San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Virus subdues Mardis Gras debauchery
New Orleans bars will be shut down, even for takeout service, throughout the upcoming Mardi Gras weekend — usually among their busiest times of the year — in an attempt to slow the spread of coronavirus, Mayor LaToya Cantrell said.
Many bars already were closed to indoor service. Now they won’t be able to sell drinks to go — a popular option yearround and especially during Mardi Gras. Stepped up crowd control began this weekend, Cantrell said. The bar shutdown begins this Friday and runs through Mardi Gras — also known as Fat Tuesday — on Feb. 16.
Cantrell and other city officials said businesses that violate the rules face onthespot shutdowns and loss of licenses. And they warned visitors to the city during what is one of the biggest tourism times of the year to adhere to safety precautions.
“If by chance you have an aversion to wearing a mask, stay where you’re at,” said City Council member Jay Banks, who said he knows 23 people who have died of COVID19. “if your expectation is the Mardi Gras of the past, don’t waste your money.”
The city’s famous parades, which would ordinarily begin rolling this weekend, had already been canceled.
Cantrell also announced restrictions on pedestrian and automobile traffic on Bourbon Street and other streets in the French Quarter that are usually bustling with shouldertoshoulder crowds during the Mardi Gras weekend.
COLORADO Safe embraces in ‘hug tent’
Lynda Hartman needed a hug. It had been at least eight months since she touched her 77yearold husband, Len, who has dementia and has been at an assisted living center in suburban Denver for the last year.
Last week, she got a small taste of what life was like before the coronavirus pandemic. Sort of.
Thanks to a “hug tent” set up at Juniper Village in Louisville, Hartman was able to squeeze her husband of nearly 55 years — albeit while wearing plastic sleeves and separated by a 4millimeterthick clear plastic barrier.
“It meant a lot to me, and it’s been a long, long time,” she said.
Juniper Village, which has fully vaccinated its residents and staff, partnered with nonprofit health care organization TRU Community Care to set up the tent with constructiongrade plastic.
For Gregg MacDonald, holding hands with his 84yearold mother, Chloe MacDonald, was important because they hadn’t touched since April. “I appreciate any efforts that they are making to allow us to have more contact with everybody,” he said.
IOWA State easing restrictions
Many restrictions designed to slow the spread of the coronavirus in Iowa will be lifted Sunday.
Gov. Kim Reynolds issued an order that removes a mask requirement for those spending 15 minutes or more in an indoor area within 6 feet of people not in their household. The order also ends limits on the number of customers in a business or a requirement they stay socially distant.
In November, Reynolds ordered restrictions when hospitals were struggling to care for a surge of coronavirus patients. Those numbers have dropped, though the state typically reports dozens of deaths each day.
CHINA Vaccine OKd for wider use
China has broadened approval for the domesticmade Sinovac coronavirus vaccine, expanding those who can receive it beyond the highrisk and priority groups already allowed under an emergency clearance.
The shot was given emergency approval in July, allowing groups such as medical workers and employees of stateowned firms to receive it. The conditional approval means the vaccine now can be given to the general public.
It is the second locally made vaccine to be given conditional approval. Beijing authorized the stateowned Sinopharm vaccine in December.
China has previously said that any COVID19 vaccine will be free for its public, with the government footing the bill. Sinovac declined to give a figure for the price of each dose.
LEBANON Russian shots gain approval
Health officials have approved the emergency use of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine, opening the way for a vaccination campaign this month.
Lebanon’s interior minister said the country will begin easing the nearly onemonth shutdown in four stages this week. The announcement by minister Mohamed Fehmi came as the nation reported 98 additional deaths.
Fehmi said the lockdown easing will begin Monday, but a nationwide curfew will remain in place for two more weeks. Supermarkets and businesses related to agriculture, poultry, meat and milk production can open first.
Lebanon, a country of 6 million people, had registered more than 315,000 infections as of Saturday. The Health Ministry has reported 3,495 total confirmed deaths.