High school students hold a walkout advocating for safer COVID-19 precautions in schools at Benjamin Banneker Academic High School in Washington DC on Jan 25, 2022. (STEFANI REYNOLDS / AFP)
ROME / BERLIN / WASHINGTON / VALLETTA – More than a third of high school students surveyed in the United States experienced stress, anxiety or depression, and nearly a fifth said they seriously considered suicide during the COVID-19 pandemic, US researchers reported on Thursday.
The first nationwide survey of its kind found that 44 percent of students reported feeling sad or hopeless every day for two consecutive weeks or more during the prior year, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study
The first nationwide survey of its kind found that 44 percent of students reported feeling sad or hopeless every day for two consecutive weeks or more during the prior year, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study.
"The findings we presented today highlight complex issues, however, and kids, parents and schools cannot address them alone. The impact of COVID-19 will be felt for many years with devastating consequences," CDC official Jonathan Mermin told reporters in a news briefing.
The online survey of 7,705 students in grades 9-12 across the country was conducted during January to June 2021 and asked, "how often was your mental health not good?"
The survey found the prevalence of poor mental health and suicidality was high across students of all sexual identity, racial and ethnic groups, but was more prevalent among students who identified as female than males.
Suicidal thoughts or attempts and general poor mental health were also more prevalent among LGBT students than among heterosexual youth, the survey published in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report found.
The study confirms concerns raised by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the Children’s Hospital Association, which in October 2021 jointly declared a national emergency in child and adolescent mental health, noting that the stresses brought on by the pandemic have exacerbated issues that existed prior to the health crisis.
As schools were closed during pandemic lockdowns, teenagers were exposed to a variety of stresses, including abuse from parents and isolation.
More than half of the students surveyed said they experienced emotional abuse by a parent or other adult at home, with 11 percent reporting physical abuse. Nearly 30 percent reported that a parent or other adult in their homes lost a job and 24 percent said they went hungry because there was not enough food.
To address these mental health issues, researchers recommended improving student connectedness with other students as well as with staff, and noted that school districts should consider school-wide programs such as those focused on social and emotional learning.
Because the survey was the first of its kind, it was not possible to compare trends with those seen in other studies before the pandemic, researchers noted.
Doctors and nurses tend to a patient on the Covid-19 intensive care unit at University Hospital Leipzig on November 18, 2021 in Leipzig, Germany. (GETTY / BLOOMBERG)
Germany
Germany plans to end mandatory quarantine for most people who catch COVID-19, the health ministry proposed on Thursday, as numbers isolating with the infection top four million.
Under the existing rules, people with COVID must quarantine for at least seven days.
But Health Minister Karl Lauterbach wants to change that to a voluntary five days of self-isolation with the recommendation of a COVID test at the end of that period, proposals seen by Reuters showed.
Under the plans, drawn up by his ministry and the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases, health workers would still have to isolate for a five days and require a negative PCR test to end their quarantine.
A man waves the Italian flag during a demonstration against the so-called "Super Green Pass", imposing new restrictions in the face of a sharp rise in COVID-19 infections in Italy on Jan 15, 2022 at piazza San Giovanni in Rome. (FILIPPO MONTEFORTE / AFP)
Italy
The proposals, which have yet to be discussed with authorities in Germany's 16 federal states, have emerged after COVID cases soared in recent weeks, hitting staffing in hospitals and many other workplaces.
More than two years after its announcement, and following several extensions, Italy on Thursday officially ended the COVID-19 pandemic state of emergency.
The end date – March 31 – was originally announced by Prime Minister Mario Draghi in February. The country can now gradually phase out the remaining COVID measures between April 1 and Dec 31, 2022.
From Friday on, the four-tier system based on a color code – white, yellow, orange and red zones for no, low, medium and high pandemic risk, respectively – will no longer apply in Italy, according to the new rules
From Friday on, the four-tier system based on a color code – white, yellow, orange and red zones for no, low, medium and high pandemic risk, respectively – will no longer apply, according to the new rules.
This means that the remaining measures will apply nationwide, regardless of the local or regional epidemiological situation.
Several rules will change starting on April 1, according to a cabinet decree passed earlier in March.
Among the changes that will impact Italians' daily life the most are those concerning the "normal" green pass – showing proof of vaccination, recovery or a negative test, which will no longer be needed to enter public offices, banks, shops and in the outdoor areas of restaurants and bars.
However, the pass will still be required for patrons inside cafeterias and restaurants.
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Another key change provides that those aged 50 or older who are not vaccinated against COVID-19 will be allowed to access their workplaces again by presenting a negative test result.
The wearing of face masks will continue to be required until April 30 to enter shops, offices, restaurants, gyms, pools, theaters and other leisure and cultural venues, as well as workplaces.
The mandate to wear masks outdoors will be lifted everywhere in Italy, as will the obligation to wear an FFP2 mask in classrooms.
From Friday on, only infected people will have to self-isolate. Close contacts of infected individuals — even if they are not vaccinated – will no longer be required to quarantine.
Latvia
Latvia will end a state of medical emergency that was declared last October this Friday, the Health Ministry announced Thursday.
The rate of infections in the Baltic country has been dropping steeply across all age groups and regions in recent weeks, according to official figures.
Latvia recorded another 2,005 cases on Thursday and the two-week COVID-19 incidence dropped to 1997.7 cases per 100,000 population, slightly below the EU average.
Although slower than the incidence rate, the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients has been declining as well. As of Thursday, there were 880 COVID-19 positive patients being treated in Latvia's hospitals, down from 904 the day before.
Malta
Malta's Health Minister Chris Fearne said on Thursday that he had tested positive for COVID-19.
Fearne said on social media that he took the swab test after feeling mild symptoms just days after celebrating the general election result in a packed counting hall.
The deputy prime minister said he is in quarantine and will continue working remotely.
CIA Director, William Burns, testifies during a House Intelligence Committee hearing about worldwide threats, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, April 15, 2021. (Al DRAGO / POOL / AFP)
US
Chief of the US Central Intelligence Agency William Burns has tested positive for COVID-19, the CIA said Thursday.
Burns, 65, who is fully vaccinated and boosted against the coronavirus, "has experienced mild symptoms," according to a CIA statement.
He last met with US President Joe Biden on Wednesday morning during a "socially distanced meeting, and was wearing an N-95 mask."
Biden, 79, received his second COVID-19 booster shot at the White House on Wednesday.
"Their interaction is not considered close contact as defined by CDC guidance," the statement read.
Meanwhile, US Senate negotiators on Thursday were nearing a deal on a $10 billion COVID-19 bill to help the federal government acquire more vaccines and medical supplies as it prepares for future variants of the virus that upended American life.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, said senators were "close to a final agreement" on a bill aiming to shore up stockpiles to be used both domestically and internationally.
