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US

Statewide mask mandate for K-12 schools will be lifted Feb. 28, Baker says

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“People have made a lot of progress by doing all the work that they’ve done over the past two years to help kids and those who work with them in schools,” Baker said. “And today’s announcement is another big step forward to safely manage COVID while we get back to what I would describe as the familiar and normal aspects of school and life.”

Baker’s words were echoed by state Jeffrey C. Riley, commissioner of the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, both in the statement and the later briefing.

“During the past two years, the impact of COVID-19 on children has caused a strain on their mental health, emotional well-being and academic success,” Riley said in the statement. “We are relieved to now be in a place where we can provide young people additional relief from COVID-19 restrictions so they can continue to return to normalcy in the classroom.”

During the briefing, Riley told reporters that officials “believe that removing the mask requirement will make it easier for students to learn, particularly our young readers and students learning English as a second language. While masking is no longer a statewide requirement, we ask all school leaders and students to make sure they respect all individual choices around mask wearing.”

Riley added that officials are “relieved to now be in a place where we can provide young people additional relief from COVID-19 restrictions so they can continue to move towards normalcy in the classroom.” Local school districts will decide whether to keep mask mandates in place, Riley said.

“Local decision making has been, you know, a practice of Massachusetts for a long time,” Riley said. “And at time, the state has had to step in when necessary. But I can’t speak to the future. … The state mask mandate is being lifted, and then what happens next will happen at the local level.”

High vaccination rates in Mass. also make lifting the statewide mandate possible, Baker said.

“In Massachusetts we do have very high vaccination rates among our overall population,” he said. “Very high vaccination rates, again I’m speaking relative to other states, very high vaccination rates for kids who are in school. Most states don’t have a kind of surveillance testing program that we have in place. Most states don’t have pool testing. Most states don’t have take-home tests. We also have one of the lowest hospitalization rates in the country.”

As of Feb. 1, 51 percent of Massachusetts residents aged 5 to 11 had received at least one dose of the vaccine, while 83 percent of youths age 12 to 15 and 82 percent of teens 16 to 19 have, according to the most recent data posted to the DPH website.

The statement said masking continues to be required on all school buses, per a federal order.

The Department of Early Education and Care will also lift mask requirements currently in place for all licensed child care providers effective February 28, and let programs develop policies specific to the children they serve, officials said, and DESE will release additional guidance for programs next week.

Officials said data collected in recent months from the state’s Test and Stay shows students and staff individually identified as asymptomatic close contacts and repeatedly tested in school test negative more than 90 percent of the time.

“Schools are safe environments, most children now have had access to vaccinations that greatly reduce the risk for severe disease for several months, and thousands of families across the Commonwealth have taken this opportunity to protect their children,” said Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito in the statement. “This is the right time to lift the mask mandate, and we will continue to encourage vaccination and host clinics at any school that wants to hold one to further protect their students from COVID.”

The move comes as additional local mask mandates for indoor public spaces have recently gone by the wayside in various communities.

On Tuesday, Salem became the latest community to axe its masking order, when the Board of Health voted unanimously to rescind its December indoor mask mandate as well as a separate rule requiring customers of businesses like restaurants, bars, and gyms to show proof of vaccination.

“The Salem Board of Health has and will always make decisions on Covid mitigation based upon the science and data available,” said Dr. Jeremy Schiller, the board chair, in a statement. “These metrics are analyzed on a daily basis and consequently, given the current local hospitalization numbers and ICU capacity, it warranted revisiting these measures.”

His words were echoed by Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll.

“COVID has taken the lives of 115 of our neighbors here in Salem and impacted the lives of many thousands more here,” Driscoll said in the statement. “I am incredibly grateful for the expertise and thoughtfulness of our Board of Health. They have and will continue to make decisions driven by science and data, aimed at protecting public health in the best interest of our community.”

The ending of the orders in Salem came one day after Worcester’s Board of Health voted to rescind its citywide mask mandate, following other communities that have made similar moves as COVID-19 cases decline.

By a 3-2 margin, the Worcester panel chose to remove the indoor mask requirement effective Feb. 18, just before Presidents’ Day weekend.

In Lowell, the city’s indoor mask mandate was rescinded Feb. 2, but officials said in a statement that masks “are still required in school and City buildings.”

Malden, meanwhile, rescinded its mask mandate last week, citing declining virus and hospitalization numbers and increased vaccine access, according to an executive order signed by Mayor Gary Christenson and Health Board director Christopher Webb.

In Mansfield, officials last week rescinded a town mandate requiring people to wear face coverings in indoor public locations. The change took effect Monday.

The trend is similar in other states.

In New Jersey, Governor Phil Murphy, a Democrat, announced Monday that a statewide mask mandate in schools will be lifted effective March 7.

And The New York Times reported Monday that Connecticut will allow students and staff members to stop wearing masks in schools by no later than Feb. 28, after Gov. Ned Lamont recommended the statewide mask mandate end that day.

The governors of Delaware and Oregon also made announcements on Monday about relaxing mask mandates at the end of March, and California officials said that state’s universal mask mandate for indoor public places would be lifted next week, the Times reported.

The CDC says on its website that masks remain a vital tool in the battle against the once-in-a-generation global health crisis.

The CDC site says people older than 2 should mask up in indoor public places if they’re not fully vaccinated against COVID-19, if they’re fully vaccinated but in an area with substantial or high transmission, or if they’re fully vaccinated with weakened immune systems.

You’re considered fully vaccinated once you have two shots of the Pfizer of Moderna vaccine or the single-shot Johnson & Johnson poke.

Material from prior Globe stories was used in this report.

Travis Andersen can be reached at travis.andersen@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @TAGlobe.



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Business

Hawaii sees 3,875 new coronavirus cases, bringing statewide total to 147,099

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Hawaii Department of Health officials reported 3,875 new confirmed and probable coronavirus infections today, bringing the state’s total since the start of the pandemic to 147,099 cases.

No new virus-related fatalities were reported today so the statewide COVID-19 death toll remains 1,105.

The state’s official coronavirus-related death toll includes 811 fatalities on Oahu, 157 on Hawaii island, 105 on Maui, 19 on Kauai, two on Molokai and 11 Hawaii residents who died outside the state.

Hawaii Department of Health investigators find out the vaccination status of each positive case after the fact, which is why those statistics are not included side by side in the daily case counts, officials have previously said.

The U.S. coronavirus-related death toll today is over 834,000 and the nationwide infection tally is more than 59.5 million.

Today’s new confirmed and probable infection count by island includes 2,761 new cases on Oahu, 348 on Hawaii island, 564 on Maui, 134 on Kauai, 11 on Molokai, nine on Lanai and 48 Hawaii residents diagnosed outside the state.

State health officials have been including probable infections in its total case counts. Probable infections include people who never received a confirmatory test but are believed to have had the virus because of their known exposure and symptoms or because of a positive antigen test.

The daily infection tally is usually from cases reported to the state two days earlier.

The total number of confirmed and probable coronavirus cases by island since the start of the outbreak are 104,574 on Oahu, 16,099 on Hawaii island, 16,168 on Maui, 5,447 on Kauai, 537 on Molokai, and 264 on Lanai. There are also 4,010 Hawaii residents who were diagnosed outside of the state.

Health officials also said today that, of the state’s total infection count, 41,725 cases were considered to be active. Officials say they consider infections reported in the past 14 days to be a “proxy number for active cases.” The state’s total number of active cases increased today by 2,654.

By island, Oahu has 31,535 active cases, the Big Island has 3,533, Maui has 4,479, Kauai has 1,830, Molokai has 241 and Lanai has 107.

Health officials counted 14,529 new COVID-19 test results in today’s tally, for a 26.67% statewide positivity rate.

The state’s 7-day average infection count is 3,439 and its seven-day average positivity rate is 20.6%, according to the Hawaii COVID-19 Data dashboard.

The seven-day average case count for Oahu is 2,509 and the seven-day average positivity rate is 21.8%, state health officials said today.

The latest Hawaii COVID-19 vaccine summary says 2,600,110 vaccine doses have been administered through state and federal distribution programs as of today, up 18,501 from Friday.

Health officials say that 74.8% of the state’s population is now fully vaccinated, 80.5% have received at least one dose, and 27.9% have received a third dose.

Of all the confirmed Hawaii infection cases, 5,376 have required hospitalizations, with six new hospitalizations reported today.

In a tweet this morning, Lt. Gov. Josh Green put the number of COVID-19 patients hospitalized statewide at 291, with 115 of them having been vaccinated. He also said that six of the hospitalized patients are keiki and there are 29 COVID-19 patients in ICUs.

Thirty-one hospitalizations in the overall statewide count are Hawaii residents who were diagnosed and treated outside the state. Of the 5,345 hospitalizations within the state, 4,080 have been on Oahu, 654 on Maui, 487 on the Big Island, 108 on Kauai, 11 on Molokai and five on Lanai.

According to the latest information from the department’s Hawaii COVID-19 Data dashboard, a total of 328 patients with the virus were in Hawaii hospitals as of today, with 32 in intensive care units and 12 on ventilators. There were 282 COVID-19 patients in Hawaii hospitals Sunday.

Hawaii set a record for COVID-19 hospitalizations with 473 patients hospitalized on Sept. 7, 2021.

This breaking news story will be updated as more information becomes available.



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Business

Hawaii sets new record with 2,205 new coronavirus cases, bringing statewide total to 102,389

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Hawaii today recorded a new single-day record of coronavirus infections since the start of the pandemic with more than 2,200 cases.

Hawaii Department of Health officials reported 2,205 new confirmed and probable coronavirus infections today, bringing the state’s total since the start of the pandemic to 102,389 cases. Today’s number of new infections breaks the previous record of 1,828 on Dec. 24.

No new virus-related fatalities were reported today so the statewide COVID-19 death toll remains 1,082.

The U.S. coronavirus-related death toll today is over 809,000 and the nationwide infection tally is more than 51.5 million.

>> RELATED: Omicron dims Hawaii’s holiday tourism expectations — but return of cruise ships offers hope

Today’s new confirmed and probable infection count by island includes 1,841 new cases on Oahu, 118 on Hawaii island, 132 on Maui, 68 on Kauai, 17 on Molokai, one on Lanai and 28 Hawaii residents diagnosed outside the state.

State health officials have been including probable infections in its total case counts. Probable infections include people who never received a confirmatory test but are believed to have had the virus because of their known exposure and symptoms or because of a positive antigen test.

The total number of confirmed and probable coronavirus cases by island since the start of the outbreak are 71,794 on Oahu, 12,440 on Hawaii island, 10,920 on Maui, 3,597 on Kauai, 291 on Molokai and 157 on Lanai. There are also 3,190 Hawaii residents who were diagnosed outside of the state.

Health officials also said today that, of the state’s total infection count, 12,777 cases were considered to be active. Officials say they consider infections reported in the past 14 days to be a “proxy number for active cases.” The state’s total number of active cases increased today by 1,956.

By island, Oahu has 11,180 active cases, the Big Island has 532, Kauai has 322, Maui has 695, Molokai has 36 and Lanai has 12.

The seven-day average case count for Oahu is 1,155 and the seven-day average positivity rate is 13%, state health officials said today.

The latest Hawaii COVID-19 vaccine summary says 2,505,606 vaccine doses have been administered through state and federal distribution programs as of Friday, up 5,794 from a day earlier. Health officials say that 73.9% of the state’s population is now fully vaccinated, and 79.3% have received at least one dose.

Of all the confirmed Hawaii infection cases, 5,221 have required hospitalizations, with three new hospitalizations reported today.

Thirty hospitalizations in the overall statewide count are Hawaii residents who were diagnosed and treated outside the state. Of the 5,191 hospitalizations within the state, 3,983 have been on Oahu, 629 on Maui, 456 on the Big Island, 107 on Kauai,11 on Molokai and five on Lanai.

This breaking news story will be updated as more information becomes available.



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California orders statewide mask mandate amid rise in COVID

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Faced with rising coronavirus cases, California is ordering a statewide mask mandate for indoor public spaces to go into effect on Wednesday.

The order will affect roughly half the state’s population, including San Diego and Orange counties, the Inland Empire, the Central Valley and rural Northern California. The statewide indoor mask mandate order will last a month and will expire on Jan. 15.

Los Angeles County, Ventura County and most of the San Francisco Bay Area have their own indoor mask mandates that were implemented in the summer and have no end dates.

The move comes as coronavirus case rates have risen by 50% in the last 2½ weeks, and county health officials across the state say they suspect they may be seeing the start of a winter jump in coronavirus cases. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers California as having a high level of transmission of the coronavirus, the worst tier in the federal agency’s four-tier scale.

California’s announcement came on the same day New York enacted its own statewide mask requirement in indoor public spaces, excepting only settings where everyone inside must be vaccinated. Officials in Britain have also re-ordered an expansion of indoor mask mandates.

The new mask orders arrive as the Omicron variant of the coronavirus — discovered only last month — has spread rapidly around the globe. Britain has recorded its first death of someone infected with Omicron variant.

In addition, many states elsewhere nationally have been struggling with a winter COVID-19 surge to the still-dominant Delta variant. “We see other states in the United States struggle with overwhelmed hospitals, and a high number of cases,” Dr. Mark Ghaly, the California health and human services secretary, told reporters Monday.

Ghaly said he’s concerned that hospital capacity is still pressed and challenged, particularly in San Bernardino and Riverside counties, in the eastern Sierra, across the Central Valley and in the rural north. A number of hospitals throughout the state are busier than usual for this time of year, where staff are still exhausted from battling a nearly two-year-old historic pandemic, and there’s still plenty of pent-up demand for healthcare needs that were postponed during earlier parts of the pandemic.

The evidence is there that masks still make a difference, Ghaly said. The coronavirus is airborne and can also spread silently from infected, asymptomatic people.

“Even a 10% increase in indoor masking can reduce case transmission significantly,” Ghaly said.



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Health

How did California go from the epicenter of the US pandemic to the lowest statewide transmission rate?

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With the lowest COVID-19 infection rate among all states as of Friday, California, which has some of the strictest mask and vaccination mandates in the country, has managed to flip the script as the former U.S. epicenter of the pandemic.

“They’ve been very much forward-thinking in terms of policies around vaccination requirements and mandates,” said epidemiologist Dr. John Brownstein, chief innovation officer at Boston Children’s Hospital and an ABC News contributor.

As of Friday evening, California had an infection rate of 61.1 cases per 100,000 over the past week, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The state was briefly the only to be classified with a “moderate” rate of transmission — 10 to 49.99 cases per 100,000 over seven days — before it went back up to “substantial,” meaning 50 to 99.99 cases per 100,000 over seven days.

Over the previous week, Hawaii, Florida, Louisiana, Connecticut, New Jersey, Mississippi, Maryland, Georgia and Washington, D.C., each also reported “substantial” rates.

A rate of at least 100 cases per 100,000 is labeled as “high.” Montana, Wyoming, Idaho and Alaska, as of Friday, had the highest rates over the previous seven days, with each above 450 cases per 100,000 people. The U.S. average over that span was 150.9.

Experts said California’s journey from worst to first is likely due to a combination of things.

“We can’t know for sure which factors are responsible,” Brownstein added, “but we know that the combination of interventions and policies can play a really strong role in driving transmission.”

‘Ending this pandemic’

More than 70% of California’s population has received at least one dose of vaccine, according to the CDC, and the state also leads in total vaccinations administered, roughly 53 million doses. As of Friday, the national average rate was 66.2%.

Being the first state to announce a COVID-19 vaccine requirement for schools, California has some of the strictest mandates in the U.S. The state has mandated vaccines for state employees, health care workers, teachers and at large indoor gatherings.

“The more aggressive the vaccination campaign, the better,” Dr. Todd Ellerin, director of infectious diseases at South Shore Health, told ABC News.

Given that vaccines are the most powerful tool we have in curbing the spread of COVID-19, experts said they believe California’s emphasis on immunizations has provided big dividends.

“These results show quite clearly that vaccines offer protection for individuals who lack immunity, with important implications for finally ending this pandemic,” Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, wrote in a blog post Tuesday.

Idaho and Wyoming have some of the lowest vaccination rates and the highest transmission rates.

All three COVID-19 vaccines available in the U.S. have since shown high effectiveness in preventing death due to COVID-19, and as of Friday, California boasted the lowest death rate in the country, with 0.3 per 100,000 over the previous week. The U.S. average over that span was 2.7 per 100,000.

Additionally, experts told ABC News, having endured the harshest waves of infections last winter and the delta surge in July, formerly infected Californians may have acquired antibodies and more of a natural immunity to COVID-19 — both factors that, in concert with vaccines, could be driving down case numbers.

‘More work to do’

In addition to strict vaccine mandates, California has been unwavering on face-coverings, testing and social distancing policies.

“While California has administered more vaccines than any other state, we have more work to do,” the California Department of Public Health said in a statement to ABC News.

Everyone, regardless of vaccination status, is required to wear a mask on public transit, in health care settings and at educational and correctional facilities. Masks are required for all unvaccinated people and recommended for vaccinated people in settings such as theaters, retail stores, restaurants and bars.

Despite having a higher vaccination rate than California, states like Vermont are still falling behind on transmission rate rankings, which experts said points to the importance of distancing and masking. Breakthrough cases seen in Vermont can be further explained by its higher proportion of residents 65 and older.

Mobility

Research shows mobility, or movement in populations, can be a predictor of disease spread, especially via air travel or mass transit. This became evident through the surge of COVID-19 cases the U.S. saw during holiday season.

Gov. Gavin Newsom pleaded with California residents on Christmas Eve to avoid holiday gatherings at a time when hospitals in the state were under “unprecedented pressure.”

Californian cities experienced a huge surge of cases and hospitalizations following the holidays, although rates have since declined.

No stranger to stay-at-home orders, the California government imposed several lockdowns and restrictions to curb the spread of the virus. It celebrated its most recent reopening in mid-June, which replaced 15-month-long public health restrictions with conditions more akin to “business as usual.”

“In the height of the pandemic, people were locked down, they weren’t moving at all, they were staying at home,” Brownstein told ABC News. “The more people move around, that’s usually an indicator for increased transmission.”

The great outdoors

The virus has been shown to spread more indoors and with people in close proximity to one another. California’s sunny climate means more people spend more time outside.

“When we spend most of our time indoors, that’s when transmission is greatest,” Ellerin said.

Added Brownstein: “More close contacts with people outside your household indoors is what creates additional risk.”

This effect is also compounded by the rise in the virus’ effective reproductive number during the winter season with research suggesting that a drop in temperature encourages virus growth.

Compared to many other states, especially as winter draws nearer, California is in “quite a good spot,” Brownstein said. “In all likelihood, the trends that we’re seeing are realistic and very much driven by compliance with masking and other interventions, plus the well-covered vaccination strategy in the state.”

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Health

Pritzker to order indoor masks statewide, require vaccines for school employees

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Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Thursday morning plans to announce a statewide indoor mask mandate for everyone 2 and older as well as a vaccine mandate for all K-12 and higher education employees, sources are telling the Chicago Sun-Times and ABC 7 Chicago.

The announcement would come just two days after Pritzker sidestepped questions about extending a vaccine mandate to all state workers, and after he warned of “significantly greater mitigations” and a move back to earlier, precautionary phases if the surge in COVID-19 patients overwhelms hospitals and intensive care units. He said he and others are “consistently looking at the menu of options that we may need to impose in order to bring down the numbers.”

The news comes as deaths involving breakthrough COVID-19 cases rose by 30 people in a week, with the majority involving individuals older than 65 or with underlying medical conditions, Illinois Department of Public Health data showed Wednesday.

That brings the total of vaccinated Illinoisans who succumbed to the respiratory virus to 253 out of a total of 7,326 deaths since Jan. 1, or about 3.5%.

Of the 253 people who died, about 61% were immunocompromised or suffered from an underlying medical condition, such as cancer, and 89% were 65 or older, the IDPH reported.

Medical experts stressed that the vast majority of serious COVID-19 cases they’re treating in hospitals involve unvaccinated individuals.

On Wednesday, the city of Chicago and Northwestern Medicine joined those mandating vaccines for employees in an effort to stop the spread of the disease.

        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        

 

“In the ICU, we’re seeing a fair number of cases, and virtually every single one that makes it to the ICU that has COVID-19 pneumonia is unvaccinated,” said Dr. Jeff Huml, medical director of critical care at Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield.

“The pandemic is fast becoming a critical illness of the unvaccinated. People have free will and they have a choice, but I wish they would choose to follow the science,” Huml said.

A total of 1,190 vaccinated individuals have been hospitalized with COVID-19 since Jan. 1, or less than 1% of Illinoisans who’ve been inoculated, the IDPH reported.

“The vaccine is still doing what we really hoped it would do at the onset, which is keep us from getting really sick,” said Dr. Michael Bauer, Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital director. “It’s doing a great job of that. But we are seeing you can still get a COVID-19 infection despite being vaccinated.”

        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        

 

New cases of COVID-19 totaled 4,451 Wednesday, above the seven-day average of 3,534, with 40 more deaths from the respiratory disease, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported. The seven-day average of deaths is about 19 per day.

On Tuesday, 28,624 more COVID-19 shots were administered. The seven-day average is 24,196.

In Chicago, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said all city employees must be fully vaccinated by Oct. 15, and Northwestern Medicine announced a similar requirement by Oct. 31.

“Given the spread of the COVID-19 delta variant and its risk to those with underlying medical conditions and children under 12 who are not yet eligible to receive a vaccine, Northwestern Medicine physicians and staff will be required to complete COVID-19 vaccination,” Communications Director Christopher King said.

Both entities said workers would be allowed to request a medical or religious exemption. At Northwestern, employees who do not comply will be required to have weekly COVID-19 tests, and on Jan. 1, vaccination will become a condition of employment.

Other hospital groups mandating vaccines include Edward-Elmhurst Health, Advocate Aurora, Loyola Medicine, University of Chicago Medicine, University of Illinois Health, Cook County Health and Rush Health.

The federal government has delivered 16,000,255 doses of vaccine to Illinois since distribution began in mid-December, and 13,861,875 shots have been administered.

So far, 6,719,139 Illinoisans have been fully vaccinated, 52.7% of the state’s 12.7 million population. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines require two doses several weeks apart.

Illinois hospitals were treating 2,197 COVID-19 patients Tuesday night.

The state’s positivity rate for COVID-19 cases is 5.1% based on a seven-day average.

Total cases statewide stand at 1,499,022 and 23,816 Illinoisans have died since the pandemic began.

Labs processed 78,206 virus tests in the last 24 hours.

        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        



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Oregon governor announces statewide outdoor mask mandate regardless of vaccination status

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Oregon Gov. Kate Brown announced Tuesday that she is imposing a statewide outdoor mask mandate regardless of vaccination status.

“The Delta variant is spreading fast and wide, throwing our state into a level of crisis we have not yet seen in the pandemic,” the Democratic governor said in a statement. “Cases and hospitalizations are at a record high. Masks are a quick and simple tool we can immediately deploy to protect ourselves and our families, and quickly help stop further spread of COVID-19.”

TUCKER CARLSON: ELITIST DEMOCRATS WANT YOU TO SHUT UP AND OBEY

The mandate will take effect on Friday Aug. 27 and masks will be required in the majority of public outdoor settings regardless of vaccination status.

“Under the Governor’s direction, the OHA rule will require masks for all individuals — regardless of vaccination status — in outdoor settings in which individuals from different households are unable to consistently maintain physical distance,” the governor’s office said. “The rule does not apply to fleeting encounters, such as two individuals walking by one another on a trail or in a park. While the rule does not apply to outdoor gatherings at private residences, masks are strongly recommended in those settings when individuals from different households do not consistently maintain physical distance.”

TEXAS SCHOOLS CAN MANDATE MASKS IN DEFIANCE OF GOV. ABBOTT’S EXECUTIVE ORDER PENDING LEGAL CHALLENGES

The rule does not apply to children under 5 years old, the homeless population, people engaged in competitive sports, and those delivering an outdoor speech or performance.

Brown’s mask mandate comes after Oregon experienced its highest total number of single-day cases since the start of the pandemic: 2,200 cases. Oregon currently has an indoor mask mandate in place for anyone over the age of 5. 

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A New York Times report in May concluded that the outdoor transmission rate of the coronavirus is less than 1%, which stands in stark contrast with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which suggested the number was around 10%.

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Health

Hawaii sees single-day record of 655 new coronavirus cases, bringing statewide total to 44,617

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Hawaii Department of Health officials reported a record high of 655 new confirmed and probable coronavirus infections today, bringing the state’s total since the start of the pandemic to 44,617 cases.

Lt. Gov. Josh Green said today in an Instagram post the single-day record was a result of the highly infectious delta variant spreading across the state.

“Let’s go right for the big number: 655 cases today essentially among those who are unvaccinated.” Green said in his Instagram post. “This delta variant is surging through our unvaccinated population.”

State health officials on Monday saw 365 coronavirus infections, followed by 389 new cases on Tuesday and 346 on Wednesday. Last week Friday, the state reported a previous record 622 new infections, followed by 485 on Saturday and 452 on Sunday, the three highest daily counts since the start of the pandemic.

Today’s new confirmed and probable infection count by island includes 428 new cases on Oahu, 69 on Maui, 131 on Hawaii island, seven on Kauai and 20 Hawaii residents diagnosed outside the state.

State health officials have been including probable infections in its total case counts. Probable infections include people who never received a confirmatory test but are believed to have had the virus because of their known exposure and symptoms or because of a positive antigen test.

No new virus-related fatalities were reported today so the statewide COVID-19 death toll remains 538.

The state’s official coronavirus-related death toll includes 413 fatalities on Oahu, 62 on Maui, 58 on Hawaii island, two on Kauai and three Hawaii residents who died outside the state.

The U.S. coronavirus-related death toll today is over 615,000 and the nationwide infection tally is more than 35.3 million.

The total number of confirmed and probable coronavirus cases by island since the start of the outbreak are 32,138 on Oahu, 5,364 on Maui, 4,484 in Hawaii County, 586 on Kauai, 117 on Lanai and 81 on Molokai. There are also 1,847 Hawaii residents who were diagnosed outside of the state.

Today’s probable infections since the start of the pandemic added to the counts today include 975 on Maui, 885 on Oahu, 115 on Hawaii island, 24 on Molokai, six on Kauai, three on Lanai and 69 residents diagnosed outside the state.

The statistics released today reflect the new infection cases reported to the department on Tuesday.

Health officials also said today that, of the state’s total infection count, 4,391 cases were considered to be active. Officials say they consider infections reported in the past 14 days to be a “proxy number for active cases.” The state’s total number of active cases increased today by 403.

By island, Oahu has 2,933 active cases, the Big Island has 920, Maui has 439, Kauai has 97, Lanai has two and Molokai has none.

Health officials counted 8,026 new COVID-19 test results in today’s tally, for a 8.16% statewide positivity rate. The state’s 7-day average positivity rate is 6.9%, according to the Hawaii COVID-19 Data dashboard.

The latest Hawaii COVID-19 vaccine summary says 1,771,301 vaccine doses have been administered through state and federal distribution programs as of Wednesday, up 3,389 from a day earlier. Health officials say that 60.5% of the state’s population is now fully vaccinated, and 67.6% have received at least one dose.

Of all the confirmed Hawaii infection cases, 2,803 have required hospitalizations, with 21 new hospitalizations reported today.

Sixteen hospitalizations in the overall statewide count are Hawaii residents who were diagnosed and treated outside the state. Of the 2,787 hospitalizations within the state, 2,264 have been on Oahu, 324 on Maui, 177 on the Big Island, 16 on Kauai, five on Lanai and one on Molokai.

According to the latest information from the department’s Hawaii COVID-19 Data dashboard, a total of 155 patients with the virus were in Hawaii hospitals as of Wednesday, with 27 in intensive care units and 29 on ventilators.

This breaking news story will be updated as more information becomes available.



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Chicago vaccine mandate: Gov. Pritzker to announce statewide school mask requirement, following some businesses, sources say

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CHICAGO (WLS) — Gov. JB Pritzker is expected to announce a statewide school mask mandate Wednesday afternoon, as some Chicago businesses take vaccine and mask requirements into their own hands, sources say.

Pritzker’s decision is because of the rising number of cases of the delta variant, with a number of kids getting it, and all the “noise” about it, according to sources.

The differing approaches school districts are taking is also a factor, sources said.

It will apply to all public and private schools, K-12.

Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike will be joining the governor at 2:30 p.m. at the Thompson Center.

Rebecca Fortner has two children in Villa Park’s School District 45. She said she’s relieved the governor is planning to mandate masks for all K through 12 students in the state.

“I wish he had done it sooner. I think a lot of us wished for that. I do worry about the enforcement of it,” she said.

Tuesday night in Villa Park there were heated words and tense moments.

The District 45 school board threatened to adjourn early after some in the audience refused to comply with the meeting’s mask requirement.

“It’s horrific that they’re injuring their own children with having to wear a mask. But even more horrific, you want to harm someone else’s child to have them have a mask on. That’s shame on you. Shame on you for doing that,” District 45 parent Bradley Donald said.

After a 45-minute delay, the meeting continued without mask enforcement. Later, there was an altercation in the hallway. One person was led away after appearing to suffer a panic attack.

Parent Tracey Gzamouranis worries it’s a sign of what’s to come when kids go back to school.

“Parents are gonna drop them off with no masks and tell them not to wear them and what did they see last night? They saw that it wasn’t enforced,” Gzamouranis said. “It’s a good thing. It needed to come from the top. It hadn’t. I’m glad it has now, but it almost seems as it’s a little late in our case. If it had been announced before last night, maybe all of it could have been avoided last night.

COVID vaccine Chicago: Business lead charge in requiring masks, shots

It used to be “no shirt, no shoes, no service,” but, with cases of COVID rising, some businesses are now saying “no shot, no service.”

Metro Chicago, a concert hall in Wrigleyville, just announced that anyone attending shows there will be required to show proof of vaccination, unlike Lollapalooza, which allowed unvaccinated people to enter by providing a current negative COVID test.

Metro also said patrons will be required to show a government-issued photo ID, and it’s recommended that everyone wear masks.

If you want to dine in restaurants and bars in NorthHalsted like D.S. Tequila Co. and Sidetrack, you better have proof of COVID vaccination, as it’s now required to get in.

More and more restaurants and nightclubs around the Chicago area are making that move as COVID cases once again surge, driven by the spread of the delta variant, especially in unvaccinated populations.

RELATED: Some Chicago restaurants requiring masks, COVID vaccinations as cases increase

The move to require masks and ask for vaccination status is supported by Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady, even as she insisted the city has no plans yet to follow New York’s move to mandate proof of vaccination for all indoor dining and fitness centers.

“I want to thank them for doing that. It is clearly one of the most important things they can do for reducing the risk for everybody in the restaurant,” Arwady said.

The city is working on a way for people to digitally prove their vaccination status.

“We have a lot of people who lose their cards,” Arwady explained. “We want people where there are settings that are wanting to either mandate vaccines or be checking vaccines as folks are coming in. I want to make that as technologically easy as possible in a way that protects everybody’s privacy.”

The Illinois Restaurant Association hopes individual restaurants will be allowed to make their own decisions, and pointed out that restaurants operating at high capacity or that are in neighborhoods with lower vaccination rates would be catastrophically affected by a vaccine mandate.

“We’re still behind,” said Sam Sanchez. “Every time you open the door and you’re not operating at 100%, you’re losing money.”

Businesses see vaccine mandates as way to protect staff

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Health

Alaska reports 751 cases of COVID-19 over the weekend as statewide surge continues

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Alaska reported 751 COVID-19 cases over three days as a statewide surge driven by the highly infectious delta variant continued over the weekend.

The newly reported cases followed a trend of higher cases and hospitalizations that began in July. By last week, the state was averaging over 200 new cases per day, and coronavirus-related hospitalizations had reached levels not seen since winter.

The number of Alaskans hospitalized with COVID-19 stayed steady over the weekend. According to the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services dashboard, by Monday, there were 98 people hospitalized with the virus, including 18 on ventilators — down slightly from 100 total hospitalizations on Friday.

During the state’s worst peak last winter, the number of virus-related hospitalizations hovered between 150 and 160.

Hospital administrators said last week that the recent hospitalizations have involved patients who are on average younger and sicker than seen previously, and that the vast majority of hospitalizations are of people who are unvaccinated.

In total, 382 Alaskans and seven nonresidents have died with COVID-19 since the pandemic reached the state last spring.

By Monday, all regions of the state remained at a high alert level, shown as red on maps. The state classifies high alert as a two-week average of more than 10 cases per 100,000 people. It suggests widespread community transmission, with many undetected cases and frequent outbreaks.

The state’s test positivity rate continued to rise by Monday, too. Of all the tests conducted over the past week, 6.01% were positive. Epidemiologists have said a positivity rate over 5% is a cause for concern, because it points to higher transmission and not enough virus detection.

A geographic breakdown of the newly reported cases wasn’t immediately available.

As case counts climb, a growing number of health officials, communities and other institutions are again asking Alaskans to wear masks.

The state health department said last week that even fully vaccinated Alaskans in communities with high COVID-19 transmission should consider masking up again in public, indoor spaces. That recommendation was in line with recent guidance from the Centers for Disease Control.

In Anchorage, the school district said it will also recommend that the school board approve requiring universal masking indoors for fall to limit spread of the virus. The Anchorage School Board is scheduled to review the superintendent’s plan during its next school board meeting Tuesday.

The Southeast Alaska communities of Sitka and Juneau have enacted mask mandates in response to federal guidance and increases in case counts. But in Anchorage, Mayor Dave Bronson said last week he had no plans to mandate masking or enact other restrictions.

The University of Alaska said over the weekend that beginning Monday, it would begin requiring face masks indoors on all of its campuses in communities where risk level is classified as “high” or “substantial” as defined by CDC guidelines — “except when you are in a private residence or alone in a private office with the door shut,” according to a statement signed by the university’s interim president, Pat Pitney. Currently, that includes nearly all communities in Alaska.

Health officials continue to encourage Alaskans to get vaccinated, calling the vaccine the best tool the state has to address rising cases and hospitalizations caused by the virus. By Monday, 48% of all Alaskans had received at least one dose of the vaccine, and about 44% of the population was considered fully vaccinated.

Beginning Monday, the state said it would resume updating its coronavirus dashboard every weekday.

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