'In Lieu Of Flowers,' Wear A Mask: Late Teacher's Request Ignored

MARIETTA, GA — Patrick Key taught art for 23 years at Cobb County Elementary School in suburban Atlanta. Always helpful, the dedicated educator would do anything asked of him, his colleagues remember.

Key died of the coronavirus on Christmas Day after a 41-day battle, his obituary states. His final wish: for people to wear a mask and protect themselves and others from the deadly virus that has claimed the lives of Key and more than 428,000 other Americans.

Key was "passionate" about wearing a mask during the pandemic, his family and friends remember.

"In lieu of flowers, please buy and wear a mask to protect others and yourself in honor of him," the obituary reads.

But when a colleague sought to honor Key with the gesture at a school board meeting a week ago, the request was ignored by people in powerful positions.

District employee Jennifer Susko asked for a moment of silence, and for everyone to put on a face mask, in honor of Key while speaking during the public comment portion of the board meeting, according to a USA Today report.

Two board members and the superintendent did not put masks on as Susko made the request, the report states.

It was a move that drew the ire of both Susko and Priscella Key, Key's wife, also a Cobb County teacher.

Priscella Key called it "very disappointing, painful and insulting," according to USA Today.

A spokesperson for the district said the board members had been following the district's mask policy and were "intentionally spaced to allow for social distancing" at the meeting, according to the report.

The Latest

As the number of new coronavirus cases surpassed 25.7 million Thursday, the first of yet another new variant strain has been confirmed in the United States.

Two cases of a variant that first originated in South Africa were confirmed in South Carolina, according to an Associated Press report. The two cases don't appear to be connected, and neither patient has a history of recent travel, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control told The AP.

"That's frightening," because it means there could be more undetected cases within the state, Dr. Krutika Kuppalli, an infectious diseases physician at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, told AP. "It's probably more widespread."

The South Africa variant is one of three emergent strains that are being closely watched by U.S. public health officials. Other variants first reported in the United Kingdom and Brazil have already been confirmed in the United States, and researchers believe these three variants may spread more easily.

• Virus Variant Seen In South Africa Detected In U.S. For 1st Time

As these new variants emerge, public health experts are calling on Americans to mask up — and mask up again.

The time has come to upgrade the simple cloth masks that have become a staple shield during the pandemic. Now, public health experts are recommending that Americans don a second mask over the one they already wear. The best combination, according to a Washington Post report, will likely be a fabric mask on top of a surgical mask.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, touted double-masking earlier this week during an appearance on the "Today" show, saying two layers "just makes common sense that it likely would be more effective."

Meanwhile, as many as 90,000 Americans are projected to die from the coronavirus in the next four weeks. That's the forecast the Biden administration's coronavirus response team made during its first daily briefing on the pandemic Wednesday afternoon.

If accurate, that would mean the virus's death toll in the United States would surpass 500,000 before the end of February.

However, lower virus numbers are leading some states to loosen coronavirus-related restrictions In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom abruptly lifted the state's regional stay-at-home order earlier this week. In Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said bars and restaurants can welcome indoor customers next week for the first time in 2 1/2 months.

"We're in a stronger position because we've taken this pause," Whitmer said. "But we are also very mindful of the fact that this variant is now here in Michigan. It poses a real threat."

In other states, lawmakers are upset by the sweeping use of executive orders during the COVID-19 crisis. In response, some are moving to curb the authority of governors and top health officials to impose emergency restrictions such as mask rules and business shutdowns.

Such a push is underway in states including Arizona, Michigan, Ohio, Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana and Pennsylvania, where legislators are seeking constitutional amendments to strip governors of many of their emergency powers, according to The Associated Press.

Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Wayne Langerholc said its amendment would "make it unequivocally clear that our General Assembly is a co-equal branch ... that we are not a monarchy and that our voices matter."

• State Lawmakers Push To Curb Governors' Powers In Virus Response

In vaccine news, Novavax, a little-known company supported by the U.S. federal government's Operation Warp Speed, confirmed on Thursday that its COVID-19 vaccine offers robust protection against the virus, the New York Times reported.

Here's the downside: The company also said its vaccine is not as effective against the fast-spreading variant first discovered in South Africa.

The announcement from Novavax comes came just days after Moderna and Pfizer said their vaccines were also less effective against the same variant.

Newest Numbers

At least 4,053 deaths and 158,102 new cases of coronavirus were reported in the United States as of 6:30 p.m. Thursday, according to a Washington Post database. The Post's reporting shows that over the past week, new daily cases have fallen 16.9 percent, new daily deaths have risen 6.9 percent and COVID-19-related hospitalizations have fallen 12.3 percent.

Currently, 107,444 people are hospitalized with a coronavirus-related illness in the United States, according to the Covid Tracking Project.

As of Thursday, 40 states and U.S. territories remained above the positive testing rate recommended by the World Health Organization to safely reopen. To safely reopen, the WHO recommends states remain at 5 percent or lower for at least 14 days.

As of Thursday evening, the United States had reported more than 25.7 million cases and more than 432,100 deaths from COVID-19-related illnesses, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Stay up to date on the latest coronavirus news via The New York Times or The Washington Post.

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