CDC restates recommendation for mask mandate on public transportation
N95 masks: What you need to know (NCD)The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday restated their recommendation that Americans should wear masks while traveling on planes, trains and other forms of public transportation. >> Read more trending newsThe recommendation from the CDC comes despite a judge’s ruling last month that ended the federal mask mandate on public transportation. The CDC recommends that anyone over age 2, “including passengers and workers — properly wear a well-fitting mask or respirator over the nose and mouth in indoor areas of public transportation (such as airplanes, trains, etc.) ).”The agency went on to say, “We also encourage operators of public transportation and transportation hubs to support mask wearing by all people, including employees.”The mask requirement on public transportation was extended several times since it went into effect until a federal judge struck down the mandate on April 18. The Justice Department appealed the ruling at the request of the CDC, The Associated Press reported.
wftv.comBoston urges masks as battle brews over transit rule
Airlines have banned several thousand passengers since the pandemic started for refusing to wear masks. The Boston Public Health Commission noted a rise in hospitalizations, as well as a 65% increase in cases and an even larger spike in COVID-19 levels in local wastewater samples. That put the Biden administration in the position of trying to navigate an appeal that could have sweeping ramifications over the power that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has in regulating future health emergencies. The agency continues to recommend that people wear masks in all indoor public transportation settings. Setting rules for mask wearing on public transit is a basic, core tenant of the CDC’s power, Gostin said.
wftv.comSome Americans welcome new CDC mask guidance, others wary
But the issue still remains politically fraught: Florida’s governor on Thursday announced new recommendations called “Buck the CDC” that discourage mask wearing — even though the CDC says the state still has wide areas at high levels of concern. “It doesn’t seem like anybody is wearing masks,” he said of his customers, though a few employees still do. He said about the only places he sees people wearing masks are hospitals and doctors’ offices. The agency still advises people, including schoolchildren, to wear masks where the risk of COVID-19 is high, in about 37% of U.S. counties, where about 28% of Americans live. And those with COVID-19 symptoms or who test positive should wear masks, the agency said.
wftv.comSome Americans welcome new CDC mask guidance, others wary
But the issue still remains politically fraught: Florida’s governor on Thursday announced new recommendations called “Buck the CDC” that discourage mask wearing — even though the CDC says the state still has wide areas at high levels of concern. “It doesn’t seem like anybody is wearing masks,” he said of his customers, though a few employees still do. He said about the only places he sees people wearing masks are hospitals and doctors’ offices. The agency still advises people, including schoolchildren, to wear masks where the risk of COVID-19 is high, in about 37% of U.S. counties, where about 28% of Americans live. And those with COVID-19 symptoms or who test positive should wear masks, the agency said.
wftv.comCDC: Many healthy Americans can take a break from masks
The majority of healthy Americans, including students in schools, can safely take a break from wearing masks under new U.S. guidelines released Friday, Feb. 25. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) (Matt Rourke)Most Americans live in places where healthy people, including students in schools, can safely take a break from wearing masks under new U.S. guidelines released Friday. Those are the people who can stop wearing masks, the agency said. The agency is still advising that people, including schoolchildren, wear masks where the risk of COVID-19 is high. The new recommendations do not change the requirement to wear masks on public transportation and indoors in airports, train stations and bus stations.
wftv.comFlorida Gov. DeSantis lines up with House on plan to penalize school districts for mask mandates
Gov. Ron DeSantis appeared to do an about-face on his initial opposition to a House plan that would shift $200 million away from school districts that required students to wear masks last year during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Brevard school acknowledges putting mask on girl with Down syndrome, police find no crime committed
After the story of a 7-year-old girl with Down syndrome having a mask tied onto her face while at school in Brevard County gained national attention, an investigation by Indian Harbor Beach police found there was no evidence to suggest that the mask being tied to the girl constituted some form of child abuse.
Florida inches closer to legal battle with feds over school mask penalties
Top Florida education officials inched closer to a legal battle with the Biden administration over federal reimbursements for school districts that were dinged financially by the state for imposing student mask mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Florida’s top doctor blames inability to ‘communicate clearly’ for mask refusal
Florida's surgeon general, Joseph Ladapo, is now responding days after he was asked to leave a meeting with Democratic state Sen. Tina Polsky — who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer — because he refused to wear a mask.
School mask policies changing throughout Central Florida as transmission declines
Changes are coming when it comes to school mask policies. Seminole County’s Medical Director Dr. Todd Husty said with lower levels of transmission and positivity rates, people are making personal decisions when it comes to masks.
Mormon vaccine push ratchets up, dividing faith's members
After more than a year of attending church virtually, Monique Allen has struggled to explain to her asthmatic daughter why people from their congregation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints don’t wear masks. Church leaders recently issued their strongest statement yet urging people to “limit the spread” by getting COVID-19 vaccines and wearing masks, but Allen said she fears it’s still not enough to convince the many families in her congregation who refuse to wear masks and have succumbed to anti-vaccine misinformation. Members of the faith widely known as the Mormon church remain deeply divided on vaccines and mask-wearing despite consistent guidance from church leaders as the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus spreads.
news.yahoo.comOregon Gov. Kate Brown announces outdoor mask mandate
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown (D) on Tuesday announced a new statewide outdoor mask mandate requiring people to wear masks in most outdoor settings regardless of vaccination status.State of play: Starting Friday, Oregonians will be required to wear masks outdoors when physical distancing is not possible. While the mandate does not apply to outdoor gatherings in private residences, masks are "strongly recommended" when people from different households cannot remain socially distanced. Get market news wo
news.yahoo.comPressure is mounting for Orange County Public Schools as parents, teachers call for mask mandate
Outside of the Orange County Public School headquarters, pressure is mounting for the school board to enact mask mandates with no option of opting out as parents, teachers and educators call for a mask mandate.
Coronavirus: Amazon to require warehouse employees to wear masks
Amazon mask requirement Amazon warehouse employees will be required to start wearing masks on Monday, regardless of vaccination status. (Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)Amazon has joined other major retailers in requiring employees to wear masks. >> Read more trending newsAmazon announced that beginning Monday, all of its 900,000 U.S. warehouse workers must wear masks indoors, regardless of their vaccination status, The Wall Street Journal reported. Previously, Amazon employees had the option not to wear masks if they had proof of vaccination, according to NBC News. >> Coronavirus: Target employees will be required to wear masks in high-risk areasAmazon said it would continue to encourage all of its employees to get vaccinated, NBC News reported.
wftv.comCoronavirus: Starbucks, McDonald’s, Home Depot to require workers wear masks inside all locations
Starbucks, McDonald’s, Home Depot to require workers wear masks inside all locations A host of national retailers and restaurant chains are reinstating indoor mask mandates for employees, regardless of their vaccination status, amid a nationwide surge in COVID-19 infections spurred by the delta variant. >> Related: Coronavirus: Target employees will be required to wear masks in high-risk areasHome Depot will require all associates, contractors and vendors to wear masks while indoors at all U.S. Home Depot stores, distribution centers and offices, as well as in customers’ homes and businesses, MLive.com reported. >> Related: Coronavirus: Kroger ‘strongly encourages’ customers to wear masksStarbucks will likewise require employees in its roughly 8,900 company-operated U.S. locations to wear masks beginning Thursday, is recommending patrons follow suit and will require patrons to comply in areas where local officials have already issued mandates, the Journal reported. >> Related: Coronavirus: Publix employees must wear masks again starting MondayMeanwhile, McDonald’s updated policy applies to both company-owned and franchisee-owned restaurants, the newspaper reported. >> Related: Coronavirus: Most infected in outbreak after large public events were fully vaccinated, CDC saysMore coronavirus pandemic coverage:>> Coronavirus: How long between exposure to the virus and the start of symptoms?
wftv.comCoronavirus: Smithsonian requiring masks indoors in museums, zoo – WFTV
Masks required Visitors to the National Zoo and the Smithsonian museums in Washington will be required to wear masks indoors beginning Friday. (Liu Jie/Xinhua via Getty Images)WASHINGTON — The Smithsonian Institution announced Thursday that all visitors -- even people who are vaccinated -- must wear masks at indoor venues at its museums and at the National Zoo. Fully vaccinated people will not be required to wear masks in outdoor areas, officials said. However, all zoo visitors must wear masks indoors, including in restrooms, according to WTTG. In addition, gamblers who flock to the Las Vegas Strip will be required to wear masks inside casinos as part of Nevada Gov.
wftv.comFlorida school board to require masks in fall, defying DeSantis's stance
A Florida school board voted Wednesday to require all students and faculty to wear masks inside schools for the fall semester, a policy at odds with Gov. Ron DeSantis's stance against making face covers compulsory.
news.yahoo.comWalmart to again close its US stores on Thanksgiving Day
Vaccinated workers can stop wearing them on May 18. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File) (Charles Krupa)NEW YORK — (AP) — Walmart says it will close its U.S. stores on Thanksgiving for the second consecutive year. “Closing our stores on Thanksgiving Day is one way we're saying ‘thank you' to our team," wrote Dacona Smith, executive vice president and chief operating officer for Walmart U.S., in a corporate blog. Walmart, like other stores, successfully pushed more sales online to reduce crowds in its stores. But, even as safety protocols relax, the Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer apparently believes that not having the Black Friday kickoff on Thanksgiving won't hurt its business.
wftv.comWalmart to close its US stores on Thanksgiving _ again
Vaccinated workers can stop wearing them on May 18. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File) (Charles Krupa)NEW YORK — (AP) — Walmart says it will close its U.S. stores on Thanksgiving for the second consecutive year. “Closing our stores on Thanksgiving Day is one way we're saying ‘thank you' to our team," wrote Dacona Smith, executive vice president and chief operating officer for Walmart U.S., in a corporate blog. Walmart, like other stores, successfully pushed more sales online to reduce crowds in its stores. But, even as safety protocols relax, the Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer apparently believes that not having the Black Friday kickoff on Thanksgiving won't hurt its business.
wftv.comCoronavirus: CDC relaxes mask-wearing guidelines for summer camps
“Although people who are fully vaccinated do not need to wear masks, camp programs should be supportive of campers or staff who choose to wear a mask,” CDC officials said in the agency’s new guidelines. In April, officials said children can play at summer camps, so long as they don’t get within 3 feet of one another. About 2.1 million people in that age range have so far been fully vaccinated, officials said. >> Related: Coronavirus: CDC eases mask-wearing guidance for fully vaccinated AmericansSome public health officials and others have criticized that announcement, partly because it seemed to conflict with other CDC guidance. Globally, 169.1 million COVID-19 cases have been reported, resulting in 3.5 million deaths.
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