Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
New York Reopens High Schools, But Most Students Will Learn From Home
Politico: New York City High Schools Reopen
New York City high schools reopened on Monday for the first time since November, the last group of schools in the nation’s largest system to welcome back students after a shutdown driven by high coronavirus infection rates. The vast majority of students — some 70 percent — will continue to learn entirely from home for now because they chose to sign up for all-remote classes. (Durkin, 3/22)
WMFE: Orange County Schools Will Continue 6-Foot Spacing, Despite CDC Change
There is no plan to reduce social distancing between student desks in classrooms to three feet in Orange County Public Schools, despite a change in federal guidelines to to reduce the distance from six feet. On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its guidance for schools and recommended that, with universal masking, students should maintain a distance of at least 3 feet in classroom settings. (Prieur, 3/22)
KHN: Indiana School Goes Extra Mile To Help Vulnerable Kids Weather Pandemic
After covid-19 forced Olivia Goulding’s Indiana middle school to switch back to remote learning late last year, the math teacher lost contact with many of her students. So she and some colleagues came up with a plan: visiting them under the guise of dropping off Christmas gifts. One day in December, they set out with cards and candy canes and dropped by the homes of every eighth grader at Sarah Scott Middle School in Terre Haute, a city of more than 60,000 near the Illinois border where both Indiana State University and the federal death row are located. They saw firsthand how these kids, many living in poverty and dysfunctional families, were coping with the pandemic’s disruptions to their academic and social routines. (Bruce, 3/23)
In other state news —
Boston Globe: Street Vendors Outside Fenway Park Told They Can’t Open Until At Least June
When the Boston Red Sox invite a limited number of fans back to Fenway Park on April 1 for the first home game of the season, one thing will be missing: the pushcarts that sell peanuts, hot dogs, and sausages on the street. Fenway Park street vendors received an e-mail on Friday from the permitting office of the Boston Public Works Department, informing them they can’t reopen until at least June. “The city has decided that they will place vending at Fenway Park on hold for the next two months due to COVID concerns,” said the e-mail, which was shared with the Globe. “The city will revisit that decision in June and decide at that time the safety of opening Fenway vending activities with COVID guidelines for customer distancing.” (Gardizy, 3/22)
Carroll County Times: ‘It’s Really Been A Tough Time’: In Carroll County, A Pandemic And An Epidemic Converge With Recent Spike In Overdoses
On a winding, country road, just past the Sykesville Freedom District Fire Department, a billboard bearing the phrase “Addiction is a disease. Recovery is possible.” gives passersby a glimpse of an ongoing crisis that has plagued Carroll County for years. With a silhouette of a young family looking far off into a body of water, the sign is one of six in the county that provides the most recent count of overdoses and lives lost. The numbers on the sign from January and February represent the second-highest two-month period of overdose deaths the county has seen in five years. (Askari, 3/22)
North Carolina Health News: Counties Leave Psychiatric Transport In Sheriffs’ Hands
It’s common for law enforcement officers to respond to people in mental health crises. Desperate family members often call 911 if they believe a loved one is at risk of harming themselves. If a patient expresses suicidal intent, health professionals will sometimes call for the police assistance. And in North Carolina, sheriffs’ deputies are responsible for transporting psychiatric patients — often in shackles — when they need to go from one hospital to another for forced treatment. (Knopf, 3/23)
