Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
NYC To Reopen Public Schools For In-Person Learning; HBCUs Fare Well
The Washington Post: New York City Reopening Schools For Special-Education Students And Younger Grades
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Sunday that he would begin to allow the city’s youngest students and those with special needs to return to classrooms beginning next week, abandoning a previous plan that forced the entire school system to close 10 days ago and marking another disruption in an already challenging school year. The move, which will be accompanied by ramped-up coronavirus testing, only impacts a fraction of the more than one million public school students in New York City, home to by far the largest school system in the nation. (Balingit, 11/29)
North Carolina Health News: NC’s Historically Black Colleges Avoid COVID
In August, the semester at UNC Chapel Hill came to an abrupt end as hundreds of students fell ill as a result of COVID-19. When students were told to move off campus and classes moved online exclusively, UNC became something of a national punchline for how quickly the wheels fell off. (Bowden, 11/30)
The New York Times: Ransomware Attack Closes Baltimore County Public Schools
The public schools in Baltimore County, Md., will remain closed Monday and Tuesday as officials respond to a cyberattack that forced the district to cancel remote classes for its 115,000 students just before the Thanksgiving holiday, officials said. The attack, first detected late Tuesday night, affected the district’s websites and remote learning programs, as well as its grading and email systems, officials told WBAL-TV. (Paybarah, 11/29)
In other news from Colorado, Oregon, California and New York —
KMGH: Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, First Gentleman Test Positive For COVID-19
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and his partner both tested positive for COVID-19, the governor’s office said Saturday evening. Polis, who went into quarantine on Wednesday after saying he was exposed to someone who tested positive for the coronavirus, said in a statement he and partner, First Gentleman Marlon Reis, were asymptomatic and “feeling well.” (Miller, 11/28)
CNN: An Oregon Mink Farm Has Reported A Covid-19 Outbreak
An Oregon mink farm has reported an outbreak of coronavirus among mink and farmworkers. Ten mink samples submitted all came back positive for coronavirus, the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) said in a news release on Friday. The farm has been placed under quarantine, meaning "no animal or animal product can leave the farm until further notice," according to ODA. (Elassar, 11/28)
Los Angeles Times: California Sets Pandemic Record For COVID Hospitalizations
California has more people hospitalized with COVID-19 than at any time since the pandemic began, an ominous development that comes as officials warn of further virus spread after the long holiday weekend. The rising numbers raise new concerns about hospitals filling up in the coming weeks, which has been predicted as coronavirus cases surge to unprecedented levels across the state and, in particular, Los Angeles County. (Wigglesworth and Lin II, 11/29)
Also —
AP: Health Officials To Offer Free HIV Testing Across SC
South Carolina health officials are offering free HIV and other testing as part of World Aids Day. The testing for the virus that causes AIDS along with sexually transmitted diseases and Hepatitis C will be conducted Tuesday at local health clinics across the state, according to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. (11/29)
Philadelphia Inquirer: As Oregon Decriminalizes Drugs, Philly Officials Are Paying Close Attention
Since Oregon became the first state in the country to decriminalize drugs earlier this month, advocates there are hoping the new law could shift national perceptions around addiction and how to treat it. Officials in Philadelphia are paying close attention. The ballot measure, written by the national advocacy organization Drug Policy Alliance and backed by a slew of local groups in Oregon, will make the possession of small amounts of drugs for personal use — including heroin, methamphetamine, and cocaine — a violation punishable by a $100 fine or a substance-abuse screening, instead of a criminal misdemeanor. (Whelan, 11/30)
