Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
No Masks + Few Vaccinations = More Than 80 Covid Cases At Illinois Camp
CNN: More Than 80 Teens And Staffers At An Illinois Summer Camp Got Covid-19
More than 80 teens and adult staffers from a Central Illinois summer camp tested positive for Covid-19 in an outbreak that has impacted people across three states, officials said. The Crossing Camp in Schuyler County held in mid-June did not check vaccination status for campers or staffers, and masks were not required indoors at the camp, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) said in a news release. The Crossing Camp has not responded to calls, email or Facebook messages left by CNN on Monday and Tuesday. (Holcombe and Broaddus, 6/30)
The Wall Street Journal: Masks? Tests? Summer Camp Rules This Year Are Tricky
Families and camps are navigating an unusually complicated summer-camp season. Many camps shut down last year, or laid down strict rules as Covid raged. Now safety guidelines have relaxed, but quick changes in the weeks before camps start set off a scramble to figure out new protocols. Camps’ mix of vaccinated and unvaccinated campers makes setting consistent rules difficult. (Dizik, 6/29)
Maine, Washington and Oregon are ending restrictions —
AP: Maine, One Of Most Vaccinated States, Ends Emergency Order
A coronavirus pandemic emergency order was slated to end on Wednesday for one of the most vaccinated states in the country. Maine has been under a “state of civil emergency” since the early days of the pandemic. Democratic Gov. Janet Mills has used the order to use state resources to try to slow the spread of the virus. (6/30)
AP: Most COVID-19 Restrictions Set To Lift In Washington State
Most of the COVID-19 restrictions that have been in place and modified several times since last spring will be lifted in Washington state Wednesday, meaning restaurants and bars and other businesses can resume full indoor occupancy levels and physical distancing requirements will be lifted. Since May, all of the state’s 39 counties have been in the third phase of a four-stage reopening plan, with indoor capacity limited at 50%. Now, businesses across the state can resume normal operations. (La Corte, 6/29)
The Oregonian: Oregon Emergency COVID-19 Restrictions Will Be Lifted No Later Than June 30, Brown Says
Gov. Kate Brown will lift Oregon’s mask mandate, capacity limits on businesses and social distancing requirements no later than June 30, the governor said Friday, scaling back earlier plans to reopen the state only when 70% of the population is vaccinated against the coronavirus. “It means, effectively, Oregon is 100% open for business,” Brown said. “This is a pivotal moment for Oregon.” (Zarkhin, 6/25)
In other news about the spread of the coronavirus —
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette: Arkansas Covid Cases Rise By 479; UAMS Chancellor Warns State 'Going In The Wrong Direction'
Amid an uptick in new coronavirus cases in Arkansas, Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Tuesday urged Arkansans who haven't been vaccinated to take precautions over the Fourth of July weekend such as wearing a mask and practicing social distancing. "My caution to all Arkansans is yes, you’re going to travel. Yes, you’re going to the lake. Yes, you’re having your backyard cookouts and celebrations. I'll be joining in that as well, but at the same time, if you are not vaccinated and you’re going to be participating in those activities, then please take the responsibility to care of yourself," Hutchinson said. (Davis, 6/29)
Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Delta Variant Driving Rise In COVID-19 Case Counts, Deaths In Mississippi
The Mississippi State Department of Health first recorded Delta variant cases May 27 in Claiborne, Smith and Hinds counties. As of Tuesday, Delta variant cases made up 78 of the over 800 variant cases and are mostly concentrated in the Jackson metro area, according to state health department records. State Health Officer Thomas Dobbs and State Epidemiologist Paul Byers agreed Tuesday that the Delta variant is likely now the dominant strain in Mississippi. "It feels very reminiscent of where we were in an early part of the pandemic," Byers said. "It feels like we're in the same situation now with the Delta variant." (Haselhorst, 6/29)
The Mercury News: Santa Cruz County Health Officials Alerted Of First ‘Delta’ COVID Variant Case
The “Delta” COVID-19 variant has touched down into Santa Cruz County. Deputy Health Officer Dr. David Ghilarducci told the Sentinel Monday that the county had received word of its first Delta variant case detected through genomic sequence testing done by the state. Previously, only the B.1.1.7 or “Alpha” variant, the P.1 or “Gamma” variant and California variants B1427 and B1429 have been detected. The Delta variant, which originated in India, is proving to be one of the most easily transferrable COVID-19 variants. “It was somebody who was tested on June 10,” Ghilarducci said. “We tried to get a sample to sequence locally at UC Santa Cruz but we weren’t able to. Fortunately, the state had run it.” (Hartman, 6/29)
Des Moines Register: COVID-19 Infected Residents At 92% Of Iowa Nursing Homes, Review Shows
Since the coronavirus came to Iowa, COVID-19 struck nearly every nursing home in the state and thousands of elderly residents, a review of federal data shows. Fewer than 10% of nursing homes, 33 of Iowa’s 431 such facilities, have reported no confirmed cases of COVID-19 among their residents, and only three reported zero confirmed cases among either residents and staff. Where the disease did strike, it often devastated the fragile population. (Coltrain, 6/29)
Oklahoman: These Are The Most Common COVID Delta Variant Symptoms, Experts Say
Those infected with the delta variant of COVID-19 may experience different symptoms from the ones we’ve come to expect from the coronavirus. Some of the most commonly reported symptoms with the more-contagious delta variant — which was first identified in India and is now spreading in the U.S. — include headache, sore throat, runny nose and fever, said Dr. Dale Bratzler, the University of Oklahoma’s chief COVID-19 officer. Anyone who notices those symptoms, “I strongly encourage you to be tested, because you could be infected with the delta variant,” Bratzler said at Tuesday’s Healthier Oklahoma Coalition news conference. (Branham, 6/30)
Also —
CNN: She Lost Her Father To Covid-19 And Didn't Get To Say Goodbye. Now Her Mother Is Unaccounted For In The Surfside Building Collapse
Magaly "Maggie" Ramsey said she didn't get to hold her father or say her final goodbyes before he died from Covid-19 in August. Now, she fears she may have also lost the chance to say goodbye to her mother, who is one of the dozens missing in the wake of the deadly South Florida condominium collapse. "We're all praying, primarily for the same things," Ramsey told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Tuesday. "My faith is that, whether she's here or she's not, she's in God's grace and so that keeps me going." (Maxouris, 6/29)
