Hundreds of indigenous dialects are at risk of disappearing forever as the number of native speakers dwindles. COVID has placed a special urgency to protect native speakers and tribal elders to keep traditions, and language, alive.
The show from December 28, 2020, featured guest host, Jennifer Smith.
[OLYMPIA] (Malcontent News) – The $892B COVID Relief package and the $1.4T Omnibus spending bill went unsigned by President Donald Trump on Saturday, cutting off unemployment benefits for up to 14 million Americans. In Washington state, over 100,000 people collecting Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, or PUA, had their benefits end today. If the bills go unsigned through Monday, a partial government shutdown will sideline up to 2.1 million federal employees despite the raging COVID pandemic and the potential terrorist attack in Nashville on Christmas.
On Sunday, Governor Jay Inslee announced emergency aid for many collecting PUA. According to the state, residents on PUA should continue to file to receive a flat payment of $550 next week. If the federal government continues to not respond to the ongoing crisis, a $50 million fund is expected to last about four weeks.
While federal law requires unemployment to be paid on a sliding scale based on income, the emergency aid is a fixed payment. State officials indicated the average PUA check before federal funding expired was $300.
The show from December 24, 2020, featured guest host, Jennifer Smith.
The show from December 17, 2020, featured guest host, Jennifer Smith.
United States air travel reached levels not seen since Thanksgiving, with over three-million air passengers passing through TSA checkpoints in the last three days. Analysts are estimating ten-million air passengers will travel over the next week. The holiday air travel is happening despite pleas from local, state, and federal officials to stay home, as hospitals across the nation become overwhelmed with COVID patients.
Earlier today, Governor Jay Inslee of Washington announced travel restrictions for people from the U.K. and South Africa. In the U.K., officials have identified a new strain of COVID that is more contagious but not more lethal. The variant in South Africa is also a new strain and targets younger victims with worse symptoms. Over 40 nations had issued travel bans to and from the U.K. and South Africa by Monday evening. The CDC has the two countries at a level 4 alert: “do not travel,” while the U.S. State Department has issued a level 3 alert, “travel not recommended.”
The Washington travel restriction is not a ban. Still, people traveling from the U.K. or South Africa must self-quarantine for 14 days after their arrival. According to the website, FlightsFrom, there are 13 scheduled direct flights between Seattle and London this coming week.
On Friday, a United Airlines flight from Orlando to Los Angeles diverted to New Orleans due to an onboard health emergency. The male passenger died, and the CDC may start advising others on the flight to seek a COVID test. According to eye witness accounts, the man was in poor health with breathing difficulty when he boarded the plane. His wife told officials he had COVID-like symptoms but elected to board the aircraft anyway.
The United States is leading the world in daily COVID infections, total infected, daily deaths, and total deaths.
[MARYSVILLE] (Malcontent News) – Life Care Center of Marysville reports a COVID outbreak at the 97-bed facility north of Seattle. In a notice that went to family members on December 18, officials said 19 patients and eight staffers have tested positive, with six residents testing positive in the last 24 hours.
According to Life Care Center, COVID positive patients will be placed in isolation, while residents who “are not medically stable” will be placed in the hospital. Internal policy requires temperature screening and questionnaires for staff. However, temperature screening will not identify asymptomatic carriers.
Snohomish County Health District and Life Care Center has not responded to our requests for comment at the time of publication.
[SEATTLE] (Malcontent News) – Malcontent News obtained a memo from state officials indicating the federal decision to reduce vaccine allocations is to preserve the supply for second injections. The Pfizer COVID vaccine requires two doses, 28 days apart, to become effective. Pfizer has stated that 28 days is relative and can be moved by a couple of days, but there isn’t a clear understanding of the impact of a longer delay. If the period between the first and second injections is too long, all initial doses will go to waste.
Late last week, confusion emerged across the United States as multiple governors reported their vaccine allocations were being reduced 30% to 50%. Health and Human Services clarified that some states such as Iowa and Texas would see no such reduction, while other states such as Florida and Washington would. In Washington state, King County will receive no vaccine shipments for the week of December 21. King County was the first location in the United States to have a mass outbreak of COVID, and includes the cities of Seattle and Bellevue.
On Saturday, General Gustave Perna, the chief operating officer for Operation Warp Speed, took full responsibility for the delay. He cited FDA regulations requiring all batches to be certified, followed by a 48 hour waiting period as the source of uncertainty. “At the end of the day, I accept responsibility for the miscommunication,” Perna said during a press conference. In contrast, Pfizer indicated they have millions of doses sitting in warehouses waiting for shipping instructions.
The Trump Administration, Health and Human Services officials, and leadership within Operation Warp Speed have issued contradictory and muddled messages since mid-November. In another worrying sign that a long winter awaits Americans, officials identified two new strains of COVID in the U.K. and South Africa. Both appear more contagious than current widespread strains, and the South African variant seems to be targeting younger people. Despite other nations banning travel to and from the U.K. and South Africa to prevent transmission, the United States has taken no such action.
The show from December 17, 2020, featured guest host, Jennifer Smith.
The first batch of Pfizer’s COVID vaccine arrives in Washington state, and distribution will start on December 15. Although this is good news for the future, we won’t be taking our masks off any time soon, and without widescale acceptance, herd immunity will be delayed.
