The Washington Post - USA (2022-05-15)

SUNDAY,MAY 15 , 2022 .THEWASHINGTONPOST EZ SU A

CALIFORNIA

Fourarrestedin

dozensof fires

Four peoplehave been

arrested on suspicionof arson

after firefightersrespondedto

dozensof smallfires in Northern

Californialastweekend.

In less than 48 hours,the

ContraCosta CountyFire

Protection Districtrespondedto

morethan 30 smallfires. They

werereported in four clusters

within15 mileslastweekend

fromlate Fridaythrough Sunday,

with manyofthemoccurring

near homesand businessesand

alongroadways, said fire district

spokesmanSteve Hill.

Countyofficialsalleged the

fires weresetintentionally.Itdid

not appearthatany of the

suspects wereconnected, Hill

said.

“It’sprettyunusualto have so

manyintentionallysetfires in a

relativelyshortperiodof time,”

Hill said. “It’sprobablyeven

moreunusualto have four

suspected arsonists arrested as a

result.”

As in SouthernCalifornia,

wheremultiplebrushfires were

burningas of Thursdayevening,

fire conditionsin the BayArea

countyeastofSan Francisco

weredangerous,but the Contra

Costa fires wereextinguished

quicklyand majorincidents

wereavoided.

“This is abad time becauseof

the dangerousconditionswe

have rightnow,” Hill said.

Victor Esquivias-Jaime,45,

was arrested around3a.m. May

7oneight counts of arsonto

forestland. Aroundnoonthat

day, DavinWilson,42, of

Concordwas arrested on

suspicionof six countsof arson.

MichaelDarder,36, of Antioch

was arrested around10 p.m. on

suspicionof arsonand resisting

arrest.

Afourth personwas arrested

lastSundayinconnection with

anotherseriesof fires, but

authoritiesdid not releasethe

suspect’sidentity, citingthe

ongoing investigation.

One of the suspects was

arrested at his homeand at least

twowere arrested at or near the

scenesof fires, Hill said.

—Los AngelesTimes

TEXAS

Highheat strains

electricpowergrid

TheTexas powergrid operator

is askinghomesand businesses

to conserve energythisweekend

as high heatdrivesupdemand

for electricity.

Temperatures in Dallaswere

forecasttohit 96 degrees

Saturday, accordingto the

NationalWeather Service.

Houston was expected to be 92

degrees.TheElectric Reliability

Councilof Texas, whichruns the

state’sgrid, madethe requestfor

conservation on Fridaynight,

after several natural-gasfired

powerplantsfailed.

Five of the six plantsthat

trippedoffline are back online,

an ERCOTstatementsaid on

Saturday. Thegridoperator says

it sees sufficientsupplyto meet

the high demand.

Thestrain on the grid is a

potentialpreviewofwhatTexas

couldface in the monthsahead.

This summerwill testwhether

the grid operator has made

sufficientchanges to reinforcea

system thatexperienced

cascadingpower-plantfailures

and deadlyblackouts duringa

historic freezein early2021.

Thesix plants thatwent down

have acombinedcapacityto

produce2,900 megawattsof

electricity, enoughfor about

580,000homes.

On Thursday, the Public

UtilityCommissionof Texas

expressedconcernthat

generators haven’t had enough

time to performseasonal

maintenanceaheadof summer.

Therisk: summertime

maintenanceamidstronger heat

can lead to supplyshortages and

potentiallyrollingblackouts.

Wholesalepowerpricesin

Houston on Fridaybriefly

jumpedabovethe $5,000a

megawatt-hourpricecap at

about5p.m.local time with the

restofthe grid topping$4,000,

accordingto Ercot’s website.

Ercot’s call to conserve power

extendsbetween 3p.m.and 8

p.m. localtime.

—BloombergNews

Wisconsinrescindskiller’s

parole: TheWisconsinParole

Commission’s leaderagreed

Fridaytorescindaconvicted

murderer’s paroleat Democratic

Gov. Tony Evers’srequestafter

the governorcameunder

criticismfromrival Republicans

lookingto unseathim in

November.Evers sent aletter

FridaytoJohn Tate, the

commission’s chairman,asking

him to reconsider54-year-old

DouglasBalsewicz’sparole.He

was settobereleasedfrom

prisonas soonas Tuesdayafter

serving less than 25 yearsof his

80-yearsentencefor the 1997

stabbingdeath of his wife,

JohannaBalsewicz.Evers lacks

the powerto rescindaconvict’s

paroleon his own.

Planecrashesintobridgein

Florida: One personwas killed

and five wereinjured,including

twotoddlers,after asmall plane

crash-landedon abridgenear

HauloverPark in Miami-Dade

CountyonSaturdayafternoon,

strikingacar and bursting into

flames,authoritiessaid. Narciso

Torres, aMiami International

Airportair trafficcontroller,died

in the wreckage, the NationalAir

TrafficControllersAssociation

said. Thesingle-engine Cessna

172lostenginepowerand landed

on the HauloverInletBridge

around1p.m.The planehad

taken offfromFortLauderdale-

HollywoodInternationalAirport

headedfor KeyWest.

3deadinArk.inwrong-way

drivingcrash: Awrong-way

driveron Interstate 40 in

western Arkansascollidedwith a

groupof motorcyclists, killing

threepeoplefromLouisianaand

injuringsix others,accordingto

ArkansasState Police. Patricia

Lemar,44, of Slidell,La.;

LeonardLemar Jr., 46, of Slidell;

and MalindaShano,50 of

Terrytown,La., died in the crash

near MulberryonThursday,

accordingto apreliminary

reportfrompolice.

—From newsservices

DIGEST

Politics &the Nation

SHANNONSTAPLETON/REUTERS

Sincetheendofwidespreadmaskmandates,manyAmericansareoptingtomaskonlyincrowdedpublicsettings,likeonpublictransit.

BYFENITNIRAPPIL

NewYorkCityraiseditscorona-
virusalertlevelearlierthismonth
in responseto risingcases,trig-
gering arecommendation —but
not arequirement—thatpeople
wearmasksin public indoor set-
tings.InPhiladelphia, officials re-
imposed amask mandate last
month after casesrose,onlyto
scrap the rule four days after it
took effect.
ThedecisionsbytheDemocrat-
ic-runcities illustratehow mask
mandates are fallingout of favor
withAmericanpublichealthau-
thoritiesin the thirdyear of the
pandemic and the bar to bring
thembackis getting higher,even
in placeswherethe requirements
werelong embracedas aproven
waytoreduce the spread of the
coronavirus.
“Theyare respondingto the
public,”said Marcus Plescia, chief
medical officer of the Association
of State and Territorial Health Of-
ficials.“Peopleare reallyfed up
with all of theserestrictions.”
Theshiftawayfrommaskman-
dates in blue citiesand states has
beenmonthsin the making,and
theyare not coming backevenas
casesof the highlytransmissible
BA.2 coronavirus variant rise.
Democratic governorsurged resi-
dentsto learnto live with avirus
thatisn’t goingawaywhen they
lifted maskmandates in quick
succession in Februaryand
March. Thespreadof BA.2 and
othersubvariants of omicron —
whichare even moretransmissi-
ble thantheir highly contagious
predecessor —onthe EastCoast
presented an earlytestofthat
commitment.
But the latestuptick hasn’t
turnedinto majorsurges and has
not resulted in overrunhospitals.
There was little appetitetoim-
posemaskmandates proactively,
as Philadelphiahad done,in the
event casesabruptlyspiked and
admissionssoared.
Thebroader landscape on
masksis also shifting.Afederal
judgelastmonthstruckdowna
federal maskmandate for transit
systems;PresidentBidensaid it’s
nowup to passengers whether
theywearamask.Ahostoftransit
agenciesand the Democratic gov-
ernorsof NewJerseyand Illinois
voluntarily ditched their own
mandates for trainsand buses.
TheCentersfor DiseaseControl
and Prevention (CDC) last
Wednesdayrepeated its recom-
mendation thatpassengers mask
whiletraveling.
“Inatimewhen we have fairly
mildvariantand apublicthat’s
reallymask-averse,itmightnotbe
the mostimportant thingto man-
datemasks,”saidChrissieJuliano,
executivedirectoroftheBigCities
Health Coalition.
But it’s too soon to declaregov-
ernmentmask mandates arelic of
the past. Under anewCDC frame-
work, people should still wear
maskswhentheircommunities
are considered high risk. But the
definitionof high risk has shifted
to emphasize hospitalizations
and the strain on the health-care
system,ratherthanahighvolume
of cases.
Officialssaymask mandates
wouldprobably be tied to cases
againunderadreaded scenario

whereahighlycontagious variant

evades vaccine protection and

causes more severe disease

emerges.

Even if futuresurges are worse,

healthofficialssaythebartoman-

date masksis getting higher be-

causerising casesare not as wor-

rying as theyused to be. Vaccina-

tionshave stayed strongas an

effective shieldagainst hospital-

ization and death, althoughnot

foolproof,particularlyfor the el-

derlyand immunocompromised.

Theexpandedavailabilityofther-

apeuticssuch as the antiviral Pax-

lovidare offeringanother layer of

defensefor thosewho do become

sick.

“It’shelpfulto always lookat

the actionswe needto takein

relationship withthe tools we

have,”said BarbaraFerrer,direc-

tor of the LosAngeles County

Department of Public Health.

“Therearewaysforustoapproach

the post-surgetime we are in with

alot of care and compassionfor

otherpeopleand we’vegot tools

wecanusebroadly—vaccination,

therapeutics,testing.”

Just ahandfulof placeshave

reimposedmask mandates re-

cently, includingschools in Pitts-

burgh,Portland,Ore.,andBangor,

Maine; Milwaukee courts and

jails and several colleges and uni-

versities. Other localities have

been recommending maskswhile

stoppingshortofmandates, in-

cluding Prince George’sCountyin

Marylandandcommunitiesinthe

San FranciscoBayarea.

NewYorkearlierthis month

reached the mediumalertlevel,

meaning thereare morethan 200

casesper 100,000residents.Un-

der metrics the cityset in March,

the governmentshouldconsider

mandating masksinschools at

mediumalert. Cityofficialsdid

not do so and insteadrecom-

mendedmasks indoors.

Health CommissionerAshwin

Vasan told CNBCshortly after the

cityreachedmediumalertstatus

thatofficialsmightbring back

maskrequirementsand vaccine

checksifthe citymovestohigh

alertwhen there is substantial

pressure on the healthcare sys-

tem.However,New York Mayor

Eric Adams(D) has kept amask

mandate in place for children

youngerthan5,whoaretooyoung

to be vaccinated. In response to

questionsaboutdecision-making

onmasks,aspokesmanforthecity

healthdepartmentsaidofficials

are monitoringdata.

In Philadelphia,officials quick-

ly scrapped the maskrule even

after describingthe mandate as

necessarytoprotectresidentsof

colorwho face worseoutcomesif

infected.

“Philadelphiaisnotabubble,of

course,and no other citywas do-

ing that. Thefederal government

wasnotevendoingthat.Thepres-

identsaid,‘well,do whatever is

bestforyou,’”saidUsamaBilal,an

assistant professor of epidemiol-

ogyand biostatistics at Drexel

University. “Therewasn’t really

federal supportfor whatPhiladel-

phiawasdoing,anditwascompli-

cated to keep thatupwithoutthat

kind of support.”

But someexperts and activists

fear public health authorities

havedisarmedtoosoon.Theyfear

thatlow-incomepeopleand peo-

ple of color—who disproportion-

ately workin person, takecrowd-

ed publictransportation and are

less likely to be boosted —will

bear the bruntof the consequenc-

es whenthe mandates are lifted.

Oni Blackstock, aprimarycare

physician who advocates for ad-

dressing racial disparities in

healthcare as executivedirector

of Health Justice, saidleaders

abandoning maskmandates are

failing to live up to theircommit-

mentsto racial equity. Access to

antiviraltreatmentisuneven.The

highest-qualityrespirator masks

are also amongthe mostexpen-

sive and the federal supplyoffree

N95 masksislimited.

“I suspectwewillsee again

theseexisting inequities exacer-

bated by the lifting of theseman-

dates,”Blackstocksaid.“Itputs

the onuson peoplewho are not in

the bestpositiontoprotectthem-

selvestodoso.”

OtherswhopraisedPhiladel-

phiafor bringingbackits mask

mandate at the firstsigns of a

potentialsurgeworry the CDC’s

emphasis on hospitalization data

for maskingisill-timed.

“Onceyou alreadyget the hos-

pitalizationspeaking,youcan’tgo

backin timeaweek and change

whatyou did before,”said Abby

Rudolph,anassociateprofessorof

epidemiologyand biostatistics at

TempleUniversity.

Whenlocaljournalistspressed

Philadelphia Health Commis-

sionerCheryl Bettigole abouther

credibilitytoissue mask man-

dates, she argued the decisionto

liftthe rule in lightof declining

hospitalizations would build

trust.

“By keepingthosepromises,if I

do comeback to Philadelphia and

have to saythisone looksbad, we

reallyhavetodosomethingdiffer-

ent, Ifeel likethenpeopleare

morewilling to trustthatwe’re

only goingtodowhatwehaveto

do and not be morerestrictive

than we have to,”Bettigole said.

Otherpublichealthleadersare

making similar calculations as

theytrytonaildownwhen,ifever,

to bringmaskmandatesagain.

Allison Arwady,commissioner

of Chicago’sDepartmentof Public

Health, says the righttime to im-

pose maskmandates is whenhos-

pitalcapacityisthreatened,as it

was whenthe cityfacedrecord

admissionsduringthe omicron

surge.Whilesheisstronglyurging

peopletowear masks,she is not

consideringamandatebecause

hospitalizationsare low.

“I don’t wantto do thatall the

time forever.Iwantto do thatata

timethe risk is higherso it’s not

likeweare not crying wolfall the

time,”Arwady said. “Mandates

don’t do awhole lot to increase

trustingovernmentnecessarily.

We usethemwhenwehaveto.”

Pollinghas shownthroughout

the pandemicmaskinghas been

morepopularthanthe vitriolic

outbursts seenon socialmedia

wouldsuggest.Butthatsupportis

eroding.

AnAxios/Ipsossurveyconduct-

ed in earlyAprilfound56 percent

of Americans opposedtheir state

or local governmentrequiring

masks in all public places. It was

the firsttime sincepollstersstart-

ed askingthe question in August

thatamajority opposedthe man-

dates.

AQuinnipiacUniversitysurvey

releasedlastmonthfoundaslim

majorityofAmericans opposeda

maskmandatefor publictransit,

but wouldalso continuewearing

masksin planes,trains and buses.

Some worryauthorities are

jeopardizing publichealthasa

resultand thatpolitics are creep-

ing into the decision-makingas a

midterm electionwhere Demo-

cratsare at adisadvantagelooms.

Philadelphia’smask mandate

prompted criticismsfromsome

Democrats runningfor statewide

office, including gubernatorial

contender Josh Shapiro, who

calledthe measure “counterpro-

ductive.”

In aWashington Post Live in-

terviewbefore the cityscrapped

its mandate, PhiladelphiaMayor

JimKenneyrespondedto Sha-

piro’s criticismby noting “heis

runninginastatethat’snotneces-

sarilyalways blue,comingfrom

an area of thestate thatisblue.”

Critics sayDemocratswho are

shying away frommaskmandates

in the face of rising casesare

acting likeRepublicans who

turnedon mitigation measures

earlyinthepandemicbyprioritiz-

ing residents fed up withmask

rules.

“Democratsinmunicipalities

who are rolling backtheseman-

datesarecavingin[for]fearofthe

politicalrepercussions,but what

we are failingto see is this is only

turningoffconstituents,”said By-

ron Sigcho-Lopez,aChicagoal-

derman.

He haspressedcityofficialsto

reimpose amask mandate, wor-

ried rising caseswill inflicta

heavier burdenon Blackand Lati-

noneighborhoodswithlowervac-

cination and booster rates. If the

citywaits untilhospitalizations

rise, Sigcho-Lopezsays, it will be

too late to save thoselives.

Bar to reimpose mandates gets higher

0

200K

400K

600K

800K

1M

1.2M

Feb. 29, 2020 Jan. 2021 May

0

2K

4K

7-dayavg.

Feb. 29, 2020 Jan. 2021 May

0

1M

2M

3M

4M

5M

7-day avg.

Feb. 29, 2020 Jan. 2021 May

7-dayavg.

As of Friday

82,407,

89,

580,915,

999,

326

381,

7-dayaverage

7-dayaverage

Total

DEATHS

Total

VACCINE DOSESADMINISTERED

Newcoronaviruscases,deathsand

vaccinedosesin the U.S.,byday

Total

CASES

7-dayaverage

Citiesend maskrules

even as casesof highly

transmissiblevariantrise

WEDDING

SPECIAL OCCASION

BAR/BAT MITZVAH

TRAVELWEAR

SPORTSWEAR

Sizes 0-

Beautiful

Clothes

Impeccable

Service

OUR 53RD YEAR IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA | CRYSTALBOUTIQUE.COM

2160 Crystal Plaza Arcade | 703 .415.14 00 | Mon - Sat 10 - 5 | Parking Validated