DETROIT — Students in the Detroit school district will resume classes at home with laptops, at least through Jan. 14.
The district said Tuesday that online learning is necessary until the city’s COVID-19 infection rates decrease.
The holiday break for more than 40,000 students in the Detroit district will end Thursday.
Michigan’s case numbers have caused many schools to delay the start of January classes or switch to online learning. About 37% of eligible Detroit residents are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, far below the statewide figure.
Detroit-based Henry Ford Health System is “bracing for one of the bleakest months” of the pandemic, said Dr. Dennis Cunningham, director of infection control, citing the likely spread of COVID-19 during holiday gatherings.
Michigan reported an average of 12,200 new daily cases from last Thursday through Monday.
“This pandemic is not slowing down and we are still surging,” Cunningham told reporters Tuesday.
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HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY ABOUT THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC:
— How will pandemic end? Omicron clouds forecasts for endgame
— Fauci says CDC may add test requirement for infected people ending isolation
— Pentagon chief Austin says he has tested positive for COVID
— British government rushing tests to schools
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Follow AP’s pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic
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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING TODAY:
MISSION, Kan. — Kansas health officials warned of a “dangerous moment” as one school district reimposed masks and another eased up on them during a meeting so contentious that the audience was removed.
In the Manhattan-Ogden district, the school board voted Monday to reinstate a districtwide mask mandate, changing a policy that had been in place since Nov. 1 that made masks optional for high schoolers. The board will revisit the decision early next month.
Meanwhile, the board for the 27,000-student Shawnee Mission school district narrowly voted to allow a mask-optional policy to take effect for middle- and high-schoolers when classes resume Wednesday. The crowd interrupted so frequently that the board president twice shut the meeting down before kicking out the audience.
Superintendent Michelle Hubbard described the contentiousness of the meeting in a briefing Tuesday as “disappointing, to say the least” and noted that the board has been under tremendous pressure.
Hubbard said the district started the academic year 250 employees short and has struggled to find enough bus drivers, food service workers and substitute teachers. She said the situation is expected to get worse as omicron takes hold.
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OMAHA, Neb. — The meat processing industry, which was hit hard by the spread of COVID-19 early in the pandemic, has weathered the recent surge in virus cases across the country without cutting production.
The latest numbers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture show beef and pork production running close to last year’s levels. And a spokeswoman for the North American Meat Institute said the trade group isn’t aware of any significant production problems across the industry.
At the height of the outbreaks in the spring of 2020, U.S. meatpacking production fell to about 60% of normal as several major plants were forced to temporarily close for deep cleaning and safety upgrades or operated at slower speeds because so many workers became ill or had to quarantine. In October, a congressional report said at least 59,000 meatpacking workers at the five largest companies became ill with the virus and at least 269 workers died.
The major meat processors say their efforts to get workers vaccinated, combined with the safety measures they took after the initial outbreaks, have helped limit the spread of COVID-19 in their plants. Tyson Foods remains the only major company to require all of its workers to get vaccinated while the other giant firms have strongly encouraged the shots and offered bonuses to workers who get them.
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NEW YORK — The omicron variant accounted for 95% of new coronavirus infections last week, according to U.S. health officials’ latest estimates.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted its newest estimates Tuesday. The CDC uses genomic surveillance data to make projections about which versions of the COVID-19 viruses are causing the most new infections.
The latest estimates suggest a dramatic swing — in just one month — in which version of the coronavirus is most abundant. Beginning in late June, the delta variant was the main version causing U.S. infections. The CDC said more than 99.5% of coronaviruses were delta as recently as the end of November.
The CDC’s estimates are based on coronavirus specimens collected each week through university and commercial laboratories and state and local health departments. Scientists analyze their genetic sequences to determine which versions of the COVID-19 viruses are most abundant.
However, those specimens represent just a small fraction of what’s out there. More than 2.2 million cases were reported in the last week in the U.S. The CDC has been revising estimates for past weeks as it gets more data.
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SAN FRANCISCO — In San Francisco, the average seven-day number of new reported infections has climbed steeply to 829, which is more than double that of last winter’s peak of 373 cases a day.
But the mayor of the city, which has had among the strictest public health protections against the virus and lowest infection and death numbers in the country, was upbeat Tuesday about the city’s ability to weather the current omicron-driven surge, saying San Francisco had sufficient hospital beds.
Still, London Breed urged residents to get vaccinated or boosted if they have not done so and to limit time in crowded, indoor spaces. She noted that staffing remains an issue given the speed with which the variant spreads. Currently, there are about 400 workers in police, fire and transportation who need to quarantine due to exposure and many more who can’t work due to other COVID-related complications, such as child care.
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ANKARA, Turkey — The number of confirmed daily COVID-19 cases in Turkey has exceeded 50,000 for the first time since mid-April, according to Health Ministry data.
The ministry reported 54,724 new infections on Tuesday, compared to 44,869 the previous day. It also reported 137 new deaths.
Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter that Istanbul, where the omicron variant was spreading rapidly, accounted for more than half of the cases reported on Tuesday.
Turkey is urging people to continue to wear masks and to practice social distancing, but is so far not considering introducing restrictions.
Around 83% of the adult population has received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines and 20 million people have received a booster shot. More than 82,000 people have died of the virus.
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PARIS — France reported a record-smashing 271,686 daily virus cases Tuesday as omicron infections race across the country, burdening hospital staff and threatening to disrupt transport, schools and other services.
The French government is straining to avoid a new economically damaging lockdown, and is instead trying to rush a vaccine pass bill through parliament in hopes that it is enough to protect hospitals.
But with Europe’s highest number of confirmed daily virus cases, after weeks of record-breaking figures, France is in an increasingly challenging position. France’s average daily case load has more than doubled in a week, with an overall current infection rate of more than 1,671 people out of 100,000 over the past week.
Britain reported a record 218,274 daily cases Tuesday; Germany reported 30,561.
More than 20,000 people are hospitalized with the virus in France, a number that has been rising steadily for weeks but not as sharply as the infection rates.
COVID-19 patients fill more than 72% of France’s ICU beds, and a once-renowned health care system is again showing signs of strain. Most virus patients in ICUs are not vaccinated, though 77% of the population has had at least two doses.
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ATLANTA — U.S. government data published Tuesday says COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy doesn’t increase chances for premature births or small newborns.
The findings echo previous studies and are in a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report on 46,000 pregnant women, including 10,000 who received at least one vaccine dose while pregnant.
Premature birth rates — about 7 per 100 births — were comparable in both groups, as were rates for small babies, 8 per 100 births.
The data, from December 2020 through late July, suggest there’s no increased risk for women vaccinated early in pregnancy although the authors note that most women included got shots during the second and third trimesters.
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ATHENS, Greece — Greece has registered another daily record high of 50,126 new coronavirus infections, but authorities are insisting schools will reopen as planned next week, albeit with extra testing.
Education Minister Niki Kerameus said Tuesday that during the week of Jan. 10, when classes start after the Christmas and New Year holidays, pupils will have to carry out three self-tests for the virus, up from two weekly before the holidays.
“We want schools to stay open,” Health Minister Thanos Plevris told a press conference. “With the updated protocols schools will open — because in-person teaching is necessary — in a safe fashion.”
Also Tuesday, Greek health authorities announced the new daily infection record, which far exceeds last week’s previous record of just over 40,000. The new figure however includes some delayed results from tests done over the weekend.
Another 61 deaths were recorded Tuesday bringing the total death toll to just over 21,000 in the country of almost 11 million. Most new infections are from the omicron variant, and there has been no major rise in deaths or intubations.
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THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The Dutch public health institute says the fast-spreading omicron variant pushed up confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Netherlands by 35% over the past week, despite a nationwide lockdown.
The institute said in its weekly update Tuesday that a downward trend in hospital admissions has flattened and may start rising in coming weeks “as infections rise rapidly due to omicron.”
A total of 164 COVID patients were admitted to intensive care units over the last week, a drop of 16% compared to the week before.
The institute says that most people currently in hospital with COVID-19 were infected before omicron had overtaken delta to become the dominant variant in the Netherlands.
Measures in place under the Dutch lockdown include the closure of all non-essential stores as well as all bars, restaurants, cinemas, museums and other public venues.
The government announced Monday that elementary and high schools will re-open as planned next Monday.
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BRUSSELS — Belgium is relaxing its COVID-19 quarantine rules in the face of the surging omicron variant which is threatening the nation’s testing capacity.
Fully vaccinated people who had a high-risk contact will no longer have to do go into quarantine but still respect preventive measures such as wearing masks, keeping distance and avoiding contact with vulnerable people.
Partly vaccinated and non-vaccinated people will still have to quarantine. Authorities said in a statement that the measure was necessary “to safeguard the testing system and the social impact” of the omicron variant.
The statement said that “models show that the number of infections will continue to rise in the coming days and weeks. Pressure on our testing and analysis capacity would become untenable” if no additional measures were taken.
The latest statistics for the week ending Dec. 31 show show a weekly increase of infections of 69% for a total of 10,936 in the nation of 11 million. Hospital admission are also on the rise, but at 15% over the last available week.
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ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan declared a 30-day state of emergency on Tuesday to fight a surge in COVID-19 cases, mobilizing 1,000 members of the Maryland National Guard to help state and local health officials.
Hogan made the announcement as Maryland hit 3,057 hospitalizations for COVID-19 — a record high in the state and an increase of more than 500% in the last seven weeks. The governor said projections show that hospitalizations for virus cases could reach more than 5,000.
“The truth is that the next four to six weeks will be the most challenging of the entire pandemic,” Hogan said at a news conference. “All of the emergency actions we are taking today are to keep our hospitals from overflowing, to keep our kids in school, and to keep Maryland open for business, and we will continue to take whatever actions are necessary in the very difficult days and weeks ahead.”
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NEW YORK — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has signed off on two measures to increase access to additional doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine.
The CDC on Tuesday recommended shortening the recommended interval of time between when people who had an initial series of Pfizer vaccinations and when they receive a Pfizer booster shot, from six months to five months.
The agency has not changed the recommended booster interval for people who got other vaccines. The Johnson & Johnson booster interval is two months and the Moderna vaccine can be given six months after initial doses.
The CDC also recommended that kids ages 5 to 11 with moderately or severely weakened immune systems receive an additional dose 28 days after their second Pfizer shot. Currently, only the Pfizer vaccine is recommended for that age group.
The CDC’s decisions followed moves by the Food and Drug Administration on Monday. The FDA also approved Pfizer booster shots for kids ages 12 to 15. The CDC has not announced a recommendation about that, but a CDC expert advisory committee is expected to take up the matter during a meeting Wednesday.