7 school districts sue Virginia Gov. Youngkin over masks; WHO chief says pandemic at ‘critical juncture’: Live COVID updates – USA TODAY

Seven school districts in Virginia filed suit Monday challenging the constitutionality of Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s updated school mask order.

The districts, which  represent over 350,000 students across the state, said in a statement they are defending the right of school boards to set policies that protect the health and well-being of students and staff.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends masks in schools for everyone over age 2, regardless of vaccination status. Youngkin took office Jan. 15 and almost immediately announced plans for a parental opt-out from school mask mandates. He has pledged to defend it against litigation.

The districts said in the statement that their lawsuit is not political. 

“With COVID-19 transmission rates high, our hospitals at crisis level, and the continued recommendation of health experts to retain universal mask-wearing for the time being, this is simply not the time to remove this critical component of layered health and safety mitigation strategies,”

Also in the news:

► Kentucky’s largest school district resumed in-person classes Monday after eight days of remote learning during a rise in COVID-19 cases among teachers and staff at Jefferson County Public Schools in Louisville.

► Masks became mandatory Monday in a Michigan school district after 58% of parents, guardians and staff in the Battle Creek-area’s Pennfield district voted for them. The mandate runs through Feb. 18.

► Police in Brussels made 240 arrests Sunday when riots broke out at a protest  against coronavirus restrictions, The Brussels Times reported. Police deployed water cannons and tear gas after projectiles were thrown and several objects set ablaze, the Times said.

► China ended a monthlong lockdown in Xi’an that had isolated its 13 million residents.

►Unvaccinated Minnesotan Scott Quiner, 55, died Saturday after spending almost three months on a respirator – and almost two weeks after his wife’s court suit kept a hospital from removing the respirator.

📈 Today’s numbers: The U.S. has recorded more than 70 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and more than 866,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. Global totals: More than 351 million cases and over 5.5 million deaths. More than 210 million Americans – 63.4% – are fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

📘 What we’re reading: Amy Crosby was haunted by the fear of her baby catching COVID-19. For the South Dakota mom, it was “a nightmare that overplayed in my head that I hoped would never come true.” After months of social distancing and caution, Crosby’s nightmare still became a reality: Baby Crue began his battle with the coronavirus in December.

Keep refreshing this page for the latest news. Want more? Sign up for USA TODAY’s free Coronavirus Watch newsletter to receive updates directly to your inbox and join our Facebook group.

WHO: Pandemic reaches ‘critical juncture,’ emergency could end this year

The COVID-19 pandemic has reached a “critical juncture,” and if nations work together the global health emergency can end this year, the World Health Organization’s director said Monday. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it is dangerous to assume that omicron will be the last variant, or that we’re “in the endgame.” Tedros said that 85% of the African population has not received even one dose of a vaccine.

“Vaccines alone are not the golden ticket out of the pandemic,” Tedros said. “But there is no path out unless we achieve our shared target of vaccinating 70% of the population of every country by the middle of this year.”

The pandemic has shown that the world must elevate protecting and promoting health as a top priority, Tedros said.

“Health is not a by-product of development, an outcome of prosperous societies, a footnote of history,” he said. “It’s the beat, the foundation, the essential ingredient without which no society can flourish.”

Hospitalizations decline in half of US states

The U.S. on Sunday reported 151,180 patients were hospitalized, down 4.1% from a week earlier. Half the states reported fewer COVID-19 patients in hospital beds than the previous week. The numbers are particularly encouraging because the latest surge has put yet another intense strain on hospitals across much of the nation. Although the omicron variant has appeared to prompt generally less severe illness than previous versions of the virus, the sheer number of infections driven by the easily transmissable omicron has left many hospitals at or near capacity.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, speaking Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” said the omicron-driven surge could soon wane across the nation. But he warned that coming weeks could bring “a bit more pain and suffering with hospitalizations” in parts of the country where a higher percentage of people have not been fully vaccinated or have not received a booster shot.

– Mike Stucka

Strong relationships, physical activity helped kids in pandemic, study finds

Supportive relationships with family and friends – and healthy behaviors such as engaging in physical activity and better sleep – appeared to shield the mental health of adolescents ages 11-14 against the harmful effects of the pandemic, a new study finds. The study examined data from more than 3,000 adolescents from before and during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The research, published Monday in the Journal of Adolescent Health, was based on data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study – the largest long-term study of brain development and child health ever conducted in the U.S.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has caused immense disruption to this sensitive stage in life,” said Nora D. Volkow, M.D., director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which supported the research.

Study: Graduation rates fell in at least 20 states after first year of pandemic

High school graduation rates dipped in at least 20 states after the first full school year disrupted by the pandemic, according to a new study. The education news site Chalkbeat analyzed data from 26 states and found the pandemic that left many students learning remotely last year continues to complicate teaching and learning. The declines may have ended nearly two decades of nationwide progress toward getting more students diplomas, an analysis shows.

The drops came despite at least some states and educators loosening standards to help struggling students.

COVID lab target of FBI search

The FBI on Saturday searched the headquarters of a nationwide string of coronavirus testing sites known as the Center for COVID Control. The company and its main lab, which has been reimbursed more than $124 million from the federal government for coronavirus testing, are under investigation by state and federal officials. 

“The FBI was conducting court-authorized law enforcement activity in Rolling Meadows yesterday,” Siobhan Johnson, a spokesperson for the FBI’s Chicago office, told USA TODAY on Sunday.

A Center for COVID Control spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The search comes days after the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office filed a consumer-protection lawsuit against the company and its primary laboratory, Doctors Clinical Lab. The complaint alleges the company and lab “provide inaccurate and deceptive” test results and has fraudulently reported negative test results.

Longtime entrepreneurs Akbar Syed, 35, and his wife, Aleya Siyaj, 29, run the center and, in recent months, have shared photos and videos on social media of their growing wealth. Syed has shared images of two Lamborghinis, Ferrari Enzo and a new $1.36 million mansion.

– Grace Hauck

California bill would let kids 12 and up get vaccine without parental consent

A bill in California would allow children ages 12 and older to be vaccinated without their parents’ consent.  If passed, the legislation would ensure California has the youngest age of any state allowing children to make their own decisions about vaccines. Washington, D.C., allows children ages 11 and older to be vaccinated without approval from parents. California currently allows children ages 12 and older to, without parental consent, get the Human Papillomavirus and Hepatitis B vaccines, along with treatment of sexually transmitted infections and other medical care. 

Democratic State Sen. Scott Wiener’s proposal would allow minors 12 years and older to consent to vaccines that have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  

 “It’s unconscionable for teens to be blocked from the vaccine because a parent either refuses or cannot take their child to a vaccination site,” Wiener said.

– Marina Pitofsky, USA TODAY

Indiana health department moves to end contact tracing in schools

After a record-setting week of COVID-19 cases among Indiana’s schoolchildren, some schools are ending their contact tracing protocols with the blessing of the Indiana Department of Health. The health department said Friday that it is trying to ease the reporting burden on schools as they contend with the latest surge. This week’s update of the state dashboard tracking COVID-19 cases in schools reported more than 15,000 new cases among students – more than twice as many reported at any other point in the pandemic. And the state set a new one-day record for cases reported in the general population Friday, reporting 17,684 new cases.

The department issued new guidance this week that allows schools to end contract tracing programs and individual notification of close contacts for those schools that have mask mandates in place. Those schools may, instead, send classroom-wide notifications of positive cases, said a spokesperson for the department. 

– Arika Herron, Indianapolis Star

Contributing: The Associated Press