Tag: pandemic

‘You’re ruining my country!’ Man has epic public meltdown after gym trainer asks him to wear a mask

A man was caught on camera last week having a public meltdown at an Anytime Fitness gym after a trainer asked him to wear a face mask.

Local news station WISTV reports that Adrian Aguilar, a trainer at the Anytime Fitness located in Edgewater, Illinois, tried to ask 30-year-old Anthony Myers to comply with the gym’s policies regarding face masks to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Myers did not take kindly to his requests, however, and started angrily berating him. Continue reading.

Eroding trust, spreading fear: The historical ties between pandemics and extremism

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Adam Crigler used to feed his YouTube following a politics-free diet of chatter about aliens, movies, skateboarding and video games. Then came the pandemic. Now, he devotes much of his talk show to his assertion that mask mandates are an assault on personal freedom and that Democrats somehow stole the 2020 election from Donald Trump. Result: a much bigger audience.

“The pandemic has made more people want to blame someone else because they’ve lost their jobs or they’re lonely,” Crigler said.

Ian Bayne, for years a campaign professional, had sworn off politics and launched a career in real estate. Then covid hit, and he helped launch No Mask Nevada, organizing a dozen rallies against masking because he said the government was inflating the danger of the coronavirus. Continue reading.

Kamala Harris reveals what the new administration discovered about Trump’s COVID-19 response plan

In an interview with Axios on HBO, Vice President Kamala Harris claimed ‘there was no national strategy or plan for vaccinations’ in the Trump administration’s COVID-19 plan. Harris claims what many in the Biden administration have surmised after taking over governing.

‘We were leaving it to the states and local leaders to try and figure it out,” Harris told reporter Mike Allen. 

President Joe Biden made a similar claim when he announced the next steps for the vaccine plan. Continue reading.

U.K. Virus Variant Is Probably Deadlier, Scientists Say

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New research finds that the British variant is “likely” to be linked to a higher risk of hospitalization and death, laying bare the danger facing countries that ease restrictions.

LONDON — British government scientists are increasingly finding the coronavirus variant first detected in Britain to be linked to a higher risk of death than other versions of the virus, a devastating trend that highlights the serious risks and considerable uncertainties of this new phase of the pandemic.

The scientists said last month that there was a “realistic possibility” that the variant was not only more contagious than others, but also more lethal. Now, they say in a new document that it is “likely” that the variant is linked to an increased risk of hospitalization and death.

The British government did not publicly announce the updated findings, which are based on roughly twice as many studies as its earlier assessment and include more deaths from Covid-19 cases caused by the new variant, known as B.1.1.7. It posted the document on a government website on Friday. Continue reading.

CDC releases guidelines on safely reopening schools

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School reopenings should be contingent on community transmission rates and should be a priority over restaurants and other nonessential businesses, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended Friday.

Why it matters: America’s educators have been calling on the health agency to issue clear and useful guidance for schools, following mixed signals sent by the Trump administration last year. 

The state of play: K–12 schools should close only after all other mitigation measures in the community have been employed, and the first to reopen when they can do so safely, the guidance says.  Continue reading.

Gov. Walz and Lt. Gov. Flanagan Update: February 12, 2021

Governor Walz Orders Flags Flown at Half-Staff to Honor Victims of Buffalo Tragedy

On Wednesday, Governor Tim Walz directed all flags at state and federal buildings in Minnesota to be flown at half-staff, effective immediately, until sunset on Sunday, February 14, 2021 in honor of the victims of the senseless tragedy that resulted in one lost life and four others injured at Allina Clinic Crossroads in Buffalo, Minnesota on Tuesday, February 9, 2021.

“Minnesota flags will fly at half-staff through Sunday to honor the loss of Medical Assistant Lindsay Overbay and those who were injured and the at Allina Clinic in Buffalo,” said Governor Walz. “As we grieve this senseless tragedy, let us also honor their work to keep Minnesotans safe and healthy.”

Continue reading “Gov. Walz and Lt. Gov. Flanagan Update: February 12, 2021”

Gov. Walz scales back some COVID-19 restrictions in Minnesota

Caps on indoor gatherings such as wedding receptions increased from 10 people up to 50. 

Gov. Tim Walz is scaling back indoor crowd restrictions, designed to slow the spread of COVID-19, amid improving measures of pandemic activity.

Wedding receptions and private indoor gatherings can increase, as of noon Saturday, to 50 people rather than 10 — though facilities still can’t exceed 25% of their fire code capacity. Similarly, restaurants can host up to 250 people, but must operate at no more than 50% of capacity and maintain social distancing of groups.

Restaurants also can remain open until 11 p.m. instead of 10 p.m., despite concerns that viral transmission happens in later hours when customers become less cautious. Continue reading.

Biden says U.S. will have enough vaccine for 300 million people by end of July

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The administration used options in existing contracts to purchase another 200 million doses, increasing supply by 50 percent

President Biden said Thursday that his administration had finalized deals for another 200 million doses of the two coronavirus vaccines authorized in the United States, giving the country enough vaccine by the end of July to cover every American adult.

In remarks capping an afternoon tour of the National Institutes of Health, Biden said the federal government had purchased 100 million more doses from Pfizer and German company BioNTech, as well as 100 million more from Moderna, using options built into existing contracts with those companies.

The announcement was the centerpiece of an emotional address from Biden, who made a point of speaking through his mask as he called it a “patriotic responsibility” to wear one. Continue reading.

Psaki defends White House’s definition of reopening schools amid criticism

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White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Wednesday defended the Biden administration’s definition of having schools “open” during the coronavirus pandemic amid criticism that the goal is not ambitious enough and has already been met across parts of the country.

Psaki faced multiple questions during her daily briefing with reporters after she said Tuesday that Biden’s goal of having schools open within his first 100 days office meant more than 50 percent of schools were holding at least one day of in-person learning each week by the end of that time frame.

But some were quick to point out that many districts around the country were already doing at least one day of in-person learning under hybrid models, and questioned why the administration was setting the bar so low. Continue reading.

UBLC lawmakers announce 2021 Legislative Agenda

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SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – On Wednesday, the United Black Legislative Caucus announced its 2021 Legislative Agenda aimed at eliminating racial inequities and helping Black Minnesotans bounce back from the COVID-19 pandemic. The priorities are aimed at addressing disparities regarding economic opportunity, housing, education, health and human services, public safety, transportation, and environmental justice.

“The challenges facing Black Minnesotans are numerous, persistent, and urgent, and have been greatly compounded by COVID-19’s impacts on their health and economic security,” said Rep. Rena Moran (DFL – Saint Paul), UBLC co-chair. “Black Minnesotans deserve bold progress to eliminate disparities rather than incremental changes, and this agenda represents actions lawmakers can take this year to ensure everyone can share in our state’s success.”  

“Even before the pandemic, Minnesota had some of the worst racial disparities in the nation,” said Rep. Ruth Richardson (DFL- Mendota Heights), co-chair of the UBLC. “The agenda we are bringing forward today is an important step forward in closing critical gaps for Black Minnesotans to ensure we all have an opportunity to succeed and thrive. There are significant annual economic costs to the state by failing to address these disparities and it continues to lead to a less prosperous Minnesota for all.”

The agenda includes many important actions lawmakers can take to strengthen the future for Black Minnesotans such as:

  • ·Removes barriers to economic security, including high unemployment rates, a significant wage gap, barriers to starting a business, and systemic roadblocks towards building generational wealth.
  • Tackles the systemic racism Black Minnesotans have faced in homeownership through redlining, displacement, and barriers to capital, in addition to facing discrimination as renters.
  • Invests in students to help them achieve, including measures to address Minnesota’s opportunity gap – the worst in the nation – and COVID-19’s disproportionate impact on Black learners.
  • Addresses key health disparities, including poor maternal and child health outcomes.
  • Ensures investments in transportation infrastructure consider the needs of Black communities toward our entire region’s success.
  • Focuses on reforming Minnesota’s legal system to address disproportionately harmful impacts on the Black community.
  • Delivers economic justice by recognizing Black neighborhoods are disproportionately subject to air and water pollution and live and work in areas more vulnerable to certain climate-related disasters.

At the start of the current legislative session, membership of the UBLC grew from six to 10, with eight House members and two senators, highlighting an increasing diversity among lawmakers better reflective of their constituencies. The UBLC’s legislative priorities build upon the work of the House Select Committee on Racial Justice – which Rep. Moran and Rep. Richardson co-chaired in 2020 – which issued a series of recommendations to address systemic racism.

More information about the UBLC’s priorities can be accessed on this fact sheet. Video of the caucus’s press conference will be available on House Public Information Services’ YouTube channel.