Papa Mandrill at San Diego Zoo (Taken 3.1.22) |
On Monday I was up all shiny and early and by the afternoon, hit a wall, and then took too long of a nap, which cycled into me just staying up all night. Not to waste the day, after doing some work and stuff around the house, Darren and I called in takeout sandwiches from Big Front Door and took our little picnic to the San Diego Zoo.
Now you know I'm not usually there in the middle of the day and today was reminded why. Not only is it far too crowded for my personal comfort, but the animals are not super active. Or they eat and then they go straight back to sleep. Maybe I'm adopting their lifestyle. Who could say? There are also the dozens of field trips and apparently the Kelly Clarkson Show was doing some kind of shoot or something, too. Regardless, we ate our amazing sandwiches in the treehouse and walked around for a couple hours before we had to head home, expecting the plumber to fix the now broken fill valve. That has now been postponed until Thursday so we have to trigger the valve manually. But at least it meant I finally went to sleep and that's where I'm back with you now, to catch up on the day's work and all that.
I won't get into the SOTU, since they're all kinda the same 'America is great, Americans are strong, we'll defend democracy, we'll help the American people, fight companies that exploit people, blah-blah, rah-rah!' but it just brings me joy in my heart that THIS is our president and I don't feel like I'm going to vomit or punch a wall like with TFG. One thing he did say is that starting next week, even if you already ordered your free COVID tests, you'll be able to order another batch.
On Wednesday, Nova has her first lacrosse game which is awesome, but unfortunately I don't think it will count because they haven't filled their roster. I don't know how you can't get 13 girls in a school of over 2,000 students, but so it is. Darren has an interview with San Diego Zoo Safari Park, which is amazing. He has kept his search pretty local, places he can bike or walk or take public transit, but he's taking this one on a whim and it would be an amazing opportunity for him, even if the commute is harsh. Fingers tightly crossed. If anyone is hiring, he's looking for steady work, outdoor work is ideal, like San Diego Canyonlands, Park & Rec type stuff, San Diego River Foundation, but he's also worked decades in hospitality, transportation, security, and customer facing jobs.
I'm gonna get back to watching the SOTU, full text is linked below. I don't know when I'll get listings up but I'll try to get them as early as possible. Even though it's 3am, I'm back-posting this because I need it to reflect March 1st information and data.
- COVID-19:
- San Diego Unified will maintain the on-campus indoor mask requirement through at least April, according to NBC San Diego (Their online story hasn't updated yet.) See the full district email at the end of this post, as taken from a local (garbage) site, who I refuse to link to. In their snarky and critical post, they even said they couldn't get information on the UCSD panel that SDUSD uses for their COVID-19 safety protocols, but if they paid any attention to any actual news, they'd know that panel has been critical in SDUSD safety plans all along. You can see the full panel at the end of this document.
- J&J-Vaxxed, mRNA-Boosted, and Pondering a Third Shot - khn (3.1.22)
- WHO recommends antiviral drug for patients with non-severe covid-19 at highest risk of hospital admission - WHO (3.2.22)
- 43% of Americans have had COVID-19, CDC estimates - Becker's Hospital Review (3.1.22)
- CDC data suggest Pfizer vaccine protection holds up in kids 5-11, raising questions on earlier study - STAT News (3.1.22)
- Weekly Epidemiological Update 1 March - WHO
- Globally, during the week of 21 through 27 February 2022, the number of new COVID-19 cases and deaths continued to decline by 16% and 10% respectively, as compared to the previous week. Across the six WHO regions, over 10 million new cases and over 60 000 new deaths were reported. As of 27 February 2022, over 433 million confirmed cases and over 5.9 million deaths have been reported globally
- Following New Health Guidance, Governor Newsom Signs Order to Update Workplace Safety Rules - Office of Governor Newsom (2.28.22)
- CDC MMWR:
- Safety Monitoring of COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Doses Among Persons Aged 12–17 Years — United States, December 9, 2021–February 20, 2022
- Effectiveness of COVID-19 Pfizer-BioNTech BNT162b2 mRNA Vaccination in Preventing COVID-19–Associated Emergency Department and Urgent Care Encounters and Hospitalizations Among Nonimmunocompromised Children and Adolescents Aged 5–17 Years — VISION Network, 10 States, April 2021–January 2022
- Politics:
- Fossil fuel companies are exploiting Russia's attack on Ukraine - Popular.Info (3.1.22)
- Ukraine official confirms urgent request for Western satellite data. "Within one hour, there will be an attack on Kyiv again." - ARS Technica (3.1.22)
- Board Votes to Turn Three County Properties into Affordable Housing - County News Center (3.1.22)
- Governor Newsom Statement on 2022 State of the Union Address - Office of Governor Newsom (3.1.22)
- Governor Newsom Calls for State Sanctions on Russia - Office of Governor Newsom (3.1.22)
- News:
- Houston oil company sues over California pipeline leak - AP News (2.28.22)
- San Diego City Council Overwhelmingly Passes Street-Vendor Ordinance. The ordinance will go into effect June 1, 2022 - NBC San Diego (3.1.22)
- Other Reading:
- San Diego Is 2022’s 10th Happiest City in America - Wallethub (3.1.22)
- For all the accusations of California falling apart, 6 of the top 10 cities are in California
- 11 of the top 20 Happiest cities are in California
- Happiness in San Diego (1=Happiest, 91=Avg.):
- 41st – Depression Rate
- 19th – Adequate-Sleep Rate
- 77th – Suicide Rate
- 31st – Sports-Participation Rate
- 38th – Separation & Divorce Rate
- 37th – Income Growth Rate
- What the heck is SWIFT? The global messaging network is essential for cross-border trade, and a powerful geopolitical tool. - The Hustle (3.1.22)
- One more pandemic change — need for more personal space - Becker's Hospital Review (3.1.22)
- Government:
- White House
- Remarks of President Joe Biden – State of the Union Address As Prepared for Delivery
- Excerpts from President Biden’s State of the Union Address as Prepared for Delivery
- FACT SHEET: Addressing Addiction and the Overdose Epidemic
- Fact Sheet: President Biden to Announce New Steps to Combat Criminal Fraud and Identity Theft in Pandemic Relief Programs
- Fact Sheet: President Biden’s Historic Actions to Make Our Communities Safer by Reducing Gun Crime
- FACT SHEET: The Biden Administration’s Historic Investments To Create Opportunity and Build Wealth in Rural America
- FACT SHEET: Supporting Veterans Experiencing Financial Hardship and Addressing the Harmful Effects of Military Environmental Exposures
- FACT SHEET: President Biden to Announce Strategy to Address Our National Mental Health Crisis, As Part of Unity Agenda in his First State of the Union
- Memorandum on the Finding that a Drawdown and Sale of Petroleum from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is Required by U.S. Obligations Under the International Energy Program Implemented by the International Energy Agency
- Letter to Certain Congressional Committees on the Annual Report on the Legal and Policy Frameworks Guiding the United States’ Use of Military Force and Related National Security Operations
- The White House Announces Guest List for the First Lady’s Box for the 2022 State of the Union Address
- Readout of Vice President Harris’s Calls with European Leaders
- Readout of President Biden’s Call with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine
- Memorandum on Maximizing Assistance to Respond to COVID-19
- A Proclamation on Read Across America Day, 2022
- Statement by Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Coordinated IEA Release to Support Global Energy Security
- Statement by Press Secretary Jen Psaki on the Women’s Health Protection Act
- Letter from President Biden to the Dedicated Members of the Federal Workforce
- Dept of Defense
- U.S. Stands With Ukraine, Biden Says in State of the Union
- Ukrainian Resistance, Logistics Nightmares Plague Russian Invaders
- Defense Official Says U.S. Is Watching China While Supporting Ukraine
- State Dept
- Ukraine’s Filing Against Russia at the International Court of Justice
- Designation of ISIS Organizers and Financial Facilitators based in South Africa
- Restarting the Direct Access Program for U.S.-Affiliated Iraqis (Iraqi P-2 Program)
- 2022 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report Release
- DHS
- Secretary Mayorkas Delivers Remarks at the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) 2022 Winter Conference
- Global COVID-19 Stats (JHU 3.1.22 11:21pm):
- 438,550,298 Known Cases/5,964,860 28-Day New Cases
- 56,309,600 Known Deaths/277,442 28-Day New Deaths
- US COVID-19 Stats
- CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Data Tracker
- American Academy of Pediatrics Children and COVID-19 Dashboard
- JHU
- 79,092,025 Cases/3,692,664 28 Day New Cases
- 952,509 Deaths/59,209 28-Day New Deaths
- CDC Data Tracker:
- +91,972 New Cases/78,855,000 Known Cases
- +1,985 New Deaths/947,882 Known Deaths
- 690,435,045 Doses Delivered
- 553,378,046 Doses Administered
- 253,629,644 Partially Vaccinated
- 215,677,777 Fully Vaccinated
- 65% of Total Population
- 69.1% of Population ≥ 5 Years of Age
- 73.4% of Population ≥ 12 Years of Age
- 75% of Population ≥ 18 Years of Age
- 94,383,887 Boosters (43.8%)
- California COVID-19 Stats:
- State of California Safe Schools For All Hub
- Vaccination progress dashboard
- Coronavirus: Resources for Californians
- R-effective: 0.71
- 84,326,535 Doses Delivered/71,632,009 Doses Administered
- 3,514,056 Partially Vaccinated/27,813,615 Fully Vaccinated
- 14,054,539 Boosters Administered (56.7%)
- 1,460 New Cases/8,382,656 Total Cases (16.7 new cases/100k)
- 12 New Deaths/84,712 Total Deaths (0.4 new deaths/100k)
- 2.8% 7-day test positivity rate
- 4,129 COVID-19 Hospitalizations (-104 patients, -2.5% from prior day)
- 772 COVID-19 ICU hospitalized in CA (-45 patients, -5.5% from prior day)
- 2,143 ICU beds available (+55 from prior day)
- San Diego County
- Free Testing Sites and Schedule in San Diego
- Vaccination Locations San Diego
- Vaccination Dashboard
- COVID ActNow Daily Updates for San Diego Metro
- San Diego Unified School District COVID Dashboard
- State Data (Not Updated):
- R-effective: 0.56
- County Data:
- 533 New Cases/738,232 Total Cases
- +5 New Daily Deaths/5,034 Total Deaths
- 5.2% 7-day average
- +41 Day Over Day COVID-19 Hospitalizations
- +1 Day Over Day COVID-19 ICU Patients
- Universities:
(Sent 2.28.22)
Dear San Diego Unified Families and Colleagues;
Today, Governor Gavin Newsom announced masks will no longer be required – but will be strongly recommended – in schools after March 11. The Governor further noted districts may continue to exercise local control by continuing to require masks when local conditions warrant precaution.
San Diego County remains in the High COVID-19 Community Level, as defined by the latest CDC tool. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) continues to recommend indoor masking for schools in areas where the COVID-19 community level is high. Therefore, San Diego Unified will exercise its local control to maintain the indoor mask mandate at this time.
Following the release of the CDC guidelines, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said, “Moving forward, districts should continue to work with local health experts, parents, and educators to identify what works best for their communities and consider the appropriate mitigation strategies needed to keep students and staff safe.”
The District will conduct an assessment, including the recommendations of public health agencies and UC San Diego experts, to decide the metrics and thresholds that will be used to determine indoor masking after San Diego County exits the High COVID-19 Community Level. The District will announce this data-driven and science-based ‘off-ramp’ strategy before March 11.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, our District has looked to the guidance of federal, state, and local health agencies, as well as to the advice of trusted medical professionals in making science-based decisions for the policies we put in place to keep our students, our staff, and their families safe.
A recent Harvard study found it is “too soon to lift mask mandates for most elementary schools” advising that, “before lifting mask mandates in elementary schools in the U.S., local COVID-19 case rates should be far below current rates to avoid the risk of increased transmission among students, staff, and families.” Although the study specifically referenced elementary schools, secondary schools face the same issues regarding low vaccination rates and high case rates in the surrounding communities.
It is important to note that the public health situation is fluid, and San Diego Unified’s goal is to remain flexible. If the situation changes, the District policy on use of masks may change as well.
We also want to remind families and staff that our District has a multi-pronged approach for keeping our schools safe, and other mitigation strategies remain in place – including enhanced ventilation and a robust testing program.
Finally, we continue to urge everyone to follow the California SMARTER strategy that emphasizes vaccination as the best way to defeat the virus. All staff are fully vaccinated or accommodated, and all students age 5 and older are encouraged to get vaccinated.
At the most recent Board of Education meeting, the district again committed to requiring vaccinations for all students ages 16 and older at the start of the next semester.
For more on how to get vaccinated and keep you and your family safe, please visit our COVID-19 Information page. There, you will also be able to stay up to date on policy changes. Visit the online dashboard to monitor weekly testing and positive case rates in our schools.
Sincerely,
San Diego Unified School District
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