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Coronavirus

About 400 forms filed for mask exemption

Almost as many Warren County School District students have filed paperwork to not have to wear masks in school as have been denied entry due to close brushes with COVID-19. As of Friday, Superintendent Amy Stewart reported that about 400 students — about one-tenth of the student body— had turned in at least some of the paperwork required for those seeking exemption from the Department of Health’s statewide school mask mandate. The district now requires a form, approved by the school board on Monday, and a waiver, crafted later in the week, as part of the mask exemption ...

26 new COVID cases in Warren County

The number of COVID-19 cases in Warren County continues to rise at an elevated rate. The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported 26 new cases in the county on Thursday. That brings the total for the county to 3,081 and 236 for the month. September has seen the third most cases of COVID-19 in the county of any month. There were about 1,200 in December and almost 550 in January. There have been more than 80 cases reported in the past three days, vaulting September into position as the month with the third most cases past November 2020 (196 cases) and April 2021 (223). There was also ...

US panel backs COVID-19 boosters only for elderly, high-risk

WASHINGTON (AP) — An influential federal advisory panel overwhelmingly rejected a plan Friday to give Pfizer COVID-19 booster shots to most Americans, but it endorsed the extra shots for those who are 65 or older or run a high risk of severe disease. The twin votes represented a heavy blow ...

Schools that allow exemptions without proof not in compliance

The Pennsylvania Department of Education has not directly addressed the Warren County School District’s response to the statewide school mask mandate — but the department has seen similar cases and does not consider them compliant. On Monday, the school board approved a motion that enabled parents to sign a form, with no need for a medical professional to do so, affirming that a student had a medical or mental reason not to have to wear a mask. Asked about the situation, the department’s press secretary said a school entity that allows a parent’s affirmation, absent medical ...

Face masks keep students from having to quarantine

Mandate or not, a properly-worn mask provides students a level of protection from quarantine. For one week, masks were not required in schools. Last week, Warren County School District students, staff, and others in the buildings were required by the state to wear masks. Even during the mandate, not every student had to wear a mask. There were exceptions. The district had 80 individual cases of requests for mask exemptions, according to Superintendent Amy Stewart. Some of those had been finalized and included in the student’s education plans. Others were in the works. That ...

40 new COVID cases recorded in county

Warren County is on pace to see its third-highest incidence of new cases of COVID-19 this month. Another county death was attributed to the virus on Tuesday — dating to Sept. 6 — bringing that total to 111. There have only been three days this year in which there were more new reported cases in the county than Tuesday’s 40. All three of those days were in the first 10. The 40 on Tuesday is the highest single-day total in the county since 44 were reported on Jan. 9. There were 50 cases reported on Jan. 5 and 57 on Jan. 1. COVID... There were 38 new cases reported on Jan. 30 ...