Idaho state police on Sunday are investigating a protest at Boise’s Capitol building in which dozens of Idaho residents burned masks to protest public health recommendations related to the coronavirus they see as restrictions on freedom.
Health experts say Masks are important tools Against a disease that has killed more than 500,000 Americans, including 2,000 in Idaho. Gov. Brad Little, the Republican, never ordered the mask to be commissioned statewide, but seven counties and 11 cities have that mandate.
State police say Saturday’s protest drew about 100 people to the steps of the Capitol. Videos posted on social media showed adults Encourage children to throw masks into the fire.
“During the event, an exposed flame was ignited in a barrel,” police said in a statement. “Those involved in the event have been informed both before and during the event that open flames are not permitted in the Capitol Building. The incident is under review.”
Republican lawmakers in Idaho have introduced legislation prohibiting mask mandates throughout the state. Visitors to the Capitol are required to wear masks, but not required and few Republican lawmakers wear them. Little, however, wore a mask to sign unrelated legislation on Friday.
Last week, President Joe Biden rejected the decision of some Republican conservatives to end the mandate for the mask Primitive thinking. White House Press Secretary Jane Psaki defended the comment, calling it a “reflection of his frustration” at Americans’ refusal to follow public health guidelines.
Also in the news:
Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak signed an emergency order to set a minimum distance between performers and audience members who had previously challenged the return of production in Las Vegas.
National Basketball Association Commissioner Adam Silver touched on a wide range of topics – Including vaccinations for players and a possible return to normal for next season – During a Saturday call on Zoom before the Sunday All-Star events.
► Oregon. On Saturday, Kate Brown received the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, The first single-dose vaccine to be introduced in the United States.
The 85-year-old Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibet, received the first vaccine for the Coronavirus vaccine at a hospital in the northern Indian town of Dharmsala.
American pharmaceutical company Merck said Saturday that It is an experimental antiviral treatment that is developing it With biotechnology company Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, he’s shown an even faster decline in infectious viruses among people infected with early COVID-19.
📈 Today’s numbers: The United States has nearly 29 million confirmed cases of coronavirus and more than 524,000 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Global totals: Over 116 million cases and 2.5 million deaths. More than 116 million vaccine doses have been distributed in the United States and about 88 million have been given, according to the CDC.
📘 What we read: COVID-19 sparked a domestic violence crisis. Now, the stimulus bill can help women and children leave their abusers.
USA TODAY tracks COVID-19 news. Keep updating this page for the latest updates. do you want more? Subscribe to the Coronavirus Watch newsletter To get updates in your inbox and Join our Facebook group.
Students struggle to learn to read behind masks and screens
It may be a lot of children Reading defaults during the pandemic, Teachers and experts say. The USA TODAY Network visited a few classrooms in different states to see how schools are adapting at a time when the teachers’ axiom about students learning to read in the early grades has not been established so that they can read to learn for the rest of their lives. For a bigger test. Lost time since school closures, inconsistent schedules since, and restrictions on teaching via videoconference or even in person with masks and social distancing – these disabilities harm children who learn to read more than children in other grades, said Anginette Holmes, a professor at the University. Louisiana at the Lafayette-Picard Center for Child Development and Lifelong Learning.
“Learning to read is a huge challenge,” said Laura Taylor, professor of educational studies at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee. “It’s a long process that takes years.”
– Lee Guidry, Mandy McClaren, Laura Testino, Isabel Lowman, and Gabriela Zemanowska
Senators thank Georgia after the Senate approved the COVID-19 relief package
After more than 24 hours of debate, the Democratic-controlled Senate on Saturday It passed President Joe Biden’s $ 1.9 trillion relief package from COVID-19. Georgia Senators John Usoff and Raphael Warnock – two Democrats elected in the January 5 run-off in what was previously considered a Republican stronghold – spoke hours after the 50-49 vote that took place on party grounds, saying the package would likely not pass Without their disturbing victories In November. “We will crush COVID-19, recover economically, safely reopen our schools, and restore our daily lives – and we will do so thanks to Georgia’s voters,” Usov said.
Republican Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming was not warm to the bill, describing it Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” as “a wish-list for liberal spending mainly full of pork.”
The bill would provide millions of Americans with direct payments of $ 1,400, billions of dollars for vaccine distributions, and funding to help reopen schools and colleges. It also stretches Federal unemployment benefit of $ 300 per week Until the end of August, down from an extension of $ 400 in the original bill.
California counties do not want the Blue Shield vaccine program
Counties across California are increasingly demanding to pull out of the state’s central vaccination program run by Blue Shield, further complicating Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to dilute what was disorienting and disassembling coronavirus vaccines. None of the state’s 58 counties has signed contracts with the insurance giant even as the state advances with plans to place 10 counties in the inner parts of central and southern California under Blue Shield oversight starting this week. The Los Angeles Times reported on Saturday.
The country is in the process of switching to a vaccine scheduling and delivery system run by Blue Shield, which is expected to be completed by March 31. The decision announced in February to outsource Blue Shield jobs previously run by government officials at state and local levels was to ensure that vaccines are distributed equitably and reach low-income communities disproportionately affected by the epidemic.
Study: Intellectual disability is the second largest risk factor for death from COVID-19
People with intellectual disabilities are at a “greatly increased risk” of dying from COVID-19, according to A. A study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine Friday. Researchers with Jefferson Health in Philadelphia reviewed data on nearly 65 million patients – including nearly 130,000 with recorded diagnoses of intellectual disabilities – across 547 healthcare organizations and found that intellectual disability was the strongest independent risk factor for providing a COVID-19 diagnosis. And the strongest independent risk factor, other than age, is for COVID-19 deaths.
The researchers said that people with intellectual disabilities may face a greater risk of exposure to COVID-19 for various reasons, such as an inability to social distancing due to regular contact with support staff or sensory issues that make it difficult to wear face masks. The researchers said the pandemic has made it more difficult for people with intellectual disabilities to get the health care support they need.
Contribution: Sarah Al-Bashbishi, Matthew Brown and Grace Hook, USA Today; Associated Press.
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