Category: Corona Virus

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Ohio drops to near 144 coronavirus cases per 100,000 over last two weeks in inching toward Gov. DeWines goal – cleveland.com

March 18, 2021

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Ohio has moved closer toward reaching Gov. Mike DeWines test before he will lift state health orders, but remains well short of the governors threshold of 50 new cases per 100,000 residents over the last two weeks.

Cleveland.com estimates the state will report in its weekly update Thursday afternoon a rate close to 144 cases per 100,000 residents.

This would be an improvement over 155 cases per 100,000 reported last week, and the 179 cases per 100,000 reported two weeks ago when DeWine announced his plans on lifting the health orders.

The official number released by the state likely will differ some from the cleveland.com estimate, mainly because its unknown how many of the new cases involve incarcerated people. Two weeks ago, the state removed about 100 cases from its calculations because of this, a health department spokeswoman said.

These rates are not based on the daily reports of new cases, but rather cases in which symptoms are known to have begun in the last two weeks.

Ohio was last below the 50 cases per 100,000 over two weeks in June and was as high as 845.5 cases in December, according to this measure, the Ohio Department of Health has reported.

The Ohio Department of Health a week ago reported 155 coronavirus cases per 100,000 residents with an onset of symptoms in the previous two weeks, down from a high of 845.5 in mid-December. This rate excludes cases involving incarcerated individuals.Ohio Department of Health

County rates

Here are the rates by county. These rates include incarcerated individuals.

Rich Exner, data analysis editor for cleveland.com, writes about numbers on a variety of topics. Follow on Twitter @RichExner. See other data-related stories at cleveland.com/datacentral.

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Ohio drops to near 144 coronavirus cases per 100,000 over last two weeks in inching toward Gov. DeWines goal - cleveland.com

Oklahoma Dept. of Health switching how and when reporting COVID-19 data – KFOR Oklahoma City

March 18, 2021

Clarification: The original story has been updated to reflect a better understanding of changes being made by the state.

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) The Oklahoma State Department of Health is switching to reporting state COVID-19 data on a weekly rather than daily basis.

OSDH has released Oklahomas latest COVID-19 numbers, including new cases, deaths and hospitalizations, for the past year.

But now, OSDH officials will provide that data to Oklahomas COVID-19 dashboard on Wednesdays only.

OSDH released the following statement about the change:

A number of changes have been made, starting this week, to the states COVID-19 data dashboard. These changes are intended to better represent Oklahomas COVID-19 data to the public, said Joli Stone, Deputy State Epidemiologist. After a year of reporting daily numbers in many categories, with cases, deaths and hospitalizations all trending downward, and vaccination continuing to trend upward, we believe now is a good time to switch to weekly reporting. Data transparency has been and will continue to be important to OSDH, no matter the cadence of reporting.

OSDH is implementing the following changes:

Immunization data

CDC data

OSDH case investigation data

Other planned changes

KFOR will continue to provide the states COVID-19 data as it becomes available to us from OSDH.

Continued Coronavirus Coverage

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Oklahoma Dept. of Health switching how and when reporting COVID-19 data - KFOR Oklahoma City

Reflections On Coronavirus A Year In : Short Wave – NPR

March 18, 2021

An elderly couple wearing face masks walks in Madrid on April 30, 2020 during a national lockdown to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 disease. Gabriel Bouys/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

An elderly couple wearing face masks walks in Madrid on April 30, 2020 during a national lockdown to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 disease.

It's been about a year since the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a pandemic. The world has learned a lot in that time about how the virus spreads, who is at heightened risk and how the disease progresses. Today, Maddie walks us through some of these big lessons.

Follow NPR's continued coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.

Helpful links from the episode:

Reach the show by emailing shortwave@npr.org.

This episode was produced by Rebecca Ramirez, edited by Gisele Grayson, and fact-checked by Rasha Aridi. Stacey Abbott was the audio engineer. Special thanks to Ariela Zebede and Leah Donella.

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Reflections On Coronavirus A Year In : Short Wave - NPR

Poland reports 25,052 coronavirus cases, highest daily total this year – Reuters

March 18, 2021

WARSAW, March 17 (Reuters) - Poland reported 25,052 daily coronavirus cases on Wednesday, according to health ministry data, the highest number so far this year.

In total, the country of 38 million has reported 1,956,974 cases and 48,032 deaths. (Reporting by Alan Charlish and Pawel Florkiewicz; editing by John Stonestreet)

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Poland reports 25,052 coronavirus cases, highest daily total this year - Reuters

Coronavirus and travel: Everything you need to know – CNN

March 18, 2021

(CNN) Bathed in the faint light at the end of the once seemingly endless pandemic tunnel are visions of trips that reunite us with loved ones or take us to some blissfully new environment.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is still urging Americans -- even those who have been vaccinated -- not to travel, although a recent uptick in the number of passengers screened at US airport checkpoints indicates that people are traveling again in greater numbers.

So in many cases, we may be getting ahead of ourselves. But there is no doubt that interest in traveling and making future plans is picking up -- raising lots of questions about how to safely navigate the new travel landscape.

Each country has its own tangle of rules and restrictions, so almost any trip will require deep pre-travel research.

Here's what you need to consider as the pandemic eases:

Even if I can travel, should I?

Restrictions vary widely across the world, and for many people it is possible to travel domestically and internationally. Yet many public health officials would advise against it. As noted, the CDC recommends against travel right now.

"We are very worried about transmissible variants. A lot of them have come through our travel corridors, so we're being extra cautious right now with travel," CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky told CNN's Anderson Cooper on March 11.

Walensky noted that every time travel escalates, a surge in coronavirus cases follows, citing Independence Day, Labor Day and the winter holiday season.

City officials in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, are anticipating a large spring break crowd this month.

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Can I travel within my own country?

No matter where you are, it's important to check regional and national websites and resources for guidance and restrictions on travel.

Do I need a negative Covid-19 test to travel internationally?

In a great many cases, yes, you will need a negative Covid-19 test before you travel to another country.

A traveler takes a photo of a Covid-19 testing sign at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in February 2021.

Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

Do I need a negative Covid-19 test to get into the United States?

The requirement includes US citizens and legal permanent residents returning to the United States.

Nonessential travel is restricted across US land borders with Canada and Mexico.

Travelers arrive at a hotel in Melbourne, Australia, to quarantine in December 2020.

WILLIAM WEST/AFP/Getty Images

Will I have to quarantine?

Some countries require all travelers to quarantine and have narrow restrictions on the acceptable reasons for entering at all. Others have no quarantine requirements (Mexico, for one) or are much less restrictive.

Many popular tourism destinations in the Caribbean and elsewhere have adopted testing rules that allow international arrivals to bypass quarantine requirements with negative results.

It's important to check on specific requirements for your destination and for returning home.

Do I have to be vaccinated for international travel?

Some countries are allowing vaccinated travelers to bypass entry requirements they would otherwise need to comply with such as negative Covid-19 tests and quarantines. For example, travelers to Belize can bypass pre-departure Covid tests.

So while being vaccinated may not be a requirement to travel, proof of vaccination could significantly smooth the journey.

But being vaccinated is far from a carte blanche. Some countries are only welcoming vaccinated travelers from specific areas, such as the European Economic Area. And many haven't yet made a decision on vaccinated visitors.

So even if you're vaccinated, you'll need to make sure your destination is welcoming inoculated travelers from your location.

International air travelers are likely to share health information in the future via new apps.

Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images

How do I share my test results and vaccination status with officials and travel providers?

The confusing tangle of Covid regulations continues.

In the US, incoming travelers must present a "verifiable test result" to their airline. It "must be in the form of written documentation (paper or electronic copy) of a laboratory test result," according to the CDC.

When possible, take both electronic and paper copies wherever you travel.

The process for sharing test results and vaccination status varies by destination and in some cases they are only valid in specific languages.

There are a number of digital applications -- commonly referred to as "vaccine passports" or "vaccination certificates" -- in development that aim to streamline health information so that it's securely shareable across borders.

Tourists line up to board a boat in Playa del Carmen, Mexico on March 3, 2021. Mexico has some of the world's loosest travel rules.

Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images

I'm planning to travel. What can I do to decrease my risk of contracting or spreading the virus?

The mitigation strategies you use at home apply on the road. Vigilant hand hygiene, social distancing and mask use are key, as is avoiding crowded indoor spaces.

The advanced air filtration used on commercial airliners -- plus mask mandates on planes -- helps to lower the risk in flight.

Limiting stops and contact with others on road trips, social distancing and opting for contactless check-in at hotels are all important ways to reduce risk. As are focusing on outdoor activities and avoiding close contact with people outside of your bubble.

Hopefully, in the months to come, our worlds will expand well beyond our bubbles -- with careful country-by-country calculations.

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Coronavirus and travel: Everything you need to know - CNN

Five major unknowns about the coronavirus that are yet to be resolved – EL PAS in English

March 18, 2021

Never before has a topic been studied so intensely as the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. The scientific community has published nearly 350,000 studies on the pathogen, according to the British company Digital Science. But one year on from the start of the pandemic, important questions about the virus remain unanswered. EL PAS spoke with several experts about the five major unknowns about the coronavirus.

It is still not known how the novel coronavirus reached the live animal and seafood market in Wuhan. Dutch scientist Peter Ben Embarek, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) mission sent to China to investigate the origins of the pandemic, said on February 9 that it is extremely unlikely that the virus came from a laboratory. The WHO committee of experts is working with the main hypothesis that the coronavirus originated in bats and crossed into humans via an intermediary animal species, such as a mink or fox living in one of Chinas crowded fur farms. Other researchers, such as French virologist Etienne Decroly, from Aix-Marseille University, are more skeptical. There continue to be various possible hypotheses zoonoses [an infectious disease that is naturally transferable from vertebrate animals to humans], a laboratory accident, etcetera and they must be investigated in-depth, he says.

Decroly is one of 26 researchers who signed an open letter addressed to newspapers across the world, including EL PAS, to demand a full and unrestricted international forensic investigation into the origins of the virus. The authors of the letter highlight the lack of transparency in China and ask for all possible scenarios to be considered, including the possibility that a laboratory worker was infected while handing animal samples. The Wuhan Virology Institute is 14 kilometers from the live animal market, considered to be the source of the initial outbreak, but there is no evidence that the virus came from this scientific institute. Meanwhile, Argentine doctor Fernando Polack, the leader of two of the most important trials of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine, calls for measures to reduce the risk of future pandemics. How is the world going to regulate the health situation of live animal markets, which represent an impending risk for a repeat of these events? he asks.

The best news of the pandemic is that Covid-19 vaccines prevent practically 100% of serious cases. But according to virologist Isabel Sola, there is still a lot that is unknown about the inoculations. We still dont know how long immunity, both natural [from having recovered from a coronavirus infection] and that induced by vaccines, lasts for. Nor do we know how potent is this immunity and whether it completely protects against infection or just against the disease, explains Sola, who is the co-director of an experimental Covid-19 vaccine in Spains National Biotechnology Center (CNB-CSIC) in Madrid. If the current vaccines dont stop asymptomatic coronavirus cases, then the vaccinated should continue to wear face masks while in the presence of those who have not been immunized in order to prevent possible contagions. Many studies have already been launched to investigate this issue, and the preliminary results suggest that vaccines also prevent a large number of asymptomatic infections. Sola explains that depending on the bodys immune response there are three possible scenarios: the vaccines currently available will provide enough protection; yearly vaccinations will be needed; or new vaccines will have to be developed to stop asymptomatic infections and prevent serious cases of Covid-19.

The coronavirus has not stopped mutating. The uncontrolled spread of the pandemic facilitated the arrival of new variants of the virus that partially escape human defenses such as the strain detected in South Africa and Brazil and that are even more lethal, as is the case of the variant first detected in the United Kingdom, now present in around 100 countries. According to Spanish pathologist Elisabet Pujadas, a researcher at the Icahn Medicine School at the Mount Sinai hospital in New York, one of the biggest unanswered questions is about how effective the current Covid-19 vaccines will be against these new strains. Pujadas argues it is very possible that the vaccine will need to be periodically redesigned to target these variants, as happens with the annual flu shot.

In Spain, the coronavirus killed close to 1% of all cases recorded outside of senior residences, according to a study from the National Epidemiology Center, based on data from the first wave of the pandemic. The lethality of the coronavirus in men over the age of 80 is 12%, more than double the figure for women. Another big question, according to Sola, is why the virus kills some people, while others dont even realize they are infected. Pujadas agrees that this unknown needs to be addressed: In the most serious cases, we are seeing exaggerated immunological responses and hypercoagulability [the increased tendency of blood to thrombose]. We need to understand what is happening on a molecular level in order to develop more effective and personalized treatments.

Venezuelan doctor Alberto Paniz Mondolfi highlights another mystery: why a very small margin of children with the virus 0.02% of all cases recorded in under-18s in Spain has suffered a serious condition associated with the coronavirus known as multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children or MIS-C. Deciphering the causal determinants of this condition is one of the most important doubts we have in studying Covid, says Paniz Mandolfi, who also works at New Yorks Mount Sinai hospital. The syndrome has affected more than 2,600 children in the United States, 66% of whom were hispanic or Black, and led to 33 deaths, according to US health authorities.

This is one of the most important questions. Doctor Paniz Mondolfi underscores that there are four types of coronavirus now linked to the common cold that made the leap from animals to humans in the past. Its possible that in the future Covid will be an infection that occurs commonly, with possible outbreaks likely to be linked to the seasons, he says.

As an example, Paniz Mondolfi points to the great pandemic of the 19th century, the so-called Russian flu between 1889 and 1890. In 2005, a team led by Belgian virologist Marc Van Ranst discovered that the cause of that pandemic was not a flu virus, but rather a coronavirus called OC34, which today is practically harmless. This is a clear example of the path the SARS-CoV-2 virus could be taking: from the protagonist of a pandemic to the supporting actor in flu seasons. Only time will tell, he says.

The head of Spains National Epidemiological Center, Marina Polln raises many questions about the future: Will face masks be commonplace? How will the move to online meetings affect our psychology and social interaction? How will the idea of another person being a potential transmitter of infection change our way of relating to one another? The epidemiologist hopes society is able to learn lessons from the coronavirus pandemic, such as the need to improve care of the elderly and the importance of strengthening the health system and scientific research. We are intelligent, an experience like this should help us to recognize weak points in how we organize ourselves and improve them, says Polln. Pujadas adds another incognita to the list: how much care will be needed by patients with so-called long Covid.

English version by Melissa Kitson.

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Five major unknowns about the coronavirus that are yet to be resolved - EL PAS in English

Links between COVID-19 and skin rashes – Medical News Today

March 18, 2021

As we pass the 1-year mark of the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists are still discovering the specific characteristics of this new disease.

Perhaps the most obvious physical impact of COVID-19 is on the lungs, but doctors and researchers have also found links between COVID-19 and various other organs and systems, including the heart, brain, and kidneys.

SARS-CoV-2 infection also appears to affect the largest organ of the body the skin.

In a recent study, which appears in the British Journal of Dermatology, a group of researchers teamed up with the British Association of Dermatologists to develop a better understanding of the skin manifestations associated with COVID-19.

Stay informed with live updates on the current COVID-19 outbreak and visit our coronavirus hub for more advice on prevention and treatment.

The first mention of a link between COVID-19 and skin changes came from China in the early phase of the outbreak.

Initially, it seemed that skin changes were relatively uncommon. In one analysis from February 2020, for instance, researchers reported rashes in fewer than 0.2% of 1,099 people with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 across 552 hospitals.

Shortly after, in March, a study identified cutaneous manifestations in 18 out of 88 patients, or 20.4%, who were receiving treatment for COVID-19 at one hospital in Italy.

Since then, a number of other studies have identified skin changes associated with COVID-19. However, some of these reports only included limited numbers of participants. To date, scientists have not identified the full extent and variety of skin changes related to SARS-CoV-2 infection.

The most recent study investigates the issue in a large sample of participants.

The authors of the recent study took data from the COVID Symptom Study app. This collects a wealth of data, including information about participants age, sex, ethnicity, weight, height, general health, and use of medications, as well as whether the person is a healthcare worker.

Since May 2020, the app has prompted users to report any SARS-CoV-2 testing and results. A person can also report any symptoms.

In all, the researchers had access to data from 336,847 app users, 17,407 of whom had undergone a SARS-CoV-2 test, either positive or negative. The scientists also included data from 54,652 people who had registered at least one symptom of COVID-19 but had not taken a test. The authors refer to this group as symptomatic untested users.

Additionally, the researchers sent out a survey, which was advertised on social media. This was not targeted at users of the app. It asked for information about when a rash appeared, how long it lasted, and what other symptoms were present.

From this survey, the researchers extracted usable data from 11,544 people. Of this group, 2,328 had provided a photo of their rash and gave permission to share it. The team selected a subset of these photos, which they whittled down to 260 images.

The images were blindly assessed and independently categorized by four experienced dermatologists. Among the 260 photographs, 52 were discarded by at least one dermatologist, and 208 images were analyzed.

Of the 2,021 app users who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, 8.8% reported skin-related changes, 6.8% reported body rashes, and 3.1% reported rashes on the hands or feet, which are called acral rashes.

The authors note that only 1.1% of this group experienced both body and acral rashes, suggesting that the two occur for different reasons, the researchers believe.

The body rashes, they theorize, might be caused by immunological reactions to the virus, whereas acral rashes could result from blood clots or damaged blood vessel walls.

In the group of untested symptomatic users who reported at least one of the main symptoms of COVID-19, the results were similar, with 8.2% reporting skin changes.

From the independent survey of 11,544 participants, the researchers analyzed the timing of skin changes.

According to the analysis of survey respondents who had tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 and experienced skin changes, 47% of these changes appeared at the same time as other COVID-19 symptoms. For 35% of the respondents, skin changes developed after other symptoms had started.

For 17% of the participants in this group, a rash appeared before other symptoms. And, interestingly, in 21% of participants, a rash was the only symptom.

Using the photos of the participants rashes, the scientists identified the most common types, which were:

Acral lesions and papular rashes lasted for an average of 13 or 14 days, respectively, and urticaria for just 5 days.

The scientists have added the images to an online database.

It is crucial to note that the participants in this study were predominantly white Europeans. As the researchers acknowledge, We could not assess whether ethnicity affected the prevalence of cutaneous symptoms, as the number of nonEuropean users with skin symptoms was too low.

Also, the authors explain that their study sample contained larger proportions of female and younger individuals, compared with those observed in hospital settings.

Another limitation is that the study relied on self-reported data. Countering this concern, the authors point out that The presence of a rash, especially if symptomatic, is less subjective and more specific than other symptoms, such as fatigue or headaches.

The team also recognizes that some skin reactions could have been caused by medications taken to treat COVID-19 or other conditions. However, the authors believe that Drugs are unlikely to have been a major alternate cause of rashes.

Cutaneous manifestations of COVID-19 are sometimes the first or even the only sign of SARS-CoV-2 infection, explains senior author Dr. Mario Falchi, of Kings College London, in the United Kingdom. He continues:

Recognition of such early signs and symptoms of COVID-19 may enable identification of cases missed when relying only on the core symptoms, allowing preventive measures to be put in place to minimize further spreading of the infection.

For live updates on the latest developments regarding the novel coronavirus and COVID-19, click here.

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Links between COVID-19 and skin rashes - Medical News Today

Texas school nurses battle the pandemic, but not all districts have them – The Texas Tribune

March 18, 2021

Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.

Working as a school nurse is not just ice and boo-boos.

Thats how Marisa Thomison, a nurse at a Hutto Independent School District elementary school, explains her profession, which has become a crucial component of public health during the pandemic. At Veterans Hill Elementary School, she manages students medical histories, administers medications, provides health education and tries to keep COVID-19 from spreading widely among students and staff.

Among her tasks: keeping parents and teachers calm when she calls to tell them they were in contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19. Thomison said she and her colleagues have been cussed out and even physically threatened by parents who are scared and frustrated at having to keep their children home for weeks.

Its the immediate, Oh my God, I have a job. How can I have someone watch my kid? What am I going to do? Thomison said.

Unlike their peers in hospital COVID-19 units, school nurses have not had to care for dying patients. They are serving on the front lines of the pandemic in a different way: tracking who has been exposed to the virus, testing staff and students who experience symptoms and diagnosing signs of anxiety in traumatized students.

Thomison is one of 13 nurses in her school district, which makes her lucky. Texas law doesn't require public schools to have full-time nurses, and many don't. In 2019-2020, more than 8,000 Texas public schools employed about 6,100 full-time school nurses, according to state data.

State Rep. Shawn Thierry, D-Houston, has filed a bill this legislative session to require all districts to employ at least one full-time nurse per school and keep a ratio of at least one full-time nurse for every 750 students enrolled. Hiring more nurses would cost districts or the state money, and Thierry said she wasnt yet sure exactly how much.

These are essential workers, so it is a cost that we cant afford to cut any longer. Even one childs life lost would be tragic, she said.

Similar bills have failed in previous sessions, but the coronavirus pandemic has shown the scope and importance of school nurses jobs. Without a trained health professional to track how the virus has spread on campuses, schools are less able to avoid major outbreaks, said Becca Harkleroad, advocacy chair for the Texas School Nurses Organization and a nurse in Lake Travis ISD.

I cant imagine what its like during this time to not have a nurse. A lot of times it falls to the front office staff to take care of the kids and send kids home who may be sick, she said. The advocacy group is also asking the state to track how many schools have nurses and whether they are covering more than one campus, a current hole in available state data. And it is championing a bill filed by state Sen. Beverly Powell, D-Burleson, which would allow schools to use money previously allocated for school safety to pay for additional nurses.

The sole school nurse for 320-student Marfa ISD, Beverly Dutchover, springs into action after a parent or teacher reports a positive COVID-19 case. She asks who they ate lunch with, tracks down class schedules and calls dozens of parents. Sometimes, if more than one person in a small classroom tests positive, she closes down the entire room and demands everyone stay home and quarantine for two weeks.

In the fall and early winter, tourists flocking to Marfa and Big Bend National Park fueled a surge in COVID-19 cases and overwhelmed local hospital capacity. Cases among Marfa ISD students and teachers spiked to about 15 in October before dropping again. Now that Gov. Greg Abbott has repealed the states mask mandate, Dutchover worries cases will spike again.

It upset me. It made me sad to think that especially with all these nurses and doctors who work so hard to keep people alive in the hospitals, and then he went and did this, Dutchover said of the governors decision.

This spring, the state gave school boards the power to opt out of requiring masks on their campuses, which could make some school nurses jobs even more challenging.

Debates over which safety policies are necessary for in-person learning have fractured some school communities, with 56% of students learning in person as of January. Marfa ISD will continue to require masks, but some school districts have already opted out. Dutchover knows that even if students and teachers wear masks on campus, they may not wear them while hanging out with friends or running errands, heightening the risk of transmission.

Masks indoors are crucial in preventing the virus from spreading, experts say, and school nurses know from experience. Tracy Ayers, district nurse in rural Caldwell ISD, recalled the time about five players on the girls soccer team tested positive for COVID-19. Upon contact tracing, she learned the outbreak stemmed from close contact on a school bus: The girls were eating with no masks. By contrast, the football coaches were adamant about having their players wear masks and sit far apart on the bus, and the season netted few cases.

When I see lax behavior in mask wearing in particular is where I tend to see cases that will rise, she said.

At the beginning of the school year, about half of Caldwell ISDs students were learning in person. Now, nearly all are. The districts school board will likely hear public comments after spring break from community members advocating to drop the mask order.

Even taking a trip to one of the local grocery stores, some will wear masks and others dont, Ayers said. I understand where parents are coming from in that they want normalcy for their kids. From where Im coming from as a health provider and seeing how much masks are working, I want their kids in school and I want them healthy.

The symptoms of the pandemic go beyond the purely physical. Thomison has noticed an increase in anxiety among staff members and students. Recently a student came into her office for the second day in a row, concerned about their symptoms. Before the pandemic, Thomison would have sat on the cot next to the student, met them at eye level and convinced them to open up. Now, she had to sit six feet away in a chair, fully outfitted in goggles and a mask. The student eventually confessed to being terrified of getting COVID-19 because a relative had it, and Thomison calmed them down.

She felt the strain of the distance between her and the student. We cant do for our students like we normally would. Our work can only provide so much comfort but its not going to allay anybodys true fears, she said. I cant nurse the way Im used to because we do have safety restrictions. ...It takes a big toll. Were trying, but were also feeling the effects.

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Texas school nurses battle the pandemic, but not all districts have them - The Texas Tribune

COVID in Illinois: Vaccine updates, new cases, deaths and other news Tuesday – Chicago Tribune

March 16, 2021

From left: Lily Wang, assistant general manager at Moon Palace; Jesse Montoya, server at Ramen-san Deluxe; Damarr Brown, chef de cuisine, Virtue; and Carol Trail, manager, Burt's Place, are four essential hospitality workers among the recipients of the Person of the Year award. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)

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COVID in Illinois: Vaccine updates, new cases, deaths and other news Tuesday - Chicago Tribune

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