LOS ANGELES, Calif. Aug 26 – With many school districts countywide now reopening, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health), School Technical Assistance (STAT) teams are reaching out to schools proactively to assess COVID-19 preventive readiness and advise on options for improvement.
During recent visits, STAT educators found that schools with significant safety enhancements have broad support within the school community for promoting/implementing masking guidance. They also have symptom pre-screening tools that allow for early detection of sick students, consistent COVID-19 screening testing programs, and signage campus-wide to remind staff and students about safety, masking, distancing, and sanitation. Meanwhile, areas for improvement at many schools included preventing crowded situations, creating safety compliance teams, identifying space to use as isolation rooms, and implementing mealtime-specific prevention strategies. Additionally, teams noted the potential for improved communication with parents and faculty about testing and vaccination opportunities and case identification and contact tracing requirements. Many schools would also benefit from more signage, updated reopening protocols and sharing those with the entire school community, and increased disinfection in shared spaces.
Public Health teams plan to add additional support to schools to assist with contact tracing and appropriate quarantining of students and staff. As a reminder, fully vaccinated students and staff at K-12 schools are not required to quarantine as long as they remain asymptomatic during the 14-day quarantine period. Public Health will be sending County staff to schools that identify large numbers of exposed students to help manage quarantining of students and staff, recognizing how stressful and disruptive quarantining is to a stable learning environment and to parents/caregivers.
Participating in contact tracing is critical for ensuring that close contacts get notified that they may have been exposed and need to quarantine to prevent infecting other people if they become infected. This week, Los Angeles County will update the County Health Officer Order to require everyone who receives an isolation order to call Public Health within 24 hours of receiving the order to participate in a case investigation and contact tracing interview, unless they have already been interviewed by Public Health.
It is important to note that identifying close contacts of a confirmed case is always required in all settings, including workplaces, social gatherings, and places of worship, to try to identify and inform those who may be at risk of infection and of spreading COVID-19. Isolation and quarantine are very effective at reducing transmission if implemented in a timely manner.
In K-12 school settings countywide over the week of August 16 through 22, 3,186 new cases were reported, many from LAUSD, where everyone is tested weekly, with the second highest number coming from other K-12 schools in L.A. County. The overwhelming majority of school sites with cases reported only one case. However, 15 LAUSD and 48 other school sites reported 2 cases, and 84 LAUSD and 39 other school sites reported 3 or more cases.
It is worth noting that of the 14 school outbreaks that opened in August, half were associated with school sports. Because youth sports programs are high-risk environments for COVID-19 transmission, Public Health has issued requirements and best practices for youth sports leagues. L.A. County’s current youth sports guidance attempts to align with CDC while not precluding those not vaccinated from engaging in high-risk sports or extracurricular activities and instead adding in layers of protection.
Today, Public Health confirms 31 new deaths and 3,226 new cases of COVID-19. Due to the increased volume of testing in L.A. County, there have been recent delays in the processing of lab results into our data systems. Recent days have been underreported and today’s counts include backlogged data from prior days that were processed into the system yesterday. Public Health is working on increasing the processing speed and capacity and expect processing will soon keep up with the increased testing volume.
Of the 31 new deaths reported today, five people who passed away were over the age of 80, seven people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79, 12 people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64, four people who died were between the ages of 30 and 49, and one person who died was between the ages of 18 and 29. Two deaths were reported by the City of Long Beach. To date, Public Health identified 1,394,488 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 25,181 deaths.
There are 1,731 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 27% of these people are in the ICU. Testing results are available for nearly 8,012,000 individuals with 16% of people testing positive. Today’s test positivity rate is 2.7%, a decrease from last week’s same-day rate of 3.7%.
“To everyone who has lost friends and family during this difficult time, we are wishing you peace and comfort, and our prayers are with you,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “Staying away from others when you are sick or have been exposed means you’re less likely to spread infection to others – and that makes it less likely that the other people will need to quarantine themselves. Participating in case investigations and contact tracing and following isolation and quarantine orders can make the difference between having a handful of kids or hundreds of kids out of school. For kids in middle school and high school, the best way to keep your school open is to get vaccinated if you are eligible. When you’re vaccinated, you’re less likely to catch COVID-19, even if you’re exposed. That means that even if you’re exposed, you do not need to quarantine. And you’re less likely to get really sick if you do get infected, which means a quicker return to life as usual once an infection resolves.”
As of August 22, 90% of L.A. County residents 65 and over have received at least one dose of the vaccine, 75% of residents 16 and over and 74% of residents 12 and over. Sixty-four percent of residents 12 and over have been fully vaccinated. Of L.A. County teens between the ages of 12 and 17, 61% have received at least one dose and 53% are fully vaccinated. Out of the nearly 10.3 million L.A. County residents, including those who are not yet eligible for the vaccine, 63% have received at least one dose, and 55% are fully vaccinated. Countywide, 17,364 third doses have been administered to immunocompromised people.
Among the more than 5.2 million fully vaccinated people in L.A. County, Public Health identified 32,678 people fully vaccinated who tested positive for COVID-19 as of August 24. While this is an increase of 20% from last week, less than 1% of all those vaccinated have become infected with COVID-19. Of those who tested positive, 881 were hospitalized, up from 742 the week prior. This translates to 0.017% of all fully vaccinated people. Deaths in this group over this interval increased, from 68 to 95, to 0.0018%. In these incremental increases, we see the reality that vaccines do not provide 100% protection from infection. When the community transmission is high, more fully vaccinated people are likely to get infected. However, we also see in these numbers the reality that fully vaccinated people continue to be extraordinarily well protected from hospitalization, and continue to be very unlikely to die from COVID-19.
Teens 12 and over can receive Pfizer vaccine at any County and city sites without an appointment. Additionally, many school districts and individual schools, including Los Nietos Middle School, Whittier Union, and Wilsona, are offering vaccinations over the next few weeks. LAUSD, which has over 45 standing school sites, will be rolling out a mobile vaccine campaign administering vaccines at every middle and high school in its district. You can ask your school site for a vaccination schedule.
8月28日华盛顿讯，美国财政部今天宣布，制裁与伊朗存在金融联系的一家埃及银行阿联酋分行。美国财政部在一份声明中表示，计划取消埃及银行（Banque Misr）阿联酋分行使用美国金融机构服务的资格。 据美国财政部称，过去两年间，埃及米斯尔银行（Banque Misr）阿联酋分行为约100家可能隶属于伊朗影子银行网络的企业，处理了总额约18亿美元的资金往来。 此次行动发生在美国财政部长斯科特·贝森特（Scott Bessent）启动“经济弃儿行动”（Operation Economic Outcast）4天之后；该制裁行动旨在切断伊朗在全球范围内的所有经济联系。 此前，贝森特在8月24日曾表示，美国财政部将在本周末前宣布对一家金融机构实施制裁的“重大消息”。 特朗普总统曾将针对伊朗的制裁行动形容为经济领域的“诺曼底登陆”（D-Day)，即第二次世界大战期间西方盟军对纳粹占领下的欧洲发起的规模宏大的反攻行动。然而，迄今为止，美国财政部针对该伊朗采取的行动规模相对有限。 美国财政部今天还将伊朗国家银行（Bank Melli）迪拜分行总经理礼萨·穆罕默德·塔伊迪（Reza Mohammad Taeedi）列入黑名单。此外，美国财政部还制裁了一家名为“嘉盟贸易有限公司”（Kameng Trading…
8月28日华盛顿讯，美国联邦医疗保险和医疗补助服务中心（CMS）表示，157家实验室服务提供商已被从联邦医疗保险（Medicare）体系中除名，原因包括涉嫌就未实际进行的检测或无医学必要的检测进行收费。 自美国总统特朗普上任以来，联邦官员已拦截或追回了超过16亿美元可能不当的联邦医疗保险实验室支付款项；其中包括7.32亿美元，涉及157家因涉嫌欺诈而被踢出该项目的实验室服务提供商。 美国联邦医疗保险和医疗补助服务中心表示，这些实验室涉嫌向联邦医疗保险项目收取未实际进行的检测费用、患者无需进行的检测费用，以及收费标准高于应有费率的服务费用。 该中心负责人梅赫梅特·奥兹（Mehmet Oz）博士表示：“当实验室向联邦医疗保险收取未实际进行的检测费用时，这不仅会耗损联邦医疗保险信托基金，还会导致资源无法用于真正需要这些服务的受益人。” 在一宗案例中，一家咨询公司的负责人为14家实验室注册了联邦医疗保险资格，并向该项目申报了超过2400万美元的费用，尽管美国联邦医疗保险和医疗补助服务中心指出，这些实验室似乎并未实际运营。 此后，该中心扣留了应支付给这些实验室的1200万美元款项，并追回了另外700万美元。这14家实验室中，有11家已被取消联邦医疗保险资格，其余3家则仍在接受调查。 该中心表示，正利用人工智能及其他技术手段筛查联邦医疗保险的申报记录，以识别可能涉嫌欺诈的异常计费行为。该技术能够识别偏离正常模式的计费情况，并标记可疑索赔以供进一步审查。随后，该中心可以在 联邦医疗保险支付款项之前，对索赔进行暂扣、驳回或拒付处理。 在该机构提及的16亿美元总额中，美国联邦医疗保险和医疗补助服务中心在调查了600家实验室后，通过185次暂停支付行动，拦截了超过5亿美元涉嫌欺诈的款项。 该中心还追回了向442家涉嫌违规的实验室多付的逾2.76亿美元资金；此外，在将85起案件移交执法部门后，该中心还成功拦截了另外1.27亿美元涉嫌欺诈的款项。 美国联邦医疗保险和医疗补助服务中心列举了得克萨斯州近期的两起案例，作为实验室涉嫌就未实际提供的服务向联邦医疗保险进行计费的典型例子。 其中，某家实验室于2月下旬开始向联邦医疗保险提交账单。美国联邦医疗保险和医疗补助服务中心表示，该机构及早发现了这一可疑活动，并拒付了总额达120万美元的索赔款项。 据美国联邦医疗保险和医疗补助服务中心称，该实验室随后于4月初更改了向联邦医疗保险提交账单的方式，显然是企图规避该机构的监管防范措施。相关官员持续监控其索赔情况，在当月晚些时候将该服务提供方从联邦医疗保险体系中除名前，又拦截了超过15万美元的额外付款。 另一个案例，德克萨斯州一家实验室在当年早些时候提交了为期两天的检测费用申报后，于5月份开始进行大规模计费。美国联邦医疗保险和医疗补助服务中心拒付了190万美元的申报费用，并追回了另外170万美元的已付款项。该实验室目前仍处于审查之中，并可能被取消参与联邦医疗保险计划的资格。…
8月28日冰岛雷克雅未克讯，冰岛将于8月29日举行全民公投，决定是否重启加入欧盟的谈判。此次公投结果难分伯仲，美国总统特朗普在北极问题上的强硬姿态，使得该辩论更具深远意义。 这个拥有近40万人口的北欧国家面临的问题很简单：“冰岛是否应该重启与欧盟的入盟谈判”。民意调查显示，此次咨询性投票结果可能非常接近，冰岛民众在这一问题上几乎势均力敌。如果多数选民投赞成票，入盟谈判将正式启动；如果谈判成功，最终达成的协议将提交第二次全民公投，由冰岛民众决定是否接受。 与此同时，北极地区正逐渐成为重要矿产资源的集中地，气候变化导致海冰迅速融化，开辟了季节性航道；此外，美国总统特朗普还再次推动收购冰岛的近邻格陵兰岛。 美国总统特朗普长期以来一直以国家安全为由主张控制格陵兰岛。值得注意的是，特朗普总统在今年早些时候于瑞士达沃斯世界经济论坛（WEF）发表的特别讲话中，似乎多次将格陵兰岛和冰岛混淆。 冰岛在2009年全球金融危机后申请加入欧盟，但在2013年疑欧派联合政府上台后暂停了入盟谈判。今年年初，冰岛外交部长索尔格杜尔·贡纳斯多蒂尔（Thorgerdur Gunnarsdottir）表示，与欧盟进行更深入的对话与合作将是维护冰岛利益的关键因素。 贡纳斯多蒂尔在冰岛报纸《Visir》上发表的一篇文章中写道：“很明显，自二战结束以来我们所处的国际体系正处于动荡之中。” 冰岛是北约创始成员国之一，也是唯一一个没有自己军队的盟国。冰岛地处所谓的格陵兰-英国海峡（GIUK Gap）之上，这条海峡是连接北极和大西洋的格陵兰、冰岛和英国之间的海上咽喉要道。 尽管这些地缘政治发展影响了冰岛人讨论加入欧盟前景的背景，但政治专家强调，这场辩论主要还是由国内问题驱动的，特别是经济、主权和渔业问题。 与此同时，冰岛前总理卡特琳·雅各布斯多蒂尔（Katrín Jakobsdóttir）表示，她不认为冰岛有加入欧盟的理由。她指出，冰岛与欧盟27个成员国保持着密切的经济合作，而且冰岛公民已经享有很高的生活水平。 雅各布斯多蒂尔早在今年4月中旬接受 媒体采访时就曾表示：“如果大多数人都想申请，那么倾听大多数人的意见非常重要，但我并没有改变我的立场。” 冰岛已深度融入欧洲框架，部分原因在于其欧洲经济区成员国的身份。这使得这座火山岛无需成为欧盟正式成员国即可进入欧盟单一市场。冰岛也是申根区成员国，这使得冰岛公民可以免护照与其他申根区成员国之间自由往来。…
8月27日华盛顿讯，根据美国国家运输安全委员会（NTSB）今天在一份调查报告中称，此前发生的特朗普总统“海军陆战队一号” (Marine One）直升机专机8月4日离开白宫之际，一架喷气式飞机获准起飞的飞行安全事件调查结果出炉。而在该事件发生前一周，华盛顿地区的空中交通管制员还曾与特朗普总统直升机专机的飞行员会面，商讨通信问题。 空中管制员反映，在“海军陆战队一号”总统直升机专机飞行前，他们并未收到标准的“提前三分钟”预警通知；双方当时商定了一种替代方案，即通过第三方转达无线电通知。 然而，根据美国国家运输安全委员会的初步报告，在8月4日发生于罗纳德·里根华盛顿国家机场（DCA）附近的这起事件中，该转达方案也未能奏效。 让喷气式飞机和总统直升机专机同时处于飞行状态，似乎违反了去年那起导致67人丧生的繁忙机场附近空中相撞事故后制定的安全规程，但调查官员们辩称，特朗普总统从未处于危险之中。 此外，五角大楼与联邦航空管理局（FAA）之间早有一项长期协议，该协议制定于去年那起空难之前，规定在总统乘坐的直升机专机起飞前，须提前三分钟向空中交通管制员发出预警。 美国国家运输安全委员会表示，空中管制塔台的录音显示，管制员当天并未收到“海军陆战队一号”飞行员发出的直升机准备起飞的通报；但是提供实时空中交通管制平台ATC.com 公布的另一份录音则显示，特朗普总统直升机专机确实发出了这些通报。 美国国家运输安全委员会的报告显示，直升机专机飞行员曾试图通过安纳科斯蒂亚-博林联合基地（Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling）的直升机设施转达那段时长三分钟的通话，但未能成功。 此前有报道称，“海军陆战队一号”直升机专机飞行员曾3次尝试联系里根机场的塔台，以通知空中交通管制员总统专机即将起飞。塔台方面曾一度接收到了信号，但要求飞行员重复信息，因为当时的通话“断断续续且无法辨识”。 2025年1月29日发生了一起客机与陆军“黑鹰”直升机相撞的事故，此后美国联邦航空管理局规定，每当有直升机沿冲突航线经过时，该机场的所有起降活动都必须暂停。白宫和里根机场附近的空域非常繁忙，密布着各类军用和民用航空器。 针对联邦调查人员的初步报告，白宫发言人库什·德赛（Kush…
8月27日华盛顿讯，美国总统特朗普今天签署了一项行政命令，将安大略湖（Lake Ontario）更名为“美国湖”（Lake America），从而兑现了他本周早些时候在社交媒体上发出的威胁。 特朗普总统在签署该命令前表示：“我们将把安大略湖更名为‘美国湖’，即刻生效。” 本周，特朗普总统在社交媒体平台“真实社交”上发帖表示，美国正在“认真考虑”更改这一名称，并发布了一张地图，上面划掉了“安大略湖”的标注。他还表示，美国预计“不再与安大略省进行太多贸易往来”。 特朗普总统在白宫椭圆形办公室宣布的该决定，是他在与加拿大的贸易战背景下采取的最新举措。 该行政令指示美国内政部长道格·伯格姆（Doug Burgum）更新“地名信息系统”（GNIS），以反映该名称变更。地名信息系统负责与美国地名委员会（USBGN）合作，统一联邦政府使用的地名。尽管特朗普总统无法强制其他国家或国际机构将其称为“美国湖”（Lake America），但他有权要求美国政府这样做。 特朗普总统随后在社交媒体平台“真实社交”上发布了美国地质调查局（USGS）局长的一封信，该信宣布更名已完成，并表示“未来几天内，印刷文件中将开始采用新名称”。 特朗普总统在回答这项行政命令向加拿大传达了什么信息时说：“没什么特别的信息。众所周知，长期以来，加拿大在贸易问题上一直在占我们便宜，这实在令人遗憾。甚至在军事方面也是如此，要知道，我们可是免费为加拿大提供防务的。” 加拿大总理马克·卡尼（Mark Carney）表示，安大略湖的历史远比《独立宣言》悠久，而“尊重客观事实，就意味着要称其为安大略湖”。 “‘安大略湖’（Lake Ontario）这个名字源自温达特语（Wendat）单词‘Ontari'io’，其含义恰如其分地表达了‘湖泊美丽、湖泊宏大’之意，”卡尼说道，“这个名字已有400多年的历史，其出现时间早于加拿大的联邦成立，也早于美利坚合众国的《独立宣言》。我们深知美国正在发生变化——无论是贸易关系、外交政策、国家纪念碑，还是水体名称。但加拿大人同样明白，尊重客观事实就意味着要称其为安大略湖——无论过去、现在还是将来，皆是如此。”…
8月26日华盛顿讯，美国司法部和联邦调查局（FBI）今天指控，中国政府支持的两个黑客运营和使用的平台被用于攻击美国关键基础设施和其他敏感网络，并宣布法院已授权查封相关域名，以阻止恶意网络攻击者访问这两个名为“QScan”和“QTRouter”的互补型黑客平台。 根据加州南区法院公布的法庭文件，一个名为“QTFY”的中国政府支持黑客组织创建并运营了黑客平台QScan和QTRouter。该平台受雇于“中国南京鑫玖维网络科技有限公司”(Nanjing Xinjiuwei Network Technology Company)。QTFY的计算机入侵活动受害者包括美国宇航局（NASA)、美联储、美国能源部、美国司法部、美国卫生与公众服务部、国立卫生研究院（NIH）以及美国参议院。 美国司法部长托德·布兰奇（Todd Blanche）表示：“我们将阻止并起诉那些以美国关键基础设施为目标的国家支持的恶意黑客。我们致力于保障美国人民的安全，并将动用一切手段来履行这一承诺。联邦执法部门调查并禁用了中华人民共和国的恶意软件，这是为打击中华人民共和国资助的无差别黑客活动而开展的一系列技术行动中的最新一次。” 美国联邦调查局局长卡什·帕特尔（Kash Patel）表示：“今天，我们宣布摧毁了一个由中国政府支持的黑客用来攻击美国关键基础设施的全球僵尸网络和黑客平台，中国网络攻击者利用这些工具来隐藏其攻击来源。感谢联邦调查局圣地亚哥分局、联邦调查局网络部门和司法部合作伙伴的共同努力，我们查获了敌方基础设施并关闭了这些平台。今天的行动只是针对中华人民共和国资助的黑客活动的最新一次技术行动——为了支持特朗普总统的《美国网络战略》(Cyber Strategy for America)，联邦调查局正在加大力度，以塑造敌方行为并捍卫国土安全。” 负责国家安全的美国司法部助理部长约翰·艾森伯格（John A.…