Return to normalcy

No mas(k)

Most vaccinated Californians no longer need to wear masks indoors. But officials are keeping mask mandates in place for at least a few more weeks in Los Angeles County. California’s new rules do not apply to teachers and students, who must continue to wear masks in classrooms, at least until the end of February. Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser ended proof-of-vaccination requirements for indoor venues. Mask mandates in the nation’s capital will end on March 1, though face coverings will still be required in schools and on public transportation. Workers at Amazon and Walmart, two of the largest private employers in the country, no longer need to mask up on the job. About half of the states that still had mask mandates have ended them in the last few weeks.

Healed

Identified only as the “New York patient,” the woman was diagnosed with HIV in 2013 and leukemia in 2017. A team of U.S. scientists presented research results Feb. 15 indicating a new stem cell transplant treatment has eradicated the virus in the woman for more than 14 months. If she continues to be in remission for a few years, they will consider her fully cured, making her the world’s first woman and only the third patient to be cured. The team at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center used umbilical cord blood rather than bone marrow. Most experts maintain HIV cures from risky stem cell treatments are unethical and should only be considered for patients who also face life-threatening conditions.

Free at last!

Hugs, tears, and flowers filled the arrival hall as international arrivals touched down at the Sydney International Airport on Feb. 21. Australian well-wishers handed out toy koalas and cookies to the travelers. Fifty-six flights landed Monday in Australia, more than half of them in Sydney. Australia imposed some of the world’s strictest travel restrictions since March 2020 and only began allowing in its citizens and some visitors late last year. Authorities said fully vaccinated visitors would not need to isolate. Unvaccinated travelers must quarantine for 14 days at a hotel at their expense.

Debts forgiven

The U.S. Education Department announced Feb. 16 that for-profit DeVry University lied about its graduate employment rate to entice new students. The college is headquartered in Naperville, Ill., but largely offers online learning and has several campuses across the country. The administration will forgive roughly $71 million of student loan debt from at least 1,800 former DeVry students, bringing relief for such loans up to $415 million for nearly 16,000 alumni of for-profit schools. The department alleges school officials knowingly doctored success rate numbers between 2008 and 2015, reporting 90 percent of graduates found jobs within six months of graduation when the actual rate was closer to 58 percent.