COVID PM: Aptos High hoops quarantine begs the question...why not take it outside?
Happy, Monday, all.
When cheers went up from high school basketball coaches — and other indoor sports teams — around the county because they received a green light to play an abbreviated indoor season, I couldn’t help but have one thought: Take it outside instead.
Why? The testing demands (twice a week) combined with the potential for COVID-19 problems that might arise from practicing and playing indoors would be a lot to deal with — and kind of a crapshoot, too.
The bonus: Playing high school games at classic outdoor hoop spots around the county like Meder Street, Jade Street or Louden Nelson would’ve been historically awesome.
Well ... barely just into the shortened season, the top two teams in the area (the Aptos High boys and girls teams) are on a two-week quarantine after a positive test, the Santa Cruz Sentinel is reporting. Sigh.
It’s not too late to move play outside, is it?
We could probably even convince Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson to come christen the proceedings.
Okay, enough early-90s dreaming. On to the headlines ...
One-quarter of Californians now fully vaccinated against COVID-19
VACCINE WATCH: One in 4 Californians are now fully vaccinated for COVID-19 as the state continues its dash to widely inoculate residents and ward off any potential resurgence of the pandemic. Despite the sheer numbers involved in reaching that threshold — roughly 10 million residents have gotten either both required doses of Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna or a single shot of the currently paused Johnson & Johnson vaccine — federal data show that the state is continuing to lag behind others in terms of completely vaccinating its populace. More from our LA Times content partners here.
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California encourages venues to require vaccine ‘passports’ — just don’t call them that
VACCINE WATCH: California health officials have repeatedly said they have no plans to create COVID-19 vaccine “passports” — digital or paper passes that allow vaccinated residents or those who’ve tested negative into concerts, baseball games and other sports arenas. But this month, the state announced reopening rules for indoor live events that give businesses an incentive to demand such proof from ticket holders. Businesses can hold larger events when they verify either of the safeguards. More from the Times here.
➤ COVID K-12: Parents in L.A. say their children have been ‘substantially hurt’ by school closures, survey finds (LA Times)
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More from here & elsewhere
➤ UCSF doc says air travel is worse than indoor dining. Here’s why. (SF Gate)
➤ First Bay Area county expected to bump to least-restrictive yellow tier this week (SF Gate)
➤ Disinfecting surfaces to prevent COVID often all for show, CDC advises (CNN)
➤ State Department to list 80% of countries as ‘Do Not Travel’ as it updates advisory system to align with CDC (CNN)
➤ ‘We Need To Be Nurtured, Too’: Many Teachers Say They’re Reaching A Breaking Point (NPR)
➤ How some Republican lawmakers are fighting conservatives’ COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy (ABC News)
➤ Virus spreads at record pace globally despite vaccines (USA Today)
➤ The Pandemic Proved That Our Toilets Are Crap (Wired)
See you tomorrow!
Mark Conley
Deputy Managing Editor