BBC: Covid: Doctors call for Covid Plan B to start in England. “An ‘unacceptable’ level of Covid cases means ministers should trigger their Plan B for the pandemic in England, doctors say. The British Medical Association accused the government of being ‘wilfully negligent’ for not reimposing Covid rules such as mandatory face masks. Daily UK infections have been above 40,000 for eight days in a row.”
Orange County Register: Coronavirus: Woman who refused to wear mask in Costa Mesa grocery store goes on trial. “A jury will soon decide whether Marianne Campbell Smith is guilty of a pair of misdemeanor charges, including trespassing and obstructing a business or customers, for allegedly refusing to leave busy Mother’s Market near the Triangle Square during an anti-mask protest on Aug. 15, 2020.”
New York Times: California Accounts for 12% of U.S. Students, but Only 1% of Covid School Closures. “Of the 2,321 nationwide school closures since August because of Covid-19, about 1 percent have been in California — even though the state accounts for 12 percent of the nation’s K-12 students, according to data from Burbio, a technology company that monitors outbreaks. So some parents may be wondering: If masking, testing and other prevention strategies are working so well, why is the state adding an immunization requirement?”
Tennessean: Travis Tritt cancels shows at venues that require COVID-19 vaccines, negative tests, masks. “Travis Tritt has canceled shows at venues requiring masks, proof of COVID-19 vaccinations or a negative test. The country singer and songwriter announced the move Monday, which triggered the cancellation of four upcoming shows in Muncie, Indiana; Philadelphia, Mississippi; Peoria, Illinois; and Louisville, Kentucky.”
Rappahannock News: Rep. Good encourages Rappahannock students to shed masks at school and rise up in opposition to mandates. “U.S. Rep. Bob Good on Thursday encouraged a group of Rappahannock County High School students to not wear masks in school, saying during his visit the administration ‘can’t stop everyone.’”
Anchorage Daily News: Anchorage Assembly set to vote on override after mayor vetoes emergency ordinance requiring masks. “After a bitter, weeks-long debate, the Anchorage Assembly passed an emergency ordinance late Tuesday night requiring people in the city to wear masks in indoor public spaces — and Mayor Dave Bronson on Wednesday followed through with his vow to veto it.”
The Hill: Ex-Trump lawyer Sidney Powell sues over Pentagon vaccine mandate. “Pro-Trump lawyer Sidney Powell is suing the Department of Defense, seeking to block the Pentagon from enforcing its COVID-19 vaccine mandate. Powell’s Texas-based group Defending the Republic announced Wednesday that it had filed a lawsuit against Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on behalf of 16 active-duty service members ‘in support of their right to refuse’ the coronavirus vaccine.”
Washington Post: Opinion: Florida teachers are quitting their jobs in droves — and who can blame them?. “Teachers are quitting their jobs in droves, particularly younger ones, and who can blame them? As of July, 2,137 teachers have left the Orlando-area Orange County school system, either by resigning or retiring, Wendy L. Doromal, the president of the county’s Classroom Teachers Association, told me, adding that another 493 teachers told a recent survey they are currently thinking of leaving or retiring. ‘It’s more than we have had previously, and it just keeps going and going,’ Doromal said. Statewide, there were 5,000 teachers and 3,700 support-staff vacancies in early August. There is also a major substitute teacher crisis, not to mention an intense shortage of bus drivers.”
USA Today: Wisconsin parent sues school district, says her son contracted COVID-19 from a classmate. “A Wisconsin parent, with the help of a brewery in the state, has filed a federal lawsuit against the Waukesha School District and Waukesha School Board, saying her son got sick after being exposed to a classmate who had COVID-19 symptoms due to the district’s lack of mitigation protocols.”
CNN: Apple Store security guard stabbed over face mask dispute in NYC. “Officers responded to the West 14th Street location in Manhattan about 6:20 pm ET, Lt. Thomas Antonetti said. The victim, a 37-year-old male whose identity was not publicly disclosed, did not suffer life-threatening wounds and was sent for treatment to Bellevue Hospital, Antonetti said.”
Florida Phoenix: State will dock salaries from 8 elected school boards due to their strict mask policies. “Eight school district superintendents pled their cases Thursday to the State Board of Education, to keep strict mask mandates in their districts for the safety of children and staff. Instead, they were punished and it was expected, following Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran’s earlier recommendations.”
Nikki Fried: Commissioner Nikki Fried Releases COVID-19 School Data Blocked by DeSantis Administration. “Today, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, an independently-elected member of the Florida Cabinet, held a virtual press conference to release and discuss school district COVID-19 data which Governor Ron DeSantis’ administration has worked to block. This data shows clear evidence that school districts requiring masks resulted in up to four times lower COVID-19 cases per capita than school districts that did not require masks.”
Washington Post: Koch-backed group fuels opposition to school mask mandates, leaked letter shows. “The letter was made available on Tuesday to paying members of the Independent Women’s Network, a project of the Independent Women’s Forum and Independent Women’s Voice that markets itself as a ‘members-only platform that is free from censorship and cancellation.’ Both are nonprofits once touted by their board chairman and CEO, Heather Higgins, as part of a unique tool in the ‘Republican conservative arsenal’ because, ‘Being branded as neutral but actually having the people who know, know that you’re actually conservative puts us in a unique position.’ Higgins, an heiress to the Vicks VapoRub fortune, did not respond to a request for comment.”
ProPublica: Few Masks. Sick Kids. Packed ERs. How One District’s First Four Weeks of School Went Bad.. “For the mother of two in suburban Atlanta’s wealthy East Cobb, the breaking point came the first Friday of the school year. It was two months after Cobb County School District, Georgia’s second-largest, announced it was revoking its mask mandate, two days after the district ditched its quarantine protocol for a far more lenient one, and 10 minutes after she had decided to cold call a local school official to ask a few questions.”
BET: First Grader Who Wore Mask In School Portrait Receives $30,000 In Scholarship Donations. “A first grader who went viral for wearing a mask for his school portrait, claiming that it’s what his mom wanted him to do, has now raised over $30,000 toward his college fund. Mason’s mother, Nicole Peoples, described the incident that made her son famous on her Facebook page, writing that she’s happy her son is listening to her, but should’ve been more clear.”
