Contagion

As state mask rules end, school leaders are in the middle As some of the last statewide mask mandates in the U.S. near an end, decisions about whether students and teachers should continue to wear masks in school are shifting to local leaders, who are caught in the middle of one of the most combustible issues of the pandemic. AP NEWS

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still recommends masks for students and staff inside buildings, leaving district leaders to weigh the federal guidance against what they have seen in their own schools and heard from the parents, teachers and students. ...

You're more likely to die from COVID-19 in the US than in other high-income countries amid omicron, data suggests More infections may lead to a rise in COVID-19 deaths, health experts say. Data shows the U.S. case fatality rate is among the highest in the world. YahooNews

Although the omicron variant of the coronavirus is less likely to cause severe disease compared with previously dominating strains, the USA is still experiencing more COVID-19 deaths than at almost any other point in the pandemic.