Trump waives school standardized test requirements amid coronavirus outbreak
School kids across America got a break from test taking when President Donald Trump announced the Department of Education would waive annual standardized test requirements.
“We’re not going to be enforcing that,” Trump said Friday. “I think a lot of the students are probably going to be very happy,” but acknowledged that some of them would not.
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos made the formal announcement in a news release Friday.
“Students need to be focused on staying healthy and continuing to learn,” she said. “Teachers need to be able to focus on remote learning and other adaptations. Neither students nor teachers need to be focused on high-stakes tests during this difficult time. Students are simply too unlikely to be able to perform their best in this environment.”
The decision affects testing for students in elementary through high school for the current school year.
— Detroit Free Press
Feds approve Washington state’s coronavirus request for special health-care status
The federal government has approved Washington state for a special health-care status that could help officials and doctors here respond to the novel coronavirus crisis.
The status under Section 1135 of the Social Security Act — by allowing the state to waive various regulations — should give health-care providers more flexibility to use telemedicine; create new treatment facilities; partner with community organizations; quickly enroll more people in Medicaid; and more.
It should help officials relieve pressure on Washington’s health-care system by moving more hospitalized seniors on to Medicaid and then into nursing homes. The status also should allow hospitals to free up space by screening and triaging patients at off-site locations.
The state requested the status last weekend, after President Donald Trump declared the pandemic a national emergency. Section 1135 can only be used during a national emergency, and Washington officials had been waiting more than a week for Trump to take action.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services approved Washington’s request Thursday, a news release said.
“I recognize that Governor Inslee and his team are working around the clock to respond to the escalating crisis in Washington State,” CMS Administrator Seema Verma said. “We are committed to stripping away any red tape that gets in the way of states or providers effectively managing this public health emergency.”
Ten of the 12 members of Washington’s congressional delegation wrote in support of the state’s 1135 request earlier this week. Washington is only the second state to receive 1135 approval; Florida’s request was approved Monday.
— The Seattle Times
Trump suspends federal student loan payments for 60 days
President Donald Trump announced Friday he’s allowing borrowers with federally held student loans to suspend their payments for the next two months as the nation continues to grapple with the economic impact of the coronavirus.
“These are anxious times, particularly for students and families whose educations, careers, and lives have been disrupted,” said U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. “Right now, everyone should be focused on staying safe and healthy, not worrying about their student loan balance growing. I commend President Trump for his quick action on this issue, and I hope it provides meaningful help and peace of mind to those in need.”
The federal government estimates it holds about $1.6 trillion in student loan debt.
To request the forbearance, borrowers should contact their loan service provider online or by phone. DeVos has also authorized an automatic suspension of payments for any borrower more than 31 days delinquent as of March 13, 2020, or who becomes more than 31 days delinquent.
Trump recently announced he would order all interest waived on federal student loans. The interest relief will reportedly impact 42 million Americans, according to Politico.
— The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
During ban on face-to-face visits, Washington prisoners get 2 free phone calls a week
Inmates in Washington prisons now can make two five-minute phone calls each week at no charge, as the state Department of Corrections has banned visits from friends and relatives to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The DOC announced the changes Friday, saying it had worked with its phone vendor, GTL, and another contractor, JPay, to improve prisoners’ communication channels during the moratorium on in-person visits.
“While we know this is not the same as seeing friends and family in person, we hope that it helps alleviate some of the concerns regarding visitation being suspended at this time,” DOC Secretary Steve Sinclair said in a statement. “We’ll be reviewing visitation, programming and other suspended activities as this situation evolves.”
The DOC said the twice-a-week phone calls will remain free at least through April 14. Through JPay, the agency is giving inmates free and reduced-cost video communications and two free “stamps,” or credits, which inmates can use to pay for emails.
— The Spokesman-Review
Google coronavirus website launches
SAN FRANCISCO — Google launched a website dedicated to information about COVID-19 a week after U.S. President Donald Trump touted the company’s help in the fight against the pandemic.
The internet giant said it worked with “relevant agencies and authorities” to roll out the site — google.com/covid19 — which went live on the web late Friday offering education, prevention and local resources related to the novel coronavirus.
At the top of the site, there’s an information box describing virus symptoms, treatment and prevention tips from the World Health Organization. Google also included links to state departments of health across the U.S., search trends related to COVID-19, and other resources for individuals, educators and businesses.
“Launching today in the U.S., the site will be available in more languages and countries in the coming days and we’ll update the website as more resources become available,” Google said in a statement. “Along with our other products and initiatives, we hope these resources will help people find answers to the questions they’re asking and get the help they need.”
The coronavirus has spread around the globe, infecting more than 250,000 people and killing more than 10,000. In the U.S., about a third of the population has been told to stay home, triggering a financial market crash and dire warnings of economic decline. As the distributors of most online information, Google and other internet giants have been called on to help by limiting misinformation and highlighting trustworthy sources.
On March 13, Trump said Alphabet Inc.’s Google had roughly 1,700 engineers working on a virus website. At the time, no one was sure exactly what he was talking about. Verily, a healthcare unit of Alphabet, has rolled out a triage website that offers a limited number of virus tests in Silicon Valley. But Google itself has been developing its own site, which launched this Friday.
Google hopes to include a link on its website to a questionnaire from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that will ask people about any virus symptoms and direct them to testing locations and other resources.
Under a resources tab on the left of Google’s site, the company linked to many of its own services. A section for teachers on how to instruct students from home listed company offerings such as Google Classroom, Google Docs and Google Hangouts.
A Google spokesman declined to say when the company began work on the website. Google’s site also includes links to several YouTube videos, culled from channels the spokesman said the company will be curating.
Google also created bespoke search pages to show people when they look for online information about Covid-19. The company will show no ads alongside these results. There will be a carousel of virus-related Twitter posts from vetted sources, too.
The site and revamped search experience are some of the first major projects from Google’s new health division.
— Bloomberg News
Citing coronavirus threat on Pacific Crest Trail and elsewhere, outdoor advocates urge thru-hikers to cancel plans
SEATTLE — The Pacific Crest Trail Association (PCTA) is urging hikers who planned to travel the Pacific Crest Trail to cancel or postpone their plans due concerns about the spread of COVID-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus.
“As reported cases of COVID-19 continue to increase, many people have put their PCT trips on indefinite hold,” said the PCTA, in a statement posted to its website on Thursday.
The organization recommended that other hikers follow their example. The statement cited concerns that “anyone traveling the PCT and resupplying in communities along the trail represents a serious risk to others on the trail and people in those communities — particularly high-risk individuals for whom the virus could be deadly.”
The Washington Trails Association has brought up similar concerns, dissuading thru-hiking in its guidance for Hiking in the Time of Coronavirus. Unlike day hiking, thru-hiking puts hikers in close contact with each other, poses challenges to hand hygiene guidelines set by public health officials, places hikers in remote areas without easy access to medical care, and puts hikers in the position of exposing others in every community they pass through along the trail —all hazards raised in WTA’s recommendations.
The PCTA also cited the possibility that hikers could contribute to the spread of COVID-19 without knowing it, and the impossibility of fully protecting themselves against infection.
“Under these circumstances, choosing to travel to — and start or continue — a journey on the PCT runs counter to widely-accepted medical, government, and scientific recommendations for not only avoiding exposure to the coronavirus, but also for limiting the spread of COVID-19,” said the organization.
The PCTA is a nonprofit dedicated to advocating for and preserving the PCT, and as such does not have the authority to close trails or issue permits, the statement acknowledged. That power lies with the U.S. Forest Service, which has not shut down the trail or nullified existing permits; still, the PCTA urged those with who’d been issued long-distance permits to hike the trail to delay or cancel their plans.
Hiking the PCT is a bucket-list item, and one that can mean major sacrifices and careful timing for hikers, and the PCTA said in its statement that it recognizes those sacrifices, including situations like changing jobs or putting homes up for sale.
“We also understand that some have traveled to the PCT and have no clear option aside from starting your trek,” it said. “But these circumstances should not justify putting other lives at risk.”
