At least five school districts, most in the northeast of the country, have reinstated mask requirements for students amid an uptick in COVID-19 infections, and two requested that students be tested for the virus before returning to school from winter break.
Since Beijing announced it is reopening China’s borders, Hong Kong announced that beginning on Dec. 29, most of the pandemic measures will be lifted but the mask mandate will remain in effect.
Boston Democratic Mayor Michelle Wu stated that Boston Public Schools is weighing a mask mandate for children following their Christmas break from school.
The Associated Press found that governments around the world used mass surveillance technologies and data during the COVID-19 pandemic for purposes unrelated to the pandemic, including stifling dissent and harassing marginalized communities.
The CDC took nearly two years to formally recognize distinctions between masks for mitigating COVID-19 spread, finally saying in January that cloth masks offer "the least" protection and N95 respirators, which meet strict federal standards, "the highest."
Los Angeles County is once again recommending residents to mask up. This is due to the fact that COVID-19 infections within the City of Angels have sharply risen since the start of November.
The Supreme Court upheld a ruling Monday giving the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) the permission to mandate masks on planes during Public Health Emergencies.
