After an impassioned debate, the Redmond School Board voted 4-1 Wednesday evening to direct Superintendent Charan Cline and district staff to draft a new COVID-19 policy by March 2 that makes masks optional, giving parents the authority to make that decision for their children.
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There are 23 newly reported COVID-19-related deaths in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 6,416,but deaths, hospitalizations and cases declined in the past week, the Oregon Health Authority reported Wednesday.
Continue ReadingCNN By Kristin Wilson and Maegan Vazquez, CNN All members of Congress will be invited to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address on March 1, according to the House sergeant-at-arms, marking a return to a full House chamber after last year’s socially distant speech. House Sergeant-at-Arms William Walker wrote Thursday there will be
Continue ReadingBy Jacqueline Howard, CNN High-quality masks for children soon might be easier to find in the United States, if government plans come to fruition. The US government plans to make high-quality face masks available for children, and “that process is underway,” Dr. Tom Inglesby, senior adviser to the White House Covid-19 Response Team, told CNN
Continue ReadingSEATTLE (AP) — Washington’s most populous county will no longer require COVID vaccination checks to enter restaurants, bars, theaters and gyms beginning March 1. King County officials made the announcement Wednesday. The Seattle Times reports from March 1, businesses will be free to impose their own vaccination requirements if they choose, but there will be
Continue ReadingBy Devan Cole, CNN The state of Texas filed a lawsuit Wednesday seeking to overturn President Joe Biden’s mask mandate for public transport, marking the latest longshot bid to scrap one of the President’s key Covid-19 health measures. “Biden’s repeated disregard of the individual liberties of Texans is not only disrespectful to the US Constitution,
Continue ReadingBy Jeremy Diamond, CNN The Biden administration has informed key lawmakers that it will likely need $30 billion in supplemental funding to continue the fight against Covid-19, a source familiar with the matter said. The $30 billion request is expected to include $17.9 billion to fund vaccines and treatments, $4.9 billion for testing, $3 billion
Continue ReadingCNN By Tara John and Isabelle Jani Friend, CNN The United States has a booster shot problem. As other nations hurtle ahead in their Covid-19 vaccination programs, lagging uptake in the US of the third vaccine is concerning public health experts. As of Sunday, uptake of the third shot in the United Kingdom (55.4% of
Continue ReadingBy REBECCA BOONE Associated Press BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho has lifted the “crisis standards of care” designation for hospitals in the southwestern portion of the state, with public health officials saying coronavirus-related staffing and blood shortages have improved somewhat, though hospitals remain stressed. The crisis standards of care designation allows hospitals to triage health
Continue ReadingBy REBECCA BOONE Associated Press BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A panel of Idaho lawmakers has advanced a bill that would make it a crime for Idaho businesses to require employees to get vaccinated against the coronavirus. The federal government and companies employing health care workers would be exempt under the bill from Rep. Charlie Shepherd.
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There are 20 newly reported COVID-19-related deaths in Oregon, including one from Deschutes County and two from Jefferson County, raising the state’s death toll to 6,393, the Oregon Health Authority reported Tuesday.
Continue ReadingYACOLT, Wash. (AP) — Cases in a COVID-19 outbreak at a minimum security prison in southwest Washington have been climbing. The Columbian reports a Washington Department of Corrections bulletin Monday reported the number of active COVID-19 cases jumped to 41 among incarcerated individuals at Larch Corrections Center, a nearly 193% increase since Friday. The prison
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There are 18 newly reported COVID-19-related deaths in Oregon since Friday, raising the state’s death toll to 6,373, the Oregon Health Authority reported Monday.
Continue ReadingBy Holly Yan and Susannah Cullinane, CNN The Canadian government is invoking the Emergencies Act for the first time to address the impact of continued protests across the country over Covid-19 health measures, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters Monday. The Emergencies Act can provide for the use of the military, but may not necessarily
Continue ReadingBy Kim Berryman, Holly Yan and Aya Elamroussi, CNN A police crackdown to remove protesters decrying Covid-19 mandates could soon restore some normalcy to American and Canadian businesses hit hard by a blockade at the border. Windsor Police have started arresting protesters blocking the Ambassador Bridge, the busiest land border crossing in North America. The
Continue ReadingBy Ramishah Maruf, CNN Walmart updated its Covid-19 policy for US associates Friday, dropping its mask mandate and Covid-19 sick leave policy, the company announced in a memo viewed by CNN Business. The nation’s largest private retailer announced the changes as several US states, from New York to California, issued their own plans to lift
Continue ReadingBy Adrienne Broaddus, CNN David Bracho became a nurse after nearly two decades in the US Army Reserve. He’s now working in a Covid-19 ward at Rush Medical Center in Chicago — and he recognizes the parallels. He was deployed twice, Bracho said, and what he saw in Afghanistan is similar to what he has
Continue ReadingSALEM, Ore. (AP) — Authorities say the surge of the omicron variant appears to have peaked in Oregon. State Health Officer Dr. Dean Sidelinger said Friday new COVID-19 cases have fallen 71% from the peak three weeks ago. The Statesman-Journal reports daily COVID-19 related hospitalizations appear to have crested in late January, at a level
Continue ReadingBy Jacqueline Howard, CNN Booster doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna coronavirus vaccines are safe, and they offer high levels of protection against severe Covid-19 even though that protection can wane over time, according to two studies published by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday. Evidence of waning protection “reinforces the
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As COVID-19 cases decline and restrictions begin to be loosened, Bend-La Pine Schools are dropping their spectator limits on spectators at indoor athletic events, starting Saturday.
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