LOVELAND MAGAZINE

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Tag: mask wearing

  • A year into pandemic, DeWine says Ohio on the right path to lift restrictions but can’t ease up yet

    A year into pandemic, DeWine says Ohio on the right path to lift restrictions but can’t ease up yet

    Gov. Mike DeWine is pictured during a statewide address. Photo courtesy Ohio Channel.

    By Marty Schladen and Ohio Capital Journal

    A year ago Wednesday, the coronavirus pandemic officially started in Ohio when the decision was made to cancel The Arnold sports festival. 

    On Thursday, Gov. Mike DeWine gave a primetime address to tell Ohioans that a return to normal is in sight — so long as they don’t become complacent.

    “No marathoner pulls out on purpose at the 25th mile marker,” DeWine said.

    The governor made some news during the speech. He announced that he would lift all remaining health orders once the number of coronavirus cases drops to 50 per 100,000 Ohioans.

    That might seem distant, with Wednesday’s rate standing at 179 per 100,000. But DeWine noted that the rate has been falling rapidly, from 445 on Feb. 23 and 731 on Dec. 3.

    “Ohio is on the right path to get us to 50,” DeWine said.

    However, such drops can’t be counted on to continue. Federal health officials reported this week that daily numbers appear to be hitting a plateau at levels that might seem low after the past several months, but were perceived as quite high last summer.

    Also concerning is that at least six worrisome variants of the virus are struggling to gain a foothold. Some are more transmissible, others more lethal and still others less susceptible to the three vaccines that have been approved in the United States.

    DeWine’s unusual primetime speech was to mark the one-year anniversary of Ohio’s fight against the disease.

    “None of us then fully understood the battle ahead,” he said. “This has been a tough year. Many of you have lost a parent. grandparent, sibling, spouse. Some of you have even lost a child. Some of you have lost your job. Some of you have lost your business.”

    It also was to announce the metrics by which he’ll decide to lift remaining health orders.

    But it also seemed a repudiation of two other Republican governors’ announcements in recent days that they were lifting all of their orders — including ones requiring mask wearing in indoor public spaces. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves both made such announcements on Tuesday, prompting widespread condemnation from public health experts and from President Joe Biden.

    Anthony Fauci, the leading communicable disease expert in the country, said the daily number of new cases needs to be one-sixth of what it is now before ending mask mandates should be considered.

    DeWine didn’t mention other states, but he made it clear that Ohio’s mask mandate would remain in place for the time being. As he touted the rapidly growing number of vaccines coming into Ohio, he said, “We have one battle-tested tool that has worked so well and that is the mask.”

    The governor also appealed to Ohioans’ community spirit — a spirit that critics have said is lacking in Abbott and Reeves’ approach to the pandemic.

    “It’s been a difficult year,” DeWine said. “But we did what Ohioans always do. We rallied together. We sacrificed. We showed the world our Ohio grit. Our communities have come together.”

  • CDC issues new detailed strategy for safely reopening K-12 schools

    CDC issues new detailed strategy for safely reopening K-12 schools

    By Ariana Figueroa and Ohio Capital Journal

    Washington, DC – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday released updated guidance to provide educators a science-based plan for reopening K-12 schools.

    The agency said it cannot force schools to reopen but can only stress that steps such as wearing masks and physical distancing of at least six feet are key to mitigating the spread of coronavirus.

    CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky

    “CDC is not mandating that schools reopen,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said during a briefing with reporters.

    Walensky added that educators should be considered front-line workers in any vaccine rollout. Teachers unions have made similar demands before returning to the classroom.

    “We strongly encourage states to prioritize teachers and other school staff to receive vaccinations,” she said.

    Walensky said that the agency found that in-school learning can take place when proper measures are taken such as mask wearing and social distancing. The agency also said that frequent hand washing, proper cleaning of classroom surfaces and ventilation, along with contact tracing and available rapid testing, are all steps that schools can take to limit outbreaks.

    House Education and Labor Chairman Bobby Scott (D-Va.)

    House Education and Labor Chairman Bobby Scott (D-Va.) said in a statement that in order for schools to implement the CDC guidance, they need funding from the Biden administration’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package. Congress is working to pass the plan and Scott’s committee has included $130 billion for schools to safely reopen.

    “Maintaining physical distancing, updating and repairing ventilation systems, purchasing personal protective equipment, and other important safety measures all cost money that schools do not have,” Scott said. “This is particularly true for schools in low-income areas that lacked adequate funding well before the pandemic.”

    Similarly, the Department of Education released a handbook to coincide with the guidance released by the CDC.

    Walensky said that most COVID-19 clusters that occurred in school settings occurred because there was a breach in wearing a mask.

    The CDC stressed that the safest way for schools to reopen is for there to be a low level of coronavirus infection in the community. The guidance uses a color-coding system to recommend if schools should reopen or continue remote learning.

    Schools are recommended to open if they are in blue areas, which means there are low transmission rates of the virus,  and yellow areas, which means there is moderate transmission.

    If the community is in an orange zone, then the CDC recommends that schools implement a hybrid model or reduce attendance. And a red zone indicates that schools should consider virtual learning for middle and high school students.

    In red zones, elementary schools can continue with a hybrid learning model, the CDC said.

    The recommendations follow President Joe Biden’s efforts to get K-8 students back to in-person learning within his administration’s first 100 days.

    In a statement, Biden acknowledged his ambitious goal of reopening K-8 schools and said those schools will need funding to follow the guidance laid out by the CDC.

    “To meet these guidelines, some schools will need more teachers and support staff to ensure smaller class sizes, more buses and bus drivers to transport our kids safely, more spaces to conduct in-person instruction, and more protective equipment, school cleaning services, and physical alterations to reduce the risk of spread of the virus,” he said.

    White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki

    At a Friday briefing, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that Biden’s nominee to lead the Education Department will work to reopen schools. Miguel Cardona, a longtime educator is waiting for a full Senate vote for his confirmation.

    “When Secretary Cardona is confirmed, you know, this will be his top priority and we will leave it to him and his team at the Department of Education, working in close partnership with the CDC and others, to determine how quickly and efficiently” schools can be reopened, Psaki said.

    American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten said in a statement that she felt confident the CDC’s guidance will help schools safely reopen.

    “For the first time since the start of this pandemic, we have a rigorous road map, based on science, that our members can use to fight for a safe reopening,” she said.