Australia can deport Djokovic; some remote schools: COVID updates
As COVID-19 cases soar among teachers, school officials in Indiana, Michigan, North Carolina and Nevada announced this week they will temporarily close or switch to distance learning amid a worsening teacher shortage.
In Indiana, at least four Marion County school districts have transitioned to distance learning. Indianapolis Public Schools on Wednesday said the decision “was made based on the number of staff absences, including COVID-19 quarantines and isolation at the middle and high school levels.”
North Carolina resorted to allowing state employees to use their allotted volunteer days to serve as paid substitute teachers, Governor Roy Cooper announced Wednesday. In Nevada, all schools in Carson City School District was closed for part of this week due to a spike in the number of employees infected with COVID-19.
Maryland’s largest school district asked the National Guard to fill out information for bus drivers after a staff spike resulted in the cancellation of 40 to 80 bus routes, ABC News reported.
Meanwhile, Students across the country are organizing walking sessions this week to claim a voice in the ongoing wars over face-to-face and distance learning.
Samantha Farrow, a 16-year-old activist at Stuyvesant High School and organizer of this week’s walkout, said many New York City schools have been left “quite desolate” with classrooms are empty and countless teachers are missing.
Contrary to his pledge to keep students in school, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said on Thursday he is also considering a return to distance learning as student attendance declines amid the digital divide. COVID-19 cases spiked.
Also in the news:
►Like Some experts think the current COVID-19 wave may be reaching its peak, new coronavirus cases fell slightly for the second time this week. The United States reported about 5.51 million cases for the week ending Thursday, down from an adjusted 5.53 million for the week ended Wednesday, a USA TODAY analysis of Data from Johns Hopkins University Shows.
►About a fifth of hospitals reported “severe staff shortages” in data released Wednesday by the Department of Health and Human Services, an analysis of US TODAY found. One in four severe shortages is predicted within the next week.
► President Joe Biden announced Thursday that government will double to 1 billion rapid, at-home COVID-19 testing to be distributed free of charge to Americans.
► UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s office on Friday apologized to the royal family for hosting a late-night party the day before when Queen Elizabeth II sat alone and mourned the late Prince Philip during an epidemic. social distancing funerals due to the country’s COVID-19 rules.
►More than half a million people in Israel have received the fourth dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, the country’s Health Ministry said on Friday.
►Airlines are no longer required to follow on-board COVID-19 guidance like CDC’s Framework for Conditional Sailing Orders, which was renewed and revised in October, will expire on Saturday.
📈Today’s Number: The US has recorded more than 63.9 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and more than 846,000 deaths, according to Data from Johns Hopkins University. Global total: More than 319 million cases and nearly 5.5 million deaths. More than 208 million Americans – 62.8% – are fully immunized, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
📘What we are reading: When will this COVID surge end? Scientists look for clues in your wastewater.
Keep refreshing this page for the latest news. Want more? Registration for USA TODAY’s Coronavirus Newsletter Free Watch to receive updates directly to your inbox and join our Facebook group.
Novak Djokovic faces deportation again after Australian government revokes his visa for the second time
Tennis star Novak Djokovic Faces Deportation Again after the Australian government revoked his visa a second time.
Immigration Minister Alex Hawke said on Friday that he had used his authority to revoke the visa of a 34-year-old Serb on grounds of public interest three days before the Australian Open began. Djokovic’s attorneys are expected to appeal the annulment in Federal Circuit and Family Court as they did successfully after the first cancellation.
Djokovic arrived in Melbourne last week to defend his Australian Open title. His exemption from the COVID-19 vaccination requirement to compete has been approved by the Victorian government and Tennis Australia, the tournament’s organizer. That appears to have allowed him to get a visa to travel.
But the Australian Border Force denied his waiver and canceled his visa upon arrival in Melbourne. Djokovic spent four nights in an immigration detention hotel before a judge overturned the decision on Monday.
– Relevant press
Centers for COVID Control to ‘pause’ test sites nationwide
A coronavirus testing company is being investigated by the Oregon Department of Justice and has drew criticism from customers in several states on Thursday announced a “one-week pause for all operations.”
The pause is expected to be in effect Friday through January 21 at all Centers for COVID Control testing sites. The Illinois-based company’s website says it has more than 300 locations in the US across several states. Two of them, Massachusetts and Washington, took action this week to close some of the company’s testing centers in their communities.
In an internal company memo sent to “all venue owners and managers” and obtained by USA TODAY, the Centers for COVID Control cited “media scrutiny of the with the activity of our collection sites” over the past week. The company says it processes 80,000 test requests per day.
“This, along with various customer complaints, has resulted in multiple state health departments and even the Department of Justice taking an interest in our company,” the announcement said.
– Grace Hauck, USA TODAY
Supreme Court blocks workplace authorization to test or vaccinate against COVID-19
The Supreme Court on Thursday halted enforcement of one of President Joe Biden’s signature efforts to combat COVID-19, ruling that his administration has no authority to impose Vaccination or testing requirements for employers that would cover tens of millions of Americans.
The unsigned opinion, which came days after judges heard arguments in an emergency appeal, marked the second time the nation’s highest court has rejected its own pandemic policy. Biden, again concluding that federal officials exceed the powers conferred on them by Congress. The court blocked Biden’s deportation order in August, ruling that it was also an act of exaggeration.
The issue raised in the workplace case is whether the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has the power to impose requirements under the 1970 law.
It is unclear what options the Biden administration has in response to the ruling, if any. In a statement, the president said he was “disappointed,” and that “now states and individual employers must decide whether to make their workplaces as safe as possible for employees.” pill or not.” Read more here about what could happen next for Biden’s vaccine campaign.
– John Fritze, USA TODAY
Contributing: Celina Tebor, USA TODAY; Related press