The Latest: Report: Washington state trooper dies from virus

SEATTLE — A Washington authorities trooper who helped make the agency’s usage of drones has died aft a conflict with COVID-19 contracted connected duty.

The Washington State Patrol said Detective Eric Gunderson died Sunday surrounded by his household and friends. He was 38. Gunderson often traveled astir the state to talk astir the authorities patrol’s usage of drones.

The patrol said helium contracted COVID-19 connected 1 of those trips. Gunderson helped analyse the 2017 Amtrak derailment successful DuPont and his enactment is credited with reopening roads much rapidly aft crashes.

He is survived by a woman and 2 sons. Gunderson’s decease is the archetypal enactment of work decease for the bureau since it marked its 100th day a fewer weeks ago, Chief John Batiste said. “How I had hoped our 2nd period of work would beryllium much forgiving. But serving the public, arsenic we do, has inherent dangers and this pandemic has been a foe to our bureau and so our authorities and nation,” helium said.

Ad

Gov. Jay Inslee tweeted his condolences to Gunderson’s family, friends and colleagues.

___

MORE ON THE PANDEMIC:

— U.S. has capable COVID-19 vaccines for boosters, kids' shots

— UK counts connected vaccines, ‘common sense,’ to support microorganism astatine bay

— EXPLAINER: Who’s eligible for Pfizer booster shots successful US?

___

See each of AP's pandemic sum astatine https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic

___

HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

LOS ANGELES — Public wellness officials person identified much than 200 coronavirus outbreaks astatine constabulary oregon occurrence agencies passim Los Angeles County since the commencement of the pandemic, according to information obtained by the Los Angeles Times.

Ad

The 211 outbreaks, accounting for much than 2,500 cases betwixt March 2020 and past month, correspond 9% of full workplace outbreaks crossed the county, the paper reported Sunday. However, they person continued to hap regularly adjacent arsenic vaccination rates accrued among constabulary and occurrence unit and the fig of idiosyncratic coronavirus cases per outbreak has fallen since past winter.

The information showed 38 outbreaks astatine nationalist information agencies were identified successful April of this twelvemonth — the astir successful immoderate period since the commencement of the pandemic. A period later, 35 outbreaks — the 2nd astir — were recorded by the region Department of Public Health.

Overall, much than fractional of the outbreaks occurred astatine the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles Fire Department, wherever immoderate employees person filed lawsuits challenging a caller regularisation requiring them to beryllium vaccinated by adjacent month. Thousands person filed announcement that they mean to assertion a aesculapian oregon spiritual exemption from the mandate.

Ad

Vaccination rates for LAPD an LAFD employees mostly lag down the 68% of eligible region residents who person gotten their shots.

Critics person accused the constabulary officers and metropolis firefighters of ignoring nationalist information — and their sworn duties to uphold it — by refusing to get vaccinated.

___

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — School districts astir Connecticut are holding their enactment arsenic much than 200 schoolhouse autobus drivers could locomotion disconnected the occupation successful effect to a vaccination mandate that goes into effect Monday.

That could worsen an already problematic operator shortage that is affecting schoolhouse districts successful the authorities and astir the country. School superintendents are informing parents that buses whitethorn acquisition important delays, and are suggesting parents thrust their kids to school, the New Haven Register reported.

Gov. Ned Lamont’s enforcement bid going into effect Monday besides covers authorities employees, K-12 teachers and time attraction workers. A Lamont spokesperson said that authorities agencies are seeking to suffice caller drivers, and the Department of Transportation is considering utilizing immoderate CT Transit and regional-service vehicles to capable gaps.

Ad

In a missive to acting Commissioner of Education Charlene Russell-Tucker past week, the Connecticut School Transportation Association, which represents schoolhouse autobus drivers, warned of a “catastrophe” connected Sept. 27 and asserted that 227 of 1,558 unvaccinated drivers would garbage to travel the mandate.

The state’s acquisition section is expediting requests for inheritance checks and grooming for imaginable caller drivers, the Register reported.

Not each schoolhouse districts are convinced their transit systems volition beryllium disrupted. Transit officials successful Danbury and New Haven, arsenic good arsenic successful Bridgewater, Roxbury and Washington, told the paper they don’t judge a rumored occupation enactment volition adversely impact them.

___

WASHINGTON — The caput of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says she recognizes there’s immoderate disorder present successful the United States astir who should get a COVID-19 vaccine booster.

For starters, the just-approved booster is intended for radical primitively vaccinated with shots made by Pfizer and its spouse BioNTech.

Ad

Last week, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky sided with astir of the recommendations from CDC advisers connected giving boosters six months aft the past Pfizer dose for definite groups of people.

That includes radical 65 and older, nursing location residents and radical ages 50 to 64 with chronic wellness problems specified arsenic diabetes. People 18 and older with wellness problems tin determine for themselves if they privation a booster.

But Walensky besides overrode advisers’ objections and said radical astatine accrued hazard of corruption due to the fact that of their jobs oregon their surviving conditions could suffice for a booster now. That includes wellness attraction workers, teachers and radical successful jails oregon stateless shelters.

“I admit that disorder close now,” Walensky told CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

“We are evaluating this subject successful existent time,” she said.l “We are gathering each respective weeks present to measure the science. The subject whitethorn precise good amusement that the remainder of the colonisation needs to beryllium boosted and we volition supply those guidances arsenic soon arsenic we person the subject to pass them.”

Ad

People who got the Moderna oregon Johnson & Johnson vaccines are waiting to perceive erstwhile they mightiness beryllium eligible for a booster.

___

WASHINGTON — Pfizer’s CEO says “it’s a question of days, not weeks” earlier the institution and German spouse BioNTech taxable information to U.S. regulators for national authorization of a COVID-19 vaccine for children property 5 to 11.

That would beryllium an important measurement toward starting vaccinations for those youngsters, particularly with kids present backmost successful schoolhouse and the delta variant resulting successful a large leap successful pediatric infections.

Pfizer said past week that its vaccine works for that property radical and that it tested a overmuch little dose of the vaccine that’s already disposable for anyone 12 and older. The institution said that aft children property 5 to 11 got their 2nd dose during testing, they developed coronavirus-fighting antibody levels conscionable arsenic beardown arsenic teenagers and young adults getting the regular-strength shots

Ad

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said Sunday that if the Food and Drug Administration approves the company’s application, “we volition beryllium acceptable with our manufacturing to supply this caller formulation of the vaccine.”

And erstwhile it comes to the coronavirus pandemic, helium told ABC’s “This Week” that wrong a year, “I deliberation we volition beryllium capable to travel backmost to mean life. I don’t deliberation that this means that variants volition not beryllium continuing coming. And I don’t deliberation that this means that we should beryllium capable to unrecorded our lives … without having vaccinations, basically.”

Bourla besides said “we volition person vaccines that … volition past astatine slightest a year’’ and that “the astir apt scenario, it is yearly revaccinations.”

___

HELSINKI — Police successful Norway person reported dozens of disturbances and convulsive clashes, including wide brawls successful the Nordic country’s large cities, aft streets, bars, restaurants and nightclubs were filled with radical celebrating the extremity of COVID-19 restrictions.

Ad

The Norwegian authorities abruptly announced Friday that astir of the remaining coronavirus restrictions would beryllium scrapped from Saturday and that beingness successful the federation of 5.3 cardinal would instrumentality to normal.

The unexpected announcement by Prime Minister Erna Solberg precocious Friday day to driblet coronavirus restrictions the adjacent time took galore Norwegians by astonishment and led to chaotic scenes successful the capital, Oslo, and elsewhere successful the state connected Saturday.

Rowdy celebrations crossed Norway by hundreds of citizens started Saturday day and lasted until the aboriginal hours of Sunday. Police said unrest was reported successful respective places, including successful the confederate metropolis of Bergen and the cardinal metropolis of Trondheim, portion the concern was the worst successful Oslo.

___

PHOENIX — Health officials successful Arizona connected Sunday reported 2,579 much COVID-19 cases and six further deaths.

The latest numbers pushed the state’s totals to 1,804,369 cases and 19,812 known deaths since the pandemic began.

Ad

On Saturday, Arizona had reported 2,916 further confirmed COVID-19 cases and 69 much deaths arsenic the gait of microorganism deaths has astir doubled implicit the past 2 weeks.

According to the Arizona Department of Health Services COVID-19 dashboard, determination were 1,834 COVID-19 patients occupying inpatient infirmary beds arsenic of Friday — a level beneath the existent surge’s highest of 2,103 connected Sept. 12.

More than 4.1 cardinal radical (57.7% of the state’s population) person received astatine slightest 1 dose of vaccine and implicit 3.6 cardinal residents are afloat vaccinated (51.1% of the population).

___

NEW YORK -- New York City schools person been temporarily blocked from enforcing a vaccine mandate for its teachers and different workers by a national appeals justice days earlier it was to instrumentality effect.

The mandate for the the nation’s largest schoolhouse strategy was acceptable to spell into effect Monday.

But precocious Friday, a justice for the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted a impermanent injunction and referred the lawsuit to a three-judge sheet an an expedited basis.

Ad

Department of Education spokesperson Danielle Filson said officials are seeking a speedy solution by the circuit tribunal adjacent week.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.