Category Archives: Progress

By: Dylan Dethier December 16, 2021

Tiger Woods and his son Charlie played golf with Mike Thomas last week for the first time since Tiger's car crash.

Getty Images

ORLANDO, Fla. Tiger Woods hasnt yet hit a shot at the 2021 PNC Championship but the hype arrived before he did.

The latest and best-sourced reporting on Woods recovery came straight from the mouth of Mike Thomas. Thats Mike Thomas, Justins father, Justins coach, Woods frequent playing partner and the PNCs defending champion.

Justin and Mike didnt play in Thursdays Pro-Am but arrived at the Ritz-Carlton in the early afternoon for a session with reporters.

Were just here to have a good time and enjoy each others company. And playing good golf is always a bonus, Justin said.

Ive been busy teaching, Mike said, managing expectations. His plan had been to cram a few days in advance, he added, but then his back flared up. So Im cramming on site. On-site cramming.

Pleasantries dispatched, one reporter dived into the inevitable line of Tiger questioning. Justin, who is well-practiced in fending off inquiries on his famous friend, downplayed any update. He hadnt played with Woods, he realized, since this event last year. Instead it was his father who had the intel; hed played with Tiger and Charlie last week. He gave a glowing update.

Its crazy how good hes hitting it and far hes hitting for what hes been through, Mike said. That was Tiger he was talking about, for the record. Well, both, he added for clarification. But Tiger has been through a lot more than Charlie. Its impressive where hes at.

Thats a big deal. Thomas is a PGA Tour coach and not prone to random exaggeration. And while hes grading on a scale, given the scope of Woods injuries, its encouraging to hear such positive news from someone with a firsthand look at his recovery. Justin played it safe by comparison, downplaying any expectations he has for Woods.

I mean, my excitement level is high just for him being out here and being somewhere other than his house and getting to see a lot of familiar faces. And I know spending time with Charlie is a huge deal to him, he added.

Mike, who has turned into a de facto coach for Charlie, had the inside scoop on both members of Team Woods. He likes to play golf. Well go out and play and work on his game a little bit, he said. Even though Charlie hasnt gotten much taller than last year, he said, he hits it very far for his size.

Pressed for details on Tigers recovery, he explained further.

I dont know, I mean, you all know him well enough to know that hes never going to admit to being close to where hed like to be, Mike said. I mean, hes still hes got some speed. Hes got some length. Hits a lot of really, really flush shots. I mean, I was surprised.

The Woodses and the Thomases will play together on Saturday in the PNCs first round, just as they did at this event last year. There was plenty of cross-generational ribbing in that round, and both teams shot 62. Thomas said he expects that to continue though after Team Thomas won last years event, he thinks he has a leg up on Charlie.

I mean, I think hes starting to get old enough that you need to back up your trash talk a little bit better if youre going to be saying it. Wed obviously had a lot of putting contests and fun rounds here and there, but obviously never in competition. But until they get that belt and we dont, I know that we have the bragging rights for the time being, he said.

Big-picture, we wont learn everything about Woods competitive golf future this week. But well get hints: Ball speed, mobility, gait, rotation, mindset. This first hint sounds encouraging. Tiger fans will hope the second hint matches the first.

Dylan Dethier is a senior writer for GOLF Magazine/GOLF.com. The Williamstown, Mass. native joined GOLF in 2017 after two years scuffling on the mini-tours. Dethier is a 2014 graduate of Williams College, where he majored in English, and hes the author of 18 in America, which details the year he spent as an 18-year-old living from his car and playing a round of golf in every state.

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After round with Tiger Woods, Justin Thomas' dad 'surprised' by progress - Golf.com

Ty Ronning and Zac Jones celebrate (Photo: Kelly Shea / Wolf Pack)

The Wolf Pack played their first game back from the COVID-19 protocol pause last Sunday in Allentown against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. This was the first time they played since November 27th against the Springfield Thunderbirds. Now the team prepares for their fourth three in three weekend of the season.

Hartford is looking to resume where they left off prior to going on the pause.

As expected, the Wolf Pack struggled in their first game back against Lehigh Valley with limited practice time. On the plus side, Hartford collected a point out of the contest as the group dropped a 4-3 shootout decision.

Morgan Barron snapped his four game drought while Zac Jones continued to produce on the blue line. Austin Rueschhoff recorded Hartfords second goal of the game while Jones tied the contest with a few minutes to play in the third. Adam Huska performed well despite getting the loss in net stopping 26 of 29 shots and one of three shooters in the skills competition.

Its hard to expect a club to be sharp after a long layoff. You have to give the group credit for sticking in the game despite being dominated, especially in the first and second period of the game. Furthermore, a couple of the regular players were out of the lineup (more information provided below).

The Springfield Thunderbirds came out of the pause and were swept last weekend (0-3) and lost players to the Blues due to call-ups. The Providence Bruins played with a depleted roster and posted a 2-1 record on the weekend. These clubs are not back to 100% and patience will be key in Hartford.

Assigned by the Rangers on December 10th, the defenseman will play in five games with Hartford during his two week conditioning stint.

Tinordi started his first game with the club on a rusty, struggling note. However, the defenseman had a nice huge hit early on in the contest.

He was lost his position several times and had to adjust to Hartfords schemas. As the games pass by, I expect the defenseman to settle in. Zac Jones had Tinordi as a partner on the blue line for top minutes. Jones also helped Libor Hajek on his conditioning stint while he was in Hartford.

Player Scratches

In Hartfords first game back, a few players that normally are in the lineup were out. Ty Ronning, Anthony Greco, and and Alex Whelan could return next weekend.

While Jarred Tinordi conditions in Hartford, the Wolf Packs blue line will have continual rotation going for players. Hunter Skinner was scratched and could return next week as well.

Standings Update

Despite playing in one game, Hartford found themselves now in first place in the Atlantic Division. The standings are based on point percentage this season.

Hartfords record entering the weekend is 12-4-2-1 for 27 points (.711). That ranks the club first in the division, second in the Eastern Conference, and fifth in the league (tied for fourth). Despite Springfield having three more points, the Wolf Pack have a better point percentage. Keep in mind that teams in the divisions are playing 72 or 76 games.

One Timers

Friday, December 17th vs Lehigh Valley Phantoms (Philadelphia) at 7pm, XL Center

Saturday, December 18th vs Springfield Thunderbirds (St. Louis) at 7:05pm, Mass Mutual Center

Sunday, December 19th vs Springfield Thunderbirds (St. Louis) at 3pm, XL Center

The NHL Rumor mill has slowed down, but Phil Kessel is still a name out there and one the Rangers are attached to.Read more.

Continued here:

Wolf Pack Weekly: Hartford looks to continue progress on great season - Forever Blueshirts

More than 2.29 million Louisianans nearly 50 percent of the states population became fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in the first year of vaccinations. In addition, Louisiana has seen a decrease in the number of people hospitalized with COVID and in the percent of COVID tests that are positive. Today, the vast majority of COVID hospitalizations, cases and deaths are in those who have not yet been vaccinated.

COVID-19 vaccinations began on December 14, 2020, and since that day more than 4.7 million doses have been administered in Louisiana alone. More than 2.5 million Louisianans have at least one dose of the vaccine and more than 544,000 booster doses have been administered. According to the CDC, nearly 25 percent of Louisianas eligible population has received a booster dose.

In addition to a nearly eight-fold decrease in COVID hospitalizations today when compared to a year ago, the percent of COVID tests that were positive in Louisiana was nearly 10 percent a year ago, which signals out-of-control community spread. Today, the states percent positivity is 2.3 percent, which signals a much lower risk level across Louisiana.

One year ago, I was proud and hopeful as I witnessed Nurse Deborah Ford receive the first COVID-19 vaccine dose in the state of Louisiana. Since that day, I am proud to see that more than 2.29 million Louisianans have gone sleeves up and are now fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Just one year ago today, we had 1,527 people hospitalized with COVID. Today, thanks to the vaccine, that number is below 200, Gov. John Bel Edwards said. That is not to say the past year has not been without tragedy and loss. Weve seen more than 500,000 COVID infections in Louisiana in the last year, and weve lost at least 8,052 Louisianans in that time alone, especially when the very strong Delta variant tore through our state, killing thousands. As has been true since the start of the pandemic, the vast majority of people who have died or become critically ill from COVID were not vaccinated either because the vaccine was not available in the early months of the pandemic or they simply had not taken it yet. Fortunately, the vaccines are here and widely available now, and the importance of taking the vaccines along with the boosters when eligible simply cannot be stressed enough, especially now that the Omicron variant is here. They are our best and most effective path of protection for ourselves, loved ones and community.

The vaccines are safe and effective and, in Louisiana, theyve only resulted in a handful of severe adverse reactions and zero deaths. We have worked hard with public health officials, the Louisiana National Guard, medical professionals, local leaders and community groups to make these free, safe and effective vaccines accessible all across the Louisiana, Gov. Edwards said. The COVID-19 vaccination effort has been a marvel of modern science and medicine unseen in any of our lifetimes. It is my fervent hope and prayer that all those who are not yet vaccinated will pause and take the time to speak with their doctor or a medical professional about this life-saving vaccine so that we do not have to say goodbye to any more of our Louisiana brothers and sisters.

Receiving my COVID-19 vaccine alongside my colleagues was a moment that I will always remember, said Debbie Ford, Chief Nursing Officer at Ochsner Medical Center New Orleans and Louisianas first vaccine recipient. Vaccines deliver protection and they also delivered hope to those of us fighting the pandemic. The vaccine allowed me to visit my grandchildren, go to Saints games and meet with other nursing leaders from across the country. Our fight isnt over but with a safe and effective vaccine and booster shots, we remain optimistic and hopeful for a healthy and safe future for all.

Making the COVID-19 vaccine available and accessible to everyone in our state has been our number one priority from the very beginning, and I am happy to say we have made critical strides, said LDH Secretary Dr. Courtney N. Phillips. Today more than 2.5 million peoplehave gone sleeves up for the vaccine. These gains are a direct result of intentional, close collaboration with community partners, including our valued healthcare providers, local leaders, pharmacies and countless community stakeholders. They also reflect the Louisiana Department of Healths ongoing commitment to ensure safe and equitable administration of the vaccine for all Louisianans.

It is too difficult to fathom just how much more loss we would have suffered in Louisiana without the COVID-19 vaccines. These vaccines are highly safe and effective, and have undoubtedly saved countless lives already.As we prepare to gather with family and friends this holiday season, one of the best gifts that we can offer our loved ones is that of protection. We urge everyone who is eligible to get the vaccine and the booster as soon as possible," said State Health Officer Dr. Joseph Kanter.

HOW TO GET A COVID VACCINE IN LOUISIANA

Everyone aged 5 and older is eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine in Louisiana. The FDA has only authorized one of the three COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer for children ages 5 to 17. Parents should confirm with the vaccine provider that their child is under 18 to ensure Pfizer vaccine is available before making an appointment.

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Gov. Edwards, LDH Highlight One Year of COVID-19 Vaccine Progress - Governor John Bel Edwards

Pulitzer-prize winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones, thecreator ofThe New York Times's 1619 Project,said the events ofthe past year showed that"steps toward racial progressare always met with an intensive backlash."

"We are a society that woefully does not want to deal with the anti-blackness that is at the core of so many of our institutions and really our society itself," Hannah-Jones told the Associated Press in an interview published Thursday. "We are seeing a backlash, we are seeing efforts to subvert democracy, to make it harder ... for Black people to vote, to protest."

Hannah-Jones, acorrespondentfor the New York Times Magazine, won national recognition in 2019 when she and her colleagues published The 1619 Project, a series of essays and stories reframing the founding of America and its institutions around slavery.

The New York Times and Hannah-Jones won a Pulitzer Prize for the project, but it has proved controversial.

State legislaturesin states including Floridaand Texas areattemptingto ban schools from teaching the projectas part of an effort to restrictthe teaching of critical race theory,which posits that racism is embedded in U.S. history, laws and institutions.

Hannah-Jones told the Associated Press she was proud of the 1619 Project and called the efforts to prevent it from being taught a "disappointment."

She alsocalled attention torecent voting restrictionsand gerrymandering efforts, comparingthem to restrictive measures implemented during the Jim Crowerafollowing Reconstruction though, she acknowledged, "It's not exactly the same, of course."

"We are in a very frightening time," she said. "What we are seeing is what we saw after the period of reconstruction with this slow rollback of the rights of Black voters, working-class voters and voters of color, with laws that are making it more difficult to vote, with hyper-gerrymandering that ensures a white minority can maintain power no matter what."

Asked about the lessons of the past year, she said, "This year is just reflective of what I have always understood about this country. And that is that steps forward, steps towards racial progress, are always met with an intensive backlash."

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Nikole Hannah-Jones: 2021 showed steps toward racial progress always met with 'intensive backlash' | TheHill - The Hill

WASHINGTON The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of a $3 million cooperative agreement to the International Labour Organization to improve compliance with international labor standards in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The project will seek to strengthen the ability of governments, employers and workers to improve work conditions related to wages and hours and workplace safety.

Administered by the departments Bureau of International Labor Affairs, the funding will support efforts in the capital city of Kinshasa primarily, and in some pilot provinces across one or more economic sectors.

The project applies a comprehensive approach to strengthen the labor inspectorates ability to provide advice, guidance and enforcement of legal provisions, bolster mediation and conciliation with labor officials and increase the capacity of labor judges to resolve labor disputes properly.

This cooperative agreement allows ILAB to continue its work to strengthen global labor standards, enforce labor commitments among trading partners and combat international child labor, forced labor and human trafficking. This project aims to:

Learn more about the departments international work.

The International Labour Organization, the United Nations only tripartite agency, brings together governments, employers and workers of 187 member states to set labor standards, develop policies and devise programs promoting decent work for all women and men.

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awards $3M grant to support progress on labor standards in the Democratic Republic of the Congo | US Department of Labor - US Department of Labor

This may be the year that safe, inexpensive over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids become available. In 2017, Congress passed a law directing the FDA to come up with a new category of hearing aids requiring special regulations and FDA approval. These hearing aids would be available from any seller, without doctor appointments or fittings, and sold at a fraction of the typical cost about $600 per pair instead of the average $5,000 (which includes fittings and follow-up services). Just one problem: the FDA missed the August 2020 deadline to come up with safety and labeling rules. In October 2021, the FDA moved forward and issued proposed rules for the OTC category. Approval is expected sometime this year. When will the devices appear? "Manufacturers are already creating self-fit OTC devices and business models, and theyre using the proposed regulations to fine-tune devices. We expect theyll launch shortly after regulations are finalized," says Meaghan Reed, director of clinical audiology at Massachusetts Eye and Ear. OTC devices will have the same fundamental technology as traditional hearing aids, and theyll be targeted to people with perceived mild-to-moderate hearing loss. "If you know you only need amplification, the devices might be right for you," Reed says. "But if youre not sure whats causing your hearing loss, we still advise that you get an evaluation so an underlying condition wont go undiagnosed."

As a service to our readers, Harvard Health Publishing provides access to our library of archived content. Please note the date of last review or update on all articles. No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician.

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Progress toward over-the-counter hearing aids - Harvard Health

The Blackhawks have attempted 1,139 shots at even strength so far this season.

Only 591 of those shot attempts have made it on goal, either going in the net or forcing a save. And that on-goal percentage 51.9% is the lowest in the NHL.

Meanwhile, on several occasions this season, the Hawks have used the phrase one and done to describe their offensive struggles. Alex DeBrincat did so after practice Monday; interim coach Derek King did so after practice Tuesday.

The problem the Hawks on-goal percentage suggests and the problem to which one and done refers are arguably the same thing. At the least, theyre strongly connected.

Shots on goal ideally go in, but even if they dont, they typically create rebounds or second opportunities, force defenders to make split-second decisions or create offensive-zone faceoffs. Blocked and missed shots more frequently ricochet out of the zone or stay in but allow the defending team to gain possession and exit the zone.

A lot of this year, weve pretty much been one and done in their zone, DeBrincat said. We get a chance, and then we have to play [in the] D zone again.

Weve got to put pucks on the net, which causes chaos, and then you can make all those cute plays, King said.

King attributed the Hawks difficulty getting shots on goal to players missing the net too much, but the data indicates thats not the true culprit. The Hawks actually have the ninth-lowest missed-shot rate at even strength (19.3%) and second-lowest missed-shot rate on the power play (15.9%).

Instead, the Hawks keep getting blocked. Whether its because theyre taking shots when tightly covered, being too predictable with puck movement or not keeping shooting lanes free of defensemen, their blocked-shot percentage is the highest in the league at even strength (28.8%) and sixth-highest on the power play (25.1%).

But there are a couple of reasons to believe the Hawks can improve in that regard.

First, their practice days Monday and Tuesday afforded them much-needed time to work on some offensive stuff [having] some net-front presence, getting shots through, supporting each other, changing sides, [passing] low to high, all those little things, King said.

The lines from practice with Dylan Strome on the first line and Brett Connolly on the second also potentially indicate a more offense-oriented game plan Wednesday against the Capitals.

Second, the Hawks already showed signs of progress in their most recent game, a 5-4 loss to the Maple Leafs on Saturday.

They not only scored four even-strength goals, tied for their most this season, but also had 30 even-strength shots on goal, their second-most this season. And they did so with only 39 even-strength shot attempts, equating to a 76.9% on-goal percentage.

Last game, we were holding it down there pretty [well], and that helps everyone out, DeBrincat said. Its a lot easier to create chances, and their D get tired, and you get to have that extra chance. If we do that more, were going to be able to win a lot more of these games and stay with some of those top teams.

NOTES: A week removed from his brutal concussion, Jujhar Khaira has been able to hang out around the locker room the last two days. The guys were excited to see him, [to see] hes up and moving around pretty good, coach Derek King said, adding its still going to take some time for Khaira to fully recover.

Henrik Borgstrom remains out with a non-COVID illness, and Kurtis Gabriel hasnt practiced the last two days because of pending immigration paperwork. In Rockford, top prospect Lukas Reichel was removed from concussion protocol Tuesday.

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Blackhawks hoping to finally progress past one-and-done offense - Chicago Sun-Times

(Washington, DC) On Thursday, December 16, at 10:30 am, Mayor Muriel Bowser will be in Rock Creek West to provide an update on the communitys progress in meeting the affordable housing goals that were included in the 2019 Housing Equity Report. The Mayor and the DC Office of Planning and the Department of Housing and Community Development will also share new tools that the District will be using to increase the production of affordable housing.

At the start of her second term, Mayor Bowser set a bold goal to deliver an additional 36,000 units of housing including at least 12,000 units of affordable housing by 2025. In October 2019, the Mayor released the Housing Equity Report, which set targets for new affordable housing for each of the Districts ten planning areas. The release of the Housing Equity Report made Washington, DC the first jurisdiction in the nation to set affordable housing goals by neighborhood.

Throughout #FairShot Week, the Bowser Administration is highlighting various new and existing programs designed to give Washingtonians a fair shot and accelerate the Districts economic recovery. The Mayor is promoting some of the many programs listed on ObviouslyDC.com that provide financial assistance to local businesses and businesses that want to open in, expand to, and create jobs in Washington, DC.

Where:

Thursday, December 16, at 10:30 am

Who:

Mayor Muriel BowserJohn Falcicchio, Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic DevelopmentAndrew Trueblood, Director, Office of PlanningDrew Hubbard, Interim Director, DC Department of Housing and Community DevelopmentDr. Joseph W. Daniels, Leader Pastor, Emory FellowshipRandy Speck, Chair, ANC 3/4G

Where:

Chevy Chase Community Center Courtyard5601 Connecticut Avenue, NW*Closest Metro Station: Friendship Heights Metro Station**Closest Bikeshare Station: Connecticut Avenue & McKinley Street, NW *

Press interested in attending the event are asked to RSVP to[emailprotected].

The DC Office of Cable Television, Film, Music, and Entertainment will provide a live feed of this event to watch from a safe, virtual space.To view event online visitmayor.dc.gov/live, tune in on Channel 16 (DCN) or any of the social media platforms below.

Social Media:Mayor Bowser Twitter:@MayorBowserMayor Bowser Instagram:@Mayor_BowserMayor Bowser Facebook:facebook.com/MayorMurielBowserMayor Bowser YouTube:https://www.bit.ly/eomvideos

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Mayor Bowser to Provide Update on the Housing Equity Report's Progress in Rock Creek West | mayormb - Executive Office of the Mayor

Last month at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (commonly referred to as the COP26), the International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation (IFRS Foundation) announced the formation of an International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB).

The IFRS Foundation also announced that it had reached an agreement to consolidate with the Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB), an initiative of CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project), and the Value Reporting Foundation (which resulted from the already merged International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) and Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) Foundation).

In light of these developments, the Corporate Reporting Dialogue (CRD), an initiative convened in 2014 to strengthen cooperation, coordination and alignment amongst key international standard setters and framework developers dissolved last month. The IIRC formed the CRD as a response to market calls for better alignment and reduced burden in corporate reporting. In connection with its dissolution, the CRD cited the success of its mission given the upcoming consolidation of four of its seven members with the formation of ISSB.

By way of background, the CRD made significant progress since it was convened in 2014. Some of its work included a landscape map showing the connections amongst various reporting initiatives through the lens of integrated reporting, and a paper setting out principles of transparency and accountability necessary for all corporate reporting. Its efforts more recently culminated in the Better Alignment project that was pivotal in laying the foundation for the recent announcements to consolidate and deliver a comprehensive, aligned system for international reporting. See our blog posts from June 2021 and December 2020 regarding consolidation efforts.

All parties within the dissolving CRD will support the ongoing work by the ISSB. The IFRS Foundation and the ISSB plan to establish an advisory group structure that will allow the continued coordination and collaboration among organizations committed to enhanced, standardized disclosure an effort previously facilitated by the CRD.

The Staff at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been tracking these efforts. Earlier this month, SECs Acting Chief Accountant, Paul Munter, issued a statement concerning High Quality Financial Reporting in a Complex Environment, in which he highlighted international developments on th[is] topic, specifically including the formation of a global sustainability standards board, namely the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) to set IFRS sustainability disclosure standards. In our July 2021 blog post, we also described how the Staff has previously expressed support and considered the IFRS as the entity that creates global sustainability reporting standards.

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Consolidation and Globalization of ESG Standards Progress: CRD Dissolves to Support IFRS Foundation and ISSB - JD Supra

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia In early November, I flew to southern Africa to report a series of stories about the state of the Covid-19 pandemic in the region, including one about the remarkable work being done to stanch the emergence of new coronavirus variants. My last afternoon there, South African scientists announced the discovery of the Omicron variant. Hours later, I got on a plane in Johannesburg to head home to Canada.

By the time I landed for my connection in Amsterdam on the morning of Nov. 26, the world had gone into full panic mode and I was swept up in a chaotic, at times frightening, tangle of orders and conflicting rules that seemed driven more by fear than medical science.

My firsthand journey through Covid response measures has shown me that, two years into this, we have yet to learn how to anticipate how both viruses and people will behave, or how to plan accordingly. We are going to need to get much better at both if we are to get through the next pandemic with less loss of life, and less suffering.

When my plane touched down in Amsterdam, a flight attendant informed us that passengers would need to be tested for Covid before we could continue our journeys. Five hours later, we were still on the tarmac, the plane sealed up tight, with more and more travelers shedding their masks.

My despair at a missed connection progressed to alarm when the pilot informed increasingly restive passengers that he could not procure food and drink for us because airport authorities would not permit catering trucks to approach the plane.

We were eventually bused into an unused departure area, and over the course of three hours, given Covid tests. As the hours ticked by in the stuffy room where we were being held, many gave up even a pretense of masking. None of the authorities made any attempt to enforce masking rules.

I was tweeting about the experience, and near midnight, a Dutch journalist whod seen my posts got in touch to say that test results were being reported by the health ministry. Between my flight and another that had come in from Cape Town at the same time, 110 tests had been processed, and 15 were positive, he said an infection rate of 14 percent.

I looked around the room full of people, many shouting men and wailing toddlers, and began quietly to panic.

It would be hours more before I received my results. Finally at 3 a.m. a couple of weary-looking public health staff members packed us into a line, had us hold up our passports, one by one, and read the results from a database.

If our tests were negative, as mine was, we were required to sign a document in Dutch. The traveler who hastily translated for me said that I was promising that I had somewhere to quarantine at home, and that I would leave the country to go there.

It seemed like a bad idea for public health, that pledge, but Id been awake for 42 hours, and I was desperate to get out of that room, so I signed and handed it over.

I was taken by bus into a dark and silent section of the terminal. There I spent another nine hours in an increasingly frantic search for someone who could help me access a copy of my putative negative test, without which I could not continue the journey I had just signed a promise to make.

In the days after this chaotic detention, Dutch airport and health authorities would blame the protracted delays on the fact that they had never anticipated such a situation and had no provisions for how to safely screen passengers even though we were held just weeks short of the second anniversary of the first known case.

I managed at the 11th hour to get access to my negative test, and flew on to Toronto. My phone was filled with alerts about new regulations for people arriving from southern Africa, and when I identified myself to a border agent as having flown from Johannesburg, he waved me into a special line. A public health screener took my name, address and temperature then sent me on my way.

I edged away from her but stayed in the line, confused.

I was just held in detention for almost a day with people we know have Omicron, I said, almost pleading. You want to quarantine me!

She shrugged. I think you should go get your connection, and maybe quarantine yourself at home. Get tested on Day 4. I have no other guidelines for you.

This was the first of what would be days of conflicting, confusing messages from health authorities that left me struggling to figure out how best to keep people safe.

I flew on to Halifax, my N95 clamped as tightly as I could get it, gratefully collected a series of P.C.R. test kits from a table in the airport and made my way as fast as I could to an Airbnb near my home. My children came for a weird reunion, standing masked at the opposite side of the backyard.

Over the next week, I received a dozen phone calls from federal and provincial health authorities. They said I should quarantine for a full 14 days. Or that I only needed to quarantine until I had a negative test on Day 4. No, Day 8. Oh, fully vaccinated? Well in that case, no quarantine! I could isolate at home until a negative test on Day 4. Or 8. Or 10. No test notwithstanding, I had to isolate at home until Day 14.

Lacking any kind of useful guidance, I stayed in the Airbnb.

On Day 7, I missed my daughters 12th birthday party. A kind friend brought over Thai food and beer and a portable fire pit, and we sat in parkas on opposite sides of it and had a heartfelt conversation in raised voices.

On Day 8, the doorbell rang at 11 p.m. I didnt answer because I assumed it was visitors for the second-floor tenants (no one was visiting me, obviously). The ringing turned to banging that grew more insistent and louder. When I cracked the door open, I found a police officer who demanded my name, and said she was there to do a Covid check.

I asked her what her instructions were for me maybe she would have insight. Were supposed to keep checking you until Dec. 11, she said.

The next day, another federal public health tracker called. She asked if Id had visitors. I said that I had seen my children from across the yard. She became distressed, and told me she would have to report that. Distanced outdoor visits were expressly forbidden.

I said that no one had ever told me this. (I kept my opinion, that it made no scientific sense and worked directly against the conditions that would help people keep quarantine, to myself.)

My instructions from Canadian officials were confusing. But I learned from emails and LinkedIn messages from other passengers on my flight how far we are from any uniform global response for travel. The ones who went on to the United States and Britain were going about their lives without quarantining. Those in Germany and the Netherlands had been made to quarantine until a Day 4 negative test.

I couldnt understand how 18 passengers on the two South African flights had tested positive when wed had to show a negative test to board the flight. But then I learned, while I was in airport lockup, that preflight testing requirements are set by the country of destination. South African airport authorities closely scrutinized the negative test Canada required of me, but passengers to the United Kingdom (and there were many) didnt have to test to fly. A belligerent British man in front of me in the final line in Amsterdam was told he was positive, and led away by a police officer.

Since Omicron began to be detected across Europe and the United States, the British policy has finally been changed, and the U.S. requirement strengthened to a test conducted one day before a flight. It should not have taken this debacle to create a basic testing standard for safer flying.

I dont object to having my travel disrupted; I would have gone willingly into quarantine in Amsterdam. I am, perhaps unsurprisingly for someone in this job, a fan of public health measures.

But I am furious about the entirely unnecessary risk the Dutch subjected me and all the other passengers to. After they concluded our flight was a health risk, they should have bundled us off the plane, distributed N-95 masks (and insisted people wear them), and taken us to a location where we could be held separately from each other while they made a plan.

I am equally frustrated that Canada has done such a lousy job of communicating its rules or of using evidence to make them. There is rapidly accelerating circulation of Omicron across Europe now, but still, only flights from southern Africa are banned.

The discovery of Omicron, and the swift transmission of critical information about the variant around the world, showed how well the sophisticated scientific response to the pandemic is working.

But everything that I saw in the days since then makes clear we still havent mastered the messy, human steps at all and they may matter even more.

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How Conflicting Guidance on Travel During the Pandemic Shows Little Progress - The New York Times