mask mandate
CDC concludes a mask mandate is still needed for travelers, clearing way for court battle
The Biden administration will fight a court decision for the authority to mandate masks on airplanes, trains and other public transit, following a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendation Wednesday night that a mandate was still needed. The CDC said in a statement that the mandate keeps transportation safer for immunocompromised people and the […]
ICU physician: What I am willing to do to fight COVID-19
A friend of mine in our Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU) today asked me for some good news about COVID-19. Anything. His question made me appreciate how much we all want and need something good to center on, and how little there is to share. I am tired. I am frustrated. I am sad. And […]
New study of North Carolina schools show wearing masks slows spread of COVID-19
Masking mandates in 20 North Carolina school districts resulted in lower COVID-19 infection rates among students and staff than reported rates of infection in the larger community, according to an ABC Science Collaboratives study published this week in The Journal of Pediatrics. The study included 783 K-12 schools representing 59,561 students and 11,854 staff members in 20 districts that held summer school or year-round school between June 14 and Aug. […]
Tillis and other GOP lawmakers try to halt FBI probe into threats against school board members
WASHINGTON — Congressional Republicans on Thursday objected to a move by the Justice Department to investigate violent threats made against local school board members and teachers, arguing that the federal agency is “policing the speech of citizens and concerned parents.” “Violence and true threats of violence should have no place in our civic discourse, but […]
State health official: There are fewer COVID-19 clusters in school districts that require masks
There have been significantly fewer COVID-19 clusters in North Carolina school districts requiring masks compared to those that do not, State Health Director Betsey Tilson reported Thursday. Dr. Tilson (pictured at left speaking at a 2020 briefing) told the State Board of Education (SBE) that in three counties without a school mask mandate between Aug. 26 and Sept. 26, there were […]
FBI to investigate threats made against school board members, teachers
WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice has directed the FBI to meet with local governments and law enforcement to discuss strategies for dealing with increasing threats to teachers and school board members spurred by a conservative backlash against discussions of race in public schools. “Threats against public servants are not only illegal, they run counter […]
‘Their tank is empty’: Local public health officials combat staff burnout, low pay, harassment
WASHINGTON — Eighteen months into the COVID-19 pandemic, state and local public health departments that were already struggling with too few workers and too little money have been pushed to the brink — and for some, beyond the brink. “My staff is burnt out, overworked and underpaid,” Dr. Mysheika Roberts, health commissioner with the Columbus […]
Education leaders ask for civility at local school board meetings
State education leaders on Tuesday issued a statement urging parents and others protesting mask mandates to end the “hostility” and “threats” against local school boards. The last month has been a particularly troublesome one for school boards as most districts moved to mask mandates in the wake of increasing COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations due to […]
NC flight attendant testifies before Congress on huge uptick in pandemic ‘air rage’
Republican lawmakers grumble about mask mandates Flight attendants have been subject to unprecedented harassment over masks and more during the pandemic, and a U.S. House panel on Thursday heard the raw details of those “air rage” incidents. While there’s no hard data, the leader of the flight attendants’ union said the most aggression appears to […]
Johnston County Board of Education votes to keep mask mandate in place
The Johnston County Board of Education voted 4-3 Monday to continue to require students and staff to wear face masks. The vote follows last week’s board meeting where dozens of parents rallied outside of the Johnson County Public Schools’ administrative building in Smithfield to demand the board lift the mandate. New state law requires school […]
New national poll: Americans in red and blue states support mask and vaccine mandates
Pollsters at Monmouth University released new national survey results yesterday on American attitudes toward mask and vaccine mandates in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The central finding: support for public mandates continues to grow. This is from the release that accompanied the poll results: A majority of Americans support the vaccine mandates announced by […]
Congressman Madison Cawthorn urges Johnston County school board to end mask mandate
U.S. Representative Madison Cawthorn on Tuesday urged the Johnston County Board of Education to “defy” Gov. Roy Cooper by reversing its decision to mandate masks in schools. The Hendersonville Republican attended the board’s regular business meeting at the request of local groups opposed to the board’s mask mandate, which was approved on a 4-3 vote […]