Individuals will see about a 41% cut in monthly SNAP benefits after the state General Assembly’s recent decision to call an early end to the public health emergency for covid-19. Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear blasted the legislation, saying it will “take food off the tables of more than a half-million Kentuckians, most of them struggling seniors and struggling children.”
The Courier-Journal:
Kentucky Ending COVID Emergency Early To Cost Millions In Federal Aid
The Kentucky General Assembly’s recent decision to call an early end to the public health emergency over COVID-19 will come at a cost to more than a half-million of the state’s residents. Kentuckians stands to lose $50 million a month in extra food stamp benefits starting in May. The legislature’s decision means the average benefit of $243 a month will drop by about $100 for the 544,000 low-income Kentuckians who qualify for the federal program known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. (Yetter, 3/14)
AP:
Louisiana Governor: COVID-19 Emergency Declaration Ending
A public health emergency declaration in effect since March of 2020 will end Wednesday in Louisiana, Gov. John Bel Edwards told state lawmakers in a wide-ranging speech on the first day of the 2022 regular legislative session. Opening day fell two years to the day after Louisiana recorded its first COVID-19 death. The Democratic governor’s mitigation efforts at times included mask mandates and strong limits on public gatherings that put him at odds with some Republican lawmakers and state officials. Although Edwards continually renewed the emergency status over two years, he largely eliminated the restrictions and mandates as the state’s coronavirus picture improved. (McGill, 3/14)
And more on covid mandates —
The Washington Post:
U.S. Capitol Complex Takes Steps Toward Phased Reopening After Coronavirus Shutdown
House and Senate officials are considering a phased reopening of the Capitol beginning March 28 after shutting down the complex because of the coronavirus pandemic. Since March 12, 2020, members of the general public have been restricted from entering the Capitol complex. Only lawmakers, staff, the credentialed Capitol press corps and those deemed to be official visitors have been allowed to enter. (Sonmez and Sotomayor, 3/14)
Los Angeles Times:
Schools Go Mask Optional In Most Of L.A. County
Monday marked the first day since most schools reopened in spring 2021 that students across Los Angeles County have the option to remove their masks in class — although the L.A. Unified School District is an exception. The option to remove masks took effect based on a revised county health order and clearance from state health officials. Yet county Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer strongly urges that masking continue as a prudent and valuable measure, especially because student vaccination rates are lagging: 29% of children ages 5 to 11 are fully vaccinated. (Blume and Money, 3/14)
Bay Area News Group:
Many Bay Area Students Still Masked As State Mandate Lifts
It was supposed to be mask-free Monday for California school kids, but you couldn’t tell from watching Willow Glen Middle School eighth grader Trish Ha as she darted off to her first class. Though San Jose Unified School District adopted the state’s new mask-optional guidance, Ha was having none of it. “I’m still going to wear my mask,” the 14-year-old said. “I don’t want to take it off because people might be a bit reckless.” Ha was hardly alone. Mask-wearing has become so baked in that nine out of 10 kids at San Jose Unified opted to keep them on Monday, said district spokeswoman Jennifer Maddox, and many of the few who showed up bare faced slipped theirs back on to avoid standing out. Allegiance to masks was on display throughout the Bay Area on Monday, the first school day since the statewide K12 mask mandate lifted over the weekend. (Woolfolk, Prodis Sulek, Prieve and Kamisher, 3/14)
The Washington Post:
These Schools Did Less To Contain Covid. Their Students Flourished
As school systems around the country were battening down for their first remote start-of-school in the fall of 2020, the Lewis-Palmer district here was embarking on another kind of experiment: Elementary students would be in class full time, sitting maskless at communal tables. The band program would resume in-person classes, saxophonists and flutists playing a few feet apart. The high school football teams would practice and compete. While most of the nation kept students at home for part or all of the last academic year, these schools in the suburbs of Colorado Springs, like thousands of others around the country, opened with the overwhelming majority of students in their seats. Masks were optional in elementary school. Although middle- and high-schoolers began with hybrid learning, in November, high school-aged students with significant special education needs were back in-person five days a week. (Stein, 3/14)
Axios:
Axios-Ipsos Poll: Americans Ditch COVID Masks, Gain Confidence
Americans’ emotional and physical health is bouncing back, along with record confidence about life returning to “normal” as mask mandates are abandoned, according to the latest installment of the Axios/Ipsos Coronavirus Index. Two years after the start of the pandemic, the nation is ready to move on, even as disinformation at home and a resurgence of cases in Europe driven by the B.A.2 variant point to challenges on the horizon. (Talev, 3/15)
Also —
USA Today:
Costco To End Senior Hours, COVID Operating Hours For Healthcare Workers And First Responders
Costco will soon drop its senior hours after holding them for more than two years amid the coronavirus pandemic. The special operating hours will be in place until April 17 for members 60 and older, healthcare workers and first responders, the wholesale club said Monday in an update on its COVID updates webpage. The hours have also been for members with disabilities or those who are immunocompromised. “As of April 18, 2022, Costco will no longer be offering special shopping hours for members ages 60 or older, healthcare workers and first responders,” Costco said in the update. (Tyko, 3/14)
AP:
Biden Attends First In-Person Fundraiser Since Pandemic
President Joe Biden on Monday held his first in-person fundraiser since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, marking a return to a traditional form of politics that many Democrats eschewed as a matter of public safety over the past two years. … Biden has attended several in-person political events in recent months, including a speech he gave at a DNC gathering last week. But his return to in-person fundraisers for the first time since the 2020 presidential primary nonetheless marks a new chapter in the politics of the pandemic, signaling a desire by Democrats to get back to normal after years of social distancing, lockdowns and virtual campaigning. (Slodysko and Boak, 3/15)
This is part of the KHN Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.
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