- Overdose deaths by zip code: Philly’s crisis expands outside of Kensington with rising deaths in North and Southwest neighborhoods The Philadelphia Inquirer
- CRISIS IN KENSINGTON: If ‘good old-fashion heroin’ was back, life would be better, recovering addict says Fox News
- Tranq dope turning up in central Pa., hindering overdose reversal, causing rotting flesh wounds Williamsport Sun-Gazette
- Tranq dope spreading in Pa., hindering overdose reversal, causing rotting flesh wounds Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
- Philadelphia mayor candidate: ‘I would shut down Kensington,’ clear drugs and crime Fox News
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Tag Archives: neighborhoods
Biden-Harris Administration Opens Applications for First Round of $2.5 Billion Program to Build EV Charging in Communities & Neighborhoods Nationwide | FHWA – Federal Highway Administration
- Biden-Harris Administration Opens Applications for First Round of $2.5 Billion Program to Build EV Charging in Communities & Neighborhoods Nationwide | FHWA Federal Highway Administration
- Gov’t opens $2.5 billion for EV chargers in rural and underserved areas Ars Technica
- Biden Government Initiates $2.4B EV Charging Program – Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), Ford Motor (NYSE:F), General Benzinga
- Biden admin announces $2.5B in grants for EV chargers Fox Business
- US government opens $2.5 billion in funding for community EV chargers Engadget
- View Full Coverage on Google News
Flooding prompts closure of major Bay Area highway and evacuation warnings in northern California neighborhoods
CNN
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Heavy precipitation and snow melt flooded roads and led to freeway closures and evacuation warnings in Northern California on Saturday, officials said.
At one point, US Highway 101 – one of California’s most famous routes – was closed in both directions in South San Francisco as “water is not receding due to non-stop rainfall & high tides preventing the water to displace,” California Highway Patrol said in an evening update. The freeway reopened later Saturday evening after flood waters receded, CHP said.
Authorities were also working to rescue submerged vehicles from the highway after some had chosen to drive through the closures, the agency said.
The California Department of Transportation also advised of a partial closure of Interstate 80 near the Nevada line midday Saturday “due to multiple spinouts over Donner Summit.” Driving through the mountain pass in the Sierra Nevada range has required tire chains for much of this month due to heavy snowfall.
In Sacramento County and adjacent areas, residents were advised to avoid travel as wind gusts of up to 55 mph toppled trees and covered roads with debris, according to a tweet from the National Weather Service in Sacramento.
A strong storm that brought widespread heavy rain Friday through Saturday, creating a flood threat for much of Northern and Central California, is nearing unprecedented levels.
By Saturday evening, San Francisco was closing in on breaking the city’s record for single wettest day ever.
“Downtown San Francisco is now at 5.45 inches, just 9 hundredths of an inch away from the daily (midnight to midnight) record of 5.54 inches,” the National Weather Service said in a 5 p.m. update on Twitter.
And meanwhile, an active jet stream pattern also brought a parade of storms fueled by an atmospheric river of Pacific moisture.
An atmospheric river is a long, narrow region in the atmosphere which can transport moisture thousands of miles, like a fire hose in the sky. This heavy rainfall will slide southward to Southern California on Saturday and Sunday, accompanied by gusty winds of 30 to 50 mph.
Several small communities in northern California were under evacuation orders and warnings Saturday due to flooding. Three communities near the city of Watsonville were told to evacuate by the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office due to creek flooding, while officials ordered the communities of Paradise Park and Felton to evacuate due to rising levels of the San Lorenzo River.
Neighborhoods near the Santa Rita Creek in Monterey County were put under a warning Saturday afternoon because of concerns the creek “will spill over its banks,” according to the sheriff’s office.
Evacuations from the floodwaters were being conducted Saturday with the help of an armored rescue vehicle in south San Ramon.
Residents in the community of Wilton, roughly 20 miles from Sacramento, were ordered to shelter in place due to the rains and floods.
“Rising water has made roads impassable in the area,” Sacramento County officials said on Facebook, urging those who were already on the road to head to safety and those who were home to “stay at home.”
The county on Saturday issued a proclamation of local state of emergency for the winter storms, saying the atmospheric river it’s been experiencing has caused “significant transportation impacts, rising creek and river levels and flooding” in the Wilton area.
A flood watch for more than 16 million is in effect including the entire Bay Area and Central Valley though Saturday night. Rain could ease Saturday evening before the calendar turns to 2023.
Earlier weather predictions said widespread rainfall accumulations of 2 to 4 inches are expected in northern and central California, but locally higher amounts of 5 to 7 inches are also possible for the foothills.
Northern California and the central California coast have already received 2 to 4 inches of rain in the last week. The cumulative effect of multiple Pacific storm systems laden with moisture from a potent atmospheric river will make impacts such as flash floods and landslides more likely.
Videos and photos shared by the National Weather Service in San Francisco show fallen trees blocking roadways, and multiple landslides.
In Oakland, local officials urged people to stay off the roads due to the heavy rain and flooding.
“If you have to travel, use caution. City crews are working through a backlog of reports of flooding and other weather impacts,” the city posted on Twitter.
Hurricane Ian’s death toll rises as crews in Florida go door-to-door in search for survivors in decimated neighborhoods
CNN
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After Hurricane Ian obliterated communities in Florida, rescue crews going door-to-door in search of survivors are reporting more deaths, and residents grappling with the losses are facing a long, daunting recovery.
As of Monday, at least 101 people have been reported killed by the hurricane in Florida – 54 of them in Lee County alone. Ian also claimed the lives of four people in North Carolina.
Ian slammed into Florida as a furious Category 4 hurricane last Wednesday. Days later, there are residents of island communities cut off from the mainland, hundreds of thousands of people without power, and Floridians who have found themselves homeless.
In some cases, government officials dealing with recovery efforts are among those who lost their homes.
Fort Myers Beach City Councilman Bill Veach said his 90-year-old cottage is in ruins, with only one section that was a recent addition left standing. Pieces of his home were found two blocks away, he said.
“When you are walking around the ruins, it’s an apocalyptic scene,” Veach said of his neighborhood.
Still, even in the wreckage, there have been moments of hope, he said.
“You see a friend that you weren’t sure was alive or dead and that brings you joy. A joy that is so much more than the loss of property,” Veach added.
Rescuers throughout the state have been coming to the aid of trapped residents via boat and aircraft. More than 1,900 people have been rescued as of Monday, Gov. Ron DeSantis said during a news conference.
Some residents who were anxiously waiting to hear from their loved ones have received unimaginable news.
Elizabeth McGuire’s family said they last spoke with her Wednesday and had been having trouble reaching her. They learned Friday that the 49-year-old had been found dead in her Cape Coral home.
Police told her family she died in her bed holding her cell phone and it looked like she died instantly, her son Andrew Chedester said.
McGuire’s mother, Susan McGuire, said the destruction of the storm “is massive.”
“One hundred blizzards will not cost you what one hurricane will cost you,” said Susan McGuire, who moved to Florida from Maryland a few years ago. “My husband’s business whipped out, my daughter is dead … I never had a blizzard take anything away from me.”
On Sanibel Island, now cut off from the Florida peninsula after Ian wiped out a portion of the roadway connecting them, every house shows damage, Sanibel Fire Chief William Briscoe said.
“There are a lot places that are not livable. There are places off their foundation, and it’s very dangerous out there,” Briscoe said. “There are alligators running around, and there are snakes all over the place.”
Crews have evacuated 1,000 people from Sanibel since Hurricane Ian ripped through the island, according to Briscoe.
A similar situation is playing out on nearby Pine Island, the largest barrier island on Florida’s Gulf Coast. Just days ago, it was a tranquil fishing and kayaking destination known for its small-town atmosphere. Now it is a scene of carnage, with cracked roadways and destroyed homes.
Ian destroyed the only bridge to Pine Island, making it only accessible by boat or aircraft.
Supplies are now being air dropped to the island by helicopter as some residents choose to stay, authorities said.
“Food is being delivered to Pine Island. Now, is it enough to sustain them over a long period of time? I can’t say that yet, none of us can,” Lee County Manager Roger Desjarlais said Monday.
Emergency physician Dr. Ben Abo, who joined rescuers on Pine Island, said crews are encountering residents who were in denial the storm would hit the area and are now running out of supplies.
“I’m seeing a lot of despair, but I’m also seeing hope,” Abo said. “I’m seeing urban search and rescue, fire rescue, bringing hopes to people that we’re going to get through this. But we have to do it in stages.”
Work is underway to install a temporary bridge for Pine Island and the goal is to have it completed by the end of the week, DeSantis said Monday.
“This is not necessarily going to be a bridge you’re going to want to go 45 miles per an hour over maybe, but at least you’ll have connectivity to the mainland,” the governor said.
The National Guard will also be flying power crews to Sanibel and Pine islands to start working on restoring power.
At Fort Myers Beach, power may not be restored on for 30 days due to damage to the electrical infrastructure, according to Desjarlais.
He painted a somber picture of the area, describing thousands of destroyed boats and vessels that have ended up in yards, in mangroves, and sunk in shallow waters and environmental hazards from leaking diesel and fuel.
After Ian slammed into Florida’s west coast, a Naples man trekked through nearly half a mile of floodwater to save his 85-year-old mother.
Johnny Lauder, a former police officer, told CNN he sprang into action after his mother, who uses a wheelchair, called in a panic and said water was rushing into her home and reaching her chest.
He arrived at her home to find her neck-deep in floodwater, but happy to see her son.
“The water was up to the windows, and I heard her screaming inside,” Lauder said. “It was a scare and a sigh of relief at the time – a scare thinking she might be hurt, a sigh of relief knowing that there was still air in her lungs.”
Lauder was able to bring his mother to safety as floodwaters began to recede.
It’s unclear how many people remain unaccounted for after the storm. Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie said authorities are working to consolidate a list of the missing.
Tonia Werner is among those waiting to hear news about a loved one. It’s been three days since she heard anything about her father, David Park, who was admitted to ShorePoint ICU in Port Charlotte days before Hurricane Ian made landfall.
“As of Friday he was on a ventilator and that’s the last contact,” Tonia told CNN. “No phones, nothing. I don’t even know if he’s alive. I have reached out every which way I can think of, begging for information because we’re stuck. And there’s no way to get to him.”
Tonia lives nearly an hour away from Port Charlotte and is cut off from being able to reach the area by flooding in Arcadia, which has blocked access for anybody to get across town, she said.
Hospitals in Florida have been experiencing “significant pressure” on capacity since Ian hit, said Mary Mayhew, president and CEO of the Florida Hospital Association.
Emergency departments have sustained damage, staffing has been impacted as many hospital workers have been displaced or lost their vehicles in the hurricane, and facilities lost reliable access to water.
Hospitals also don’t typically discharge patients who don’t have a place to go, whether their homes were damaged in the storm or their nursing homes were evacuated and temporarily closed.
Housing cools but the shortage persists
The US Census Bureau reported that new residential housing units were started at an annual rate of 1.549 million in May, a whopping 14.4% decline from April and 3.5% below the rate of starts in May 2021. The sudden cooling off was attributed to both rapid price appreciation and a sharp spike in mortgage rates moving affordability beyond the reach of many buyers.
Single family home prices rose by nearly 20% in 2021 driven by strong demand and exacerbated by critical shortages of materials and labor in the wake of the pandemic. But the housing crunch is not merely an artifact of the Covid supply chain disruption or the improvement in consumer debt profile and savings rates. The shortage of US housing has been building for nearly four decades and the market is still suffering a major hangover from the 2006 financial collapse.
The fact is that American housing construction has simply not kept pace with population growth since the 1980s. The April housing starts of 1.8 million units at an annual rate only just got us back to the 1998 level of new home construction and lags well behind the 2.5 million annual rate of the early 1970s. Meanwhile, the US population has grown by over 50% during that same period. And even though the Fed’s ongoing rate hikes are dampening demand for now, the long-term imbalance will take many more years to abate.
While many remember the early 2000s as a period of excess in the residential real estate market, the fact is that construction of new dwelling units was just beginning to ramp up to meet population growth before the bottom fell out. It was not overbuilding per se but a confluence of factors relating to how the building expansion was financed that led to the catastrophic collapse that nearly took down the entire US economy. Persistent changes resulting from the crash have continued to hinder a full recovery in new construction ever since.
The factors leading to the 2006 crash are legion, including misguided government policy, the rise of nonbank lending, securitization of mortgage loans including subprime loans with lax underwriting, regulatory gaps, as well as greed and deceit by mortgage originators. It is estimated that $14 trillion in American wealth was destroyed, and that the average family suffered a 39% decline in net worth. Several reforms to mortgage lending and securitization were adopted in the aftermath of the carnage that made it more difficult to qualify for a home loan but also pushed some potential buyers out of the market.
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New privately-owned housing units started
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Perhaps the most significant factor in the underbuilding of residential units is the carnage suffered by homebuilders during the crash. Prior to the Great Recession, the direct and indirect impact of residential construction and sales accounted for 15%-20% of US GDP. As the result of the ensuing crash into 2007-2009, over half of all residential builders left the industry due to financial stress or bankruptcy. Nearly one quarter of all US mortgages went underwater, leading millions of homeowners to mail in their keys to the bank. Millions of skilled construction workers left their trade behind to seek other employment, creating a skills deficit that has yet to be supplanted. Many builders today attest that the pandemic merely accentuated an already acute shortage of skilled labor.
Complicating the general underbuilding of dwellings is the mix of new construction. New supply of entry-level homes is particularly constrained. The share of new single-family units under 1,400 square feet comprises only about 10% of all homes compared with about a third of all homes in the 1970s, leaving many first-time buyers shut out of the market.
Local zoning laws in many communities favor individual homes and severely limit permitting of multi-family units, even where local market demand prefers them over stand-alone houses. Meanwhile, the regulatory burden on contractors has increased exponentially over the past generation and according to the National Association of Homebuilders accounts for 25% of the cost of the average home. This makes construction of entry-level housing essentially unprofitable.
The magnitude of the construction shortfall can be seen in the accompanying chart which shows the ratio of new housing starts to the level of population going back to the early 1970s. The graph shows the general downtrend in homes started per 1,000 population and highlights how construction has yet to fully recover from the 2006 crash.
A report from the National Association of Realtors in 2021 notes that on average, new dwelling units per year since 2001 have averaged around 1.25 million compared with 1.5 million from 1968 through 2000, creating an estimated deficit of 5.5 to 6.8 million homes. The report states that “the scale of underbuilding and the existing demand-supply gap is enormous… and will require a major national commitment to build more housing of all types.”
The current cooling of demand may provide some relief to allow stressed supply chains to normalize and to train more skilled workers. But the broader issue is complex, involving governments at every level to rethink lending, zoning, and regulatory policy to allow the market to respond appropriately.
Christopher A. Hopkins, CFA
6 injured in downtown Chattanooga shooting Saturday
(READ MORE: Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly says Saturday night shooting began with disagreement between kids)
Six people were injured, two suffering from life-threatening injuries, after a shooting in downtown Chattanooga Saturday night.
Around 10:48 p.m., police officers heard gunshots in the area of 100 Cherry Street and then saw multiple people fleeing the area, according to police. Police began rendering aid to the gunshot victims who were then transported to the hospital.
Police said they don’t believe all of the victims were an intended target, and officers were able to detain one person of interest in the incident. Chattanooga police said there is not an ongoing safety concern.
“Last night, our city felt the terrible cost of gun violence,” Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly said in a statement on Twitter. “My heart is with the families whose lives have been upended by this horrific situation. This is unacceptable – our city and our community will act.”
Police spokesperson Jeremy Eames said he did not have ages or a status on the victims Sunday but most of them were teenagers or in their early 20s.
“We had large groups of juveniles walking around the downtown area this date and we believe it’s from within that group that the shooting took place,” he said in an email.
— Compiled by Allison Shirk
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Google Earth tool shows 37-year timelapse of neighborhoods
Google Earth comes loaded with plenty of cool features, including a time-lapse tool that can show you how our planet has changed.
Alphabet’s Google Earth is one of the handiest tools to exist in our time.
The service uses satellite imaging to let you explore all corners of the world – some in 3D – from your computer.
And as of last April, users can now access a clever time-lapse feature that shows how their neighborhood has changed over the last 37 years.
Googler sourced more than 24 million satellite photos taken over four decades for the tool.
This feature aims to show “not just problems but also solutions,” per a Google blog post.
Rebecca Moore, the director of Google Earth, further noted that the Google Earth’s time-lapse tool can also display “mesmerizingly beautiful natural phenomena that unfold over decades”.
The tech giant has plans to add new images to the project continuously over the next decade.
Google is working closely with NASA, the US Geological Survey’s Landsat program, and the European Union’s Copernicus program on the project.
Meanwhile, the time-lapse feature is being powered by Carnegie Mellon University’s CREATE Lab.
How to view a time-lapse of your hometown
First, go to your browser, then follow this link: g.co/Timelapse.
Next, head to the “Search the planet” search bar and enter any place on Earth.
Once you select an address, Google Earth will pull it up and begin showing the time-lapse.
The time-lapse map will appear on the left, and the search bar will be to the right.
Users can use the plus and minus buttons to zoom in and out, respectively.
You can also play or pause the time-lapse using the settings above the search bar.
This story originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced here with permission.
There’s a Depressing Link Between Where You Live And Dementia Risk
A population-based study in Australia has found that the quality of your neighborhood can be linked to the risk of developing dementia later in life.
The research was based on the health data of 4,656 individuals from various states and regions between 2016 and 2020, as part of a larger study called the Healthy Brain Project. These participants were between the ages of 40 and 70, and none of them had been formally diagnosed with dementia.
Breaking down the results, the authors found those who lived in wealthier neighborhoods scored significantly higher on memory tests and lower on dementia risk tests than those who live in disadvantaged areas.
The differences were especially large among older adults and individuals with higher dementia scores.
“Together, these data suggest that persons in more disadvantaged neighborhoods generally have higher dementia risk scores and subtle differences in memory, even in midlife,” the authors conclude.
The findings are supported by recent research in the United States, which has also found a higher incidence of Alzheimer’s disease among disadvantaged neighborhoods.
Interestingly, however, other studies in the United Kingdom have only found a higher risk of dementia among individuals with a lower personal socioeconomic status, not among neighborhoods.
Further research is needed to tease apart the various psychological, social and environmental factors that could be impacting these results. That way, public health experts can try to tackle the problem with the greatest efficiency.
Chronic exposure to air pollution in China and Mexico City, for instance, has recently been tied to cognitive decline, even in young people. Air pollution also tends to be worse in disadvantaged neighborhoods, which means this could be part of what’s driving memory problems in lower socioeconomic groups.
Diet is another factor that could be at play. The Mediterranean diet, for instance, shows potential benefits for cognitive function as we age, but healthy foods like vegetables, berries, nuts, olive oil, and fish are typically more expensive, and adherence to this diet is generally associated with a higher socioeconomic status.
Access to green spaces, which also tend to be few and far between in disadvantaged neighborhoods, may be another factor impacting cognitive health among older adults. The same goes for access to healthcare and educational institutions like schools and libraries.
The researchers suggest that up to 40 percent of dementia cases are preventable, so if experts can figure out what risk factors might mitigate cognitive decline, we could potentially protect a large chunk of the aging population from this common group of conditions.
“With healthy lifestyle habits a key factor in reducing or delaying your risk of developing dementia, it is important for everyone to have access to local facilities such as gyms and public pools, green spaces and health care, but unfortunately that is not always the case,” says neurologist Matthew Pase from Monash University in Melbourne.
“More research is needed to better understand the barriers for people so that informed solutions can be delivered at a community level to address the inequalities.”
The study was published in JAMA Network Open.
New Orleans-area tornado: Crews comb through devastated neighborhoods after a tornado kills 1 and leaves thousands without power
One twister killed one person and caused heavy damage in the Arabi neighborhood in St. Bernard Parish just outside New Orleans on Tuesday night, parish President Guy McInnis told CNN. Eight people were injured and went to hospitals for treatment, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon after touring damaged areas.
Some houses collapsed; others were pulled from their foundations and left in streets. Roofs were ripped off others, and vehicles were overturned.
Streets and yards were littered with wood, metal and downed power lines. An overturned school bus ended up 100 yards from where it had been parked.
“It’s about a 2-mile stretch (of damage). … We have stretches of streets where there are no homes now, McInnis told CNN’s “New Day” on Wednesday.
“It was a miracle” that more people weren’t killed or hurt, McInnis said.
The tornado that hit Arabi touched down in New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward and the New Orleans East community just before 8 p.m. Tuesday, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell said.
That twister had winds of at least 136 mph, meaning it was preliminarily rated at least an EF-3 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, the National Weather Service said Wednesday.
But it may been a low-end EF-4, Gavin Phillips, with the weather service, told CNN. The final determination will come once all assessments, including of the damage, are complete.
“This is like nothing we’ve ever seen here in New Orleans,” Phillips said. “We had an EF-3 out in the New Orleans East area about five years ago, but this seems to be a little bit higher than that.”
About 50 structures had some damage in New Orleans East, but no injuries or significant damage were reported in the city, officials said Wednesday afternoon.
By hitting eastern New Orleans and St. Bernard Parish, that twister touched some of the areas worst hit by 2005’s Hurricane Katrina and battered by last year’s Hurricane Ida. Workers are now focused on tornado cleanup and recovery, McInnis said.
“This parish lost more population after Katrina than any other parish in the state, especially as a percentage of the population, and these people moved back to St. Bernard, and they rebuilt,” the governor said. “They are resilient and wonderful people and that was on full display last night, the way that they were taking care of one another.”
“It’s more than people should have to bear. (Hurricane) Ida came through this area just this past August and we’re still recovering from that in many ways,” Edwards added.
Officials believe emergency workers have searched every affected home in St. Bernard Parish, McInnis said.
A separate tornado touched down around Lacombe in St. Tammany Parish, across Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans, on Tuesday evening, the National Weather Service said. Dozens of trees were snapped, a shed was destroyed, and some minor roof damage was reported, according to the weather service.
No reports of injuries were immediately made in Lacombe, though some homes were left without power, the parish government said on Twitter.
The Lacombe-area tornado was on the ground for 12.2 miles and had a maximum width of 100 yards, the weather service said. Peak winds were preliminarily estimated at 90 mph, giving it an EF-1 rating, the weather service said.
Family ducked under a mattress as tornado passed
Arabi resident Damarys Olea said she, her husband and children — ages 6 and 8 — covered themselves with a mattress in a bathroom of their house as the tornado roared through the area.
Her house was largely spared, though all the windows were blown out. Downed power lines were draped across her cars, her house and her yard.
Olea felt pressure in her ears as the tornado approached, and at one point felt like she had blacked out, she said.
“We felt the pressure, and it was scary. It was like being in a movie,” Olea said. “The wind, the pressure, the noise, the house shaking … it just felt like a train was going by.”
Also in Arabi, Christine Wiecek said she and her husband Rob Patchus consider themselves lucky to have ridden out the tornado in their home.
Their carport, fence and gutters sustained significant damage, and projectiles punched relatively small holes in their roof, Wiecek said. One of their cars has a smashed windshield, but both vehicles still can run.
“When the watch turned to a warning, I shut off the stove, we grabbed the cats, and went into an interior bathroom, the one room without windows,” she said. “Within two minutes, the storm was passing over us. It was really loud, the house shook, and we couldn’t stop the poor, startled cats from running around like crazy in the tiny space.”
“I was sitting on the floor with my back against the door, and could feel wind coming under the door, even though the doors and windows were closed,” she said.
The neighborhood was closed to traffic Wednesday morning, aside from emergency vehicles, Wiecek said.
“There’s so much debris that we’re not sure what’s underneath all of it yet,” she said.
Governor declares emergency, and thousands are left without power
A tornado also may have struck Tuesday in nearby Jefferson Parish, according to a tweet from the parish government. No reports of injuries or major damage were immediately made there, according to the tweet.
Edwards, the governor, declared an emergency Wednesday because of damage in St. Bernard, Orleans, Jefferson and St. Tammany parishes, his office said.
“Unfortunately this morning, many of our people are waking up with their lives upside down because of the tragic tornadoes last night in St. Bernard, Orleans, Jefferson and St. Tammany parishes. Sadly, one person has died in the storm, and we are praying that there are no more fatalities,” Edwards said in a news release.
More than 2,800 customers were without power in Orleans and St. Bernard parishes late Wednesday afternoon — down from more than 10,000 late Tuesday, according to PowerOutage.us. Crews were working to restore power to those impacted, Cantrell said.
Arabi Elementary School was closed Wednesday, the St. Bernard Parish Public School System said. “All other public schools in St. Bernard Parish will be open and follow normal schedules,” the district said.
New Orleans police and other emergency workers were staging to help in St. Bernard Parish, Cantrell said.
“Residents should avoid all travel that isn’t essential, to provide an opportunity for the professionals to handle this situation,” she said.
CNN’s Alisha Ebrahimji, Jamiel Lynch, Christina Maxouris, Kelly McCleary, Steve Almasy, Devon Sayers, Monica Garrett, Gregory Lemos and Tina Burnside contributed to this report.
Polio Cases In Chareidi Neighborhoods In Jerusalem Concern Health Officials
JERUSALEM (VINnews) — The Israeli health ministry is concerned that children from a kindergarten in Meah Shearim could have contracted the polio virus from a 4-year-old girl who tested positive for the virus this week, the second case within a week after 33 years without polio cases in Israel. The girl had continued to go to kindergarten before receiving the positive diagnosis and not all the children are fully vaccinated.
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The health ministry has begun an epidemiological investigation to determine which children have been vaccinated and which are at risk but the kindergarten officials are not giving this information without rabbinic approval.
The girl who tested positive is being monitored in her home and does not currently require hospitalization. Her symptoms affect half of her body as is common in polio victims.
A pediatrician working in the neighborhood told Kan news that “this is not a surprise there are more and more children who do not receive vaccinations at present. Its a new fashion- young mothers don’t vaccinate. There was always a concern and they did them without enthusiasm because anything from the establishment was “treif”. The situation in the last few years was too good and it was a matter of time [before an outbreak occurred]. I know lots of children who didn’t get any vaccinations. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are more cases.”
The ministry believes there are many more cases in regions where few people vaccinate and are conducting investigations to estimate the spread of the virus. If there are a significant number of cases, the ministry is considering a polio booster for all children in Jerusalem.
Ministry figures show that only 83% of infants under a year old received the four vaccines required against polio. The ministry has begun to monitor the Jerusalem sewage system to try and locate more cases of infection.
Most cases of polio will be light and only 1 in a 1000 can bring on the deadly paralysis but the ministry is concerned that there may be many other cases, some of which could be more severe.
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