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COVID-19

Area still in high category for COVID-19 transmission

All six local counties remain in the high transmission category for COVID-19 because all had more than 99 new cases per 100,000 residents over the past week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website showed. Bedford and Huntingdon counties are also in the high range for test positivity. The number of new cases in the past week rose significantly for all six local counties, with percentages of increase ranging from 18 to 108 percent. The number of hospital admissions for the past week rose significantly in Bedford, Centre, Clearfield and Huntingdon counties, but fell in ...

Thousands of state’s students request face mask exemptions

Thousands of students have requested to go mask-free in Pennsylvania schools, claiming a medical exemption amid fierce local opposition to the state’s new face-covering mandate. The order, which went into effect Sept. 7 and applies to all K-12 schools and child care facilities in Pennsylvania, requires students, staff and visitors to wear masks inside school buildings, regardless of vaccination status. But an apparent loophole has made it easier for parents in some districts to request medical exemptions for their children. Those districts are using exemption forms that require ...

Local area still in high transmission

All six local counties remain in the high transmission category for COVID-19, according to Friday’s statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. All six are in the high range for incidence rate — the number of new cases in the past week per 100,000 residents. Bedford, Centre and Huntingdon counties are also in the high range for positivity, the percentage of COVID-19 tests that indicate an infection — with the other counties in the moderate range for positivity. Either high incidence or high positivity suffices to place a county in the high-transmission ...

Biden under fire

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s sweeping new vaccine requirements have Republican governors threatening lawsuits. His unapologetic response: “Have at it.” The administration is gearing up for another major clash between federal and state rule. But while many details about the rules remain unknown, Biden appears to be on firm legal ground to issue the directive in the name of protecting employee safety, according to experts interviewed by The Associated Press. “My bet is that with respect to that statutory authority, they’re on pretty strong footing given the ...

Williamsburg ends meeting without mask vote

WILLIAMSBURG — The Williamsburg Community School Board’s special meeting Thursday ended abruptly after impatient residents stormed out. The district’s current exemption form, which requires parents to obtain a doctor’s note within 10 days, will continue to be used despite the board not taking action on the matter, two board members said after the meeting. The audience was anticipating a vote on the district’s mask exemption form, which didn’t have the chance to take place, as Board President Barry England adjourned the meeting once people began filing out. “You ...

Loophole allows some to unmask

HARRISBURG — An apparent loophole in Pennsylvania’s mask mandate for schools is making it easier for some students to go to class without having to cover their faces, even as state education regulators sought to make an example of one openly defiant school board. The state health secretary’s order requiring masks to be worn inside K-12 school and child care facilities, which took effect Tuesday, includes an exemption for students who claim it would cause or worsen a medical condition. But there’s no obligation in the masking order for a student to produce a doctor’s note or ...