what laboratory are you sending it to, what is your healthcare credential to do this test? It usually requires a license to have a professional gather that kind of specimen.

If they dont have an answer to those questions, walk away, he advised.

Another clue that the site may not be legitimate is if it is advertising a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) DNA test, McDonald said.

And you know that is not right, because the virus is an RNA (ribonucleic acid) virus, he said.

If thats too many acronyms to keep straight, another tip is to walk away from a site that asks for a Social Security number or home address, which McDonald said could indicate a scam to collect personal information.

The pop-ups may be out to collect someones money by providing bogus tests, or they may be providing the tests for free and bilking insurance companies for reimbursements, he said.

The scam isnt unique to San Diego County, and isnt the first of its kind during the pandemic.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General updated its alert on illegal COVID-19 activity last week. Scams can include fake testing kits sold door-to-door and surveys that trick people into revealing personal information.

Fraud related to COVID-19 can be reported to the Health and Office of Inspector General by calling 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477) or online at https://oig.hhs.gov/fraud/report-fraud/ https://oig.hhs.gov/fraud/report-fraud/

McDonald said the county has reported what appear to be fake testing sites to the California Department of Public Health Laboratory Field Services.

An email to The San Diego Union-Tribune from the California Department of Public Health said all complaints are taken seriously, and advised people to report issues about testing sites to https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/OSPHLD/LFS/Pages/Complaints.aspx.

The email also noted that some sites advertising themselves as testing sites actually are just collection sites, meaning they take a specimen and then send it to a lab for a testing. Laboratory Field Services has authority if the collection site is operated by a clinical laboratory, but it does not have authority over collection sites that operate independently. Local authorities may regulate independent sites, the email states.

The CDPH email did not respond to a question about whether some testing sites had been shut down for operating without a license, but did say it had looked into Encinitas-based Community Wellness America and found no wrong-doings.

CDPH inspected Community Wellness America (CWA) and it appears to be operating collection sites and sending the specimens to a licensed California lab for testing, the email read. CDPH also inspected the lab that was contracted to do the testing for specimens collected by CWA and found no evidence of non-compliance with clinical lab laws.

To check if a lab is licensed in California, visit https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/OSPHLD/LFS/Pages/FacilitiesVerification.aspx.

McDonald suggested that unlicensed sites could be reported to the code enforcement office of whatever city they are in, but that might not be an easy solution.

Cities may not have the authority to run off a testing site if it is set up on a sidewalk or other public place under a state law passed in 2018 that encourages street vending as a new class of small business. Created as Senate Bill 946, the law allows cities to regulate street vendors if they create their own ordinance that focuses on health and safety, but not economic competition.

Carlsbad, Vista, El Cajon and National City have created ordinances to regulate street vendors, but the city of San Diego has not. The City Council canceled a hearing on its proposal last month, and a new one is being drafted. The issue has been controversial, and it has left San Diego and other California cities without the authority to shut down street vendors.

Another hurdle in regulating the sites could be simply trying to keep track of them.

They could be in one place one day and another the next day, McDonald said.

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County warns of fake COVID-19 testing sites - Del Mar Times

High demand for COVID-19 testing continues

Justin Matthews reports.

BRANDON, Fla. - Hillsborough County is opening a free COVID-19 testing site on Monday, Jan. 10 at Hillsborough Community College in Brandon as the demand for tests increases with the omicron wave.

HCC Brandon is located at 10451 Nancy Watkins Drive in Tampa. It will be open from 9 a.m. 5 p.m. and is a drive-thru site that does not require appointments.

This is one of three sites that Hillsborough County has opened that offers COVID-19 testing. Residents can also get tested for COVID-19 at Progress Village Park, 8701 Progress Blvd., Tampa, FL 33619. This is a walk-up COVID-19 testing site open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. No appointments are needed.

Additionally, West Tampa Community Resource Center, 2103 N. Rome Ave., Tampa, FL 33607, remains open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. It is a walk-up site that offers free COVID-19 testing, vaccinations, Pfizer pediatric vaccines, booster shots for those who are eligible, and monoclonal antibody therapy treatment.

RELATED: Federal government to decide if 1 million expired Florida COVID-19 test kits are salvageable

At the West Tampa Community Resource Center site, no appointments are needed for most of the services. Residents wanting monoclonal antibody therapy treatment must make an appointment. Residents can make an appointment at patientportalfl.com.

Children ages 5 to 11 who are accompanied by their parent or legal guardian can receive the COVID-19 Pfizer pediatric vaccine at the West Tampa Community Resource Center site. The child must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian to verbally confirm the child's age.

RELATED: Hospitals see spike in pediatric COVID-19 cases

For all services, proof of medical insurance is recommended and should be presented at the time of the visit. People without medical insurance will still be tested, vaccinated, or receive monoclonal antibody therapy treatment for free.

The city of Tampa has also opened a COVID-19 testing location at Al Lopez Park, located at 4602 North Himes Avenue and one at Al Barnes Park, located at 3101 East 21st Avenue. Both are open from 7 a.m. - 7 p.m.

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Hillsborough County to open additional COVID-19 testing site in Brandon - FOX 13 Tampa Bay

The Flyers are counting down the days until Monday when, barring any more negative tests, they will finally have everyone out of COVID-19 protocols.

After the Los Angeles Kings snapped their seven-game point streak on Jan. 1, things have gone from bad to worse for the Flyers. The hot streak turned into a cold one five straight losses and now the Flyers are trying to keep from going back to where they were at in December, facing down a 10-game losing streak.

We dont want to get to the point where its too little too late, forward James van Riemsdyk said. So certainly were going to have to start really stringing together some good hockey and some good results.

READ MORE: Flyers 3-2 loss to Sharks extends losing streak to five

During their 10-game skid, the Flyers were feeling the loss of their injured players, including top-pair defenseman Ryan Ellis and centers Kevin Hayes, Derick Brassard, Nate Thompson and Patrick Brown. While the Flyers now have Hayes and Brown back, they have lost more than theyve gained.

After testing positive on Dec. 21, Sean Couturier remained out due to injury. Then they lost Scott Laughton, a lineup staple who can play multiple forward positions, and starting goalie Carter Hart. While theyve since seen Laughton and Hart return, theyve also lost to COVID-19 captain Claude Giroux, top-pair defenseman Ivan Provorov, top-line forward Travis Konecny and second-pair defenseman Travis Sanheim, who has been logging over 20 minutes a game.

So by the time the Flyers played their rival Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday and faced the San Jose Sharks again on Saturday, they were down four injured players and four players who were in COVID-19 protocols, not including the players who have been injured since the start of the season.

READ MORE: Saying goodbye to a rewarding job that was more adventure than work | Sam Carchidi

Obviously some key guys that were missing right now, van Riemsdyk said. So really important to get those guys back in the lineup, and hopefully, again, weve got to start putting together some wins, building some momentum, and going from there.

Flyers interim coach Mike Yeo isnt sure that will be enough. Based on their two losses since returning home, the Flyers arent just missing bodies and talent, theyre also missing a level of compete.

Two games in a row, opponents walked all over the Flyers on their home ice. The 6-2 loss to the Penguins was out of control from the start, but the Flyers managed to gain the advantage over the Sharks despite being outplayed. Seven minutes into the third, they had a two-goal lead, but a minute later, they gave up the first of two unanswered goals that led to their 3-2 overtime loss.

The Flyers have struggled this season when giving up the first goal, and Yeo spoke of their need for resiliency. Against the Sharks, they still couldnt bounce back after giving up a single goal, despite being the ones with the lead.

READ MORE: Flyers prospect profile: Scouting 19-year-old Swiss Army knife Elliot Desnoyers

I think that there was some attempt at it [resiliency], but I think a lot of that stuff is habits, too, Yeo said. The self-inflicted harm that were doing to ourselves is something that weve got to get out of our system and something that weve got to prevent here.

Against both opponents, the Flyers struggled to get out of the defensive zone. When they did, they struggled to get out of the neutral zone. And if they finally won the puck in the neutral zone, they either dumped it into the offensive zone or they struggled to maintain control. As a result, the Penguins out-shot the Flyers by 12 and the Sharks by 16.

Youre not going to win hockey games like that, Yeo said.

Yeo also said hes looking forward to getting players back. Their experience will help them make smarter decisions, and their skill might help lessen mistakes. Giroux will also play a major role in the faceoff battles.

But the missing players are only part of the problem. So when Mondays practice arrives, Yeo will welcome them back, then turn his focus toward fixing those bad habits in hopes that theyll be able to turn things around before its too late.

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Flyers losses mounting as they await return of top players from COVID-19 protocols - The Philadelphia Inquirer

HAMPTON ROADS, Va. (WAVY) With COVID-19 tests in high demand, the state is opening nine new community testing centers.

Two of them will be in Hampton Roads: one in Newport News, the other in Norfolk near the current community vaccination center locations.

Each site will offer PCR tests that take a few days to get results back.

We are tapped out on many different systems, our pharmacies, our hospitals, our urgent care so this is an additional layer, said Suzi Trotter, the Virginia Department of Health Testing Co-Lead.

The first testing center in Newport News is at the Sherwood Shopping Center off Warwick Boulevard. The CTC services will be available in a heated tent near the same property as the Community Vaccination Center.

Starting Monday it will be open every day except Friday from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. by appointment only.

Trotter says they dont expect lines with this appointment-based system and it also ensures everyone with an appointment gets tested.

So far from our testing site yesterday, were running a couple of minutes per person. They do the online registration. When they get to the site their appointment is confirmed. Their requisition sheet prints out, and they get right through and out, said Trotter.

While testing is being offered Monday at Norfolks Military Circle Mall, CTC services wont start outside in tents until Tuesday. Itll have the same hours and appointment process as the one in Newport News.

Dr. Parham Jaberi with the Norfolk Health Department says theyre looking at 500 appointments a day. 400 will be available online and then 100 will be determined by the health department.

For individuals in a sensitive situation, theyre in the middle of an outbreak at a central job function. Theres going to be some play where a local health departments team is going to be able to use some executive management to fill those positions, explained Jaberi.

However, he also realizes the demand is likely greater than the secured number of appointments.

We served more than 500 on the first two testing events, so on the first day on Tuesday, there will probably be a lot more people than we can serve. But if people use the appointment-based system, they can look to the next day and the next day, Jaberi stated.

Dr. Jaberi says towards the end of the month, he believes these testing centers are really going to put a dent into helping those who have really had a hard time finding testing opportunities.

Trotter says theyre opening up appointments continuously throughout the week as they get their space and vendors up. She says they have secured funding through the end of the month, then we reevaluate the pilot program.

To find an appointment,CLICK HERE.Again, walk-ins will not be accepted.

Virginians who have not been fully vaccinated or are eligible for booster doses, can visitvaccinate.virginia.govor call 1-877-VAX-IN-VA (877) 829-4682 to find nearby vaccination clinics.

Download the WAVY News App to keep up with the latest news, weather and sports from WAVY-TV 10. Available in both the Apple and Google Play stores.

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Community COVID-19 testing centers start this week in Norfolk, Newport News to help with demand - WAVY.com

The Eagles left 11 players on the COVID-19/reserve list four hours before their regular-season finale against the Dallas Cowboys Saturday night.

Of the dozen players added to the list on Monday, only Jason Kelce was activated in time for Saturdays home game, seemingly signifying the teams intention to rest its starters for the home game.

Fletcher Cox, Dallas Goedert, Jordan Howard, Boston Scott, Nate Herbig, Avonte Maddox, Rodney McLeod, Alex Singleton, Marcus Epps, Genard Avery, and Jack Stoll were all left on the list and ruled out Saturday afternoon.

The lack of movement afforded the Eagles 11 COVID replacement spots on the active roster for the game, which they used to elevate mostly developmental players from the practice squad.

Eagles coach Nick Sirianni was noncommittal all week when asked if hed rest his starters since the outcome of the game has little impact on the teams possible playoff scenarios, but the addition of so many young players to the roster should give him a chance to do so.

The players elevated as COVID replacements are offensive lineman Kayode Awosika, linebacker Christian Elliss, defensive back Jared Mayden, defensive back Mac McCain, tight end Richard Rodgers, tight end Noah Togiai, offensive tackle Casey Tucker, and defensive tackle Raequan Williams. The team also elevated running back Jason Huntley and defensive tackle Marvin Wilson from the practice squad for the game.

Kelce will be able to continue his 121-game streak of consecutive starts but will likely be done shortly after he hits the 122-game mark on the first series.

READ MORE: Eagles activate center Jason Kelce from COVID-19/reserve list ahead of Week 18 vs. Cowboys

A few players, most notably wide receiver DeVonta Smith said earlier this week that the Eagles werent interested in rest. The Birds could improve their playoff seeding with a win against the Cowboys, but theyd need help from other teams to do so. There are also scenarios in which theyd move up the standings even with a loss, and theyre most likely to play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers regardless of Saturdays outcome.

That doesnt make the game completely meaningless for the players, though. Smith, who is 47 yards away from breaking DeSean Jacksons franchise record for rookie receiving yards, advocated for playing time to stay in rhythm.

I feel like I need to be out there, Smith said. Its a momentum thing.

Sirianni gave credence to the arguments for and against resting, but said hed be confident in his teams ability to go into the wild-card round sharp even if the starters got some time off against the Cowboys.

If the decision is to have to rest a couple guys or whatever it is ... I have so much confidence in our process and the way we go about how we get ready, Sirianni said. I know we practice hard. I know weve really made this a staple of the way we are here, right, is that we go out and practice hard every day.

Jay Ajayi, who was a part of the Eagles Super Bowl-winning team in 2017, has retired from football.

The Eagles recognized him Saturday night by making him an honorary captain for their game against the Cowboys.

Ajayi joined the Eagles following a trade from the Miami Dolphins for the final seven games of the regular season and all three playoff games. He rushed for 408 yards on 70 carries with one touchdown and caught 10 passes for 91 yards and one score in those seven games. In the playoffs, he had 184 yards on 42 carries and caught six passes for 70 yards, but scored no touchdowns.

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The Eagles played the Cowboys with 11 players still on the COVID-19 list, including Fletcher Cox and Dallas Goedert - The Philadelphia Inquirer