WABE’s Week In Review: Pandemic Rules, Irwin Shut Down And APS Scandal Six Years Later

WABE

May 21st, 2021

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is considering all its options when it comes to COVID-19 rules.

“We have thousands of pages of guidance related to all sorts of sectors,” said CDC Director Dr.Rochelle Walensky. “And we are now working through those in the context of our new science based guidance that was released on Thursday.”

Last week the CDC announced its recommendations that fully vaccinated people don’t need masks in most settings.

Guidance for schools is unlikely to change for the rest of the academic year, as many children will not likely have the chance to get vaccinated before then, according to Walensky.

Still, Fulton County schools will allow teachers and students back at school without a mask, according to its Twitter account. 

The CDC still recommends masks in schools, which was an issue the agency had to clarify after announcing its major guidance change last week.

Beleaguered Georgia detention center shut down… 

In this Sept. 15, 2020, file photo, Dawn Wooten, left, a nurse at Irwin County Detention Center in Ocilla, Georgia, speaks at a news conference in Atlanta protesting conditions at the immigration jail. CREDIT JEFF AMY/ AP

The Department of Homeland Security decided Thursday that they would end their contract with the private owner of the Irwin County Detention Center in Georgia. The closure comes amid complaints of detainees being forced into unnecessary gynecological procedures. Members of Congress have been calling for the closure of the facility since last year.

The closure of the Georgia detention center comes at the same time as another immigrant detention center in Massachusettes that has also drawn complaints of inhumane conditions. The decision reflects the Biden Administration’s steps to reverse many of the anti-immigration policies that characterized the previous Trump Administration.

Azadeh Shahshahani, legal and advocacy director of Project South, spoke with WABE about the issues with medical care at Irwin.

Bureaucracy holds up funding for those with HIV/AIDS … 

The battle for Georgia’s water continues… 

Lowered water levels at Lake Lanier during the 2017 drought. CREDIT MOLLY SAMUEL / WABE

The U.S. Supreme Court put a stop to one case in the ongoing fights between Georgia and its neighbors over water.  Earlier this year, the high court sided with Georgia over Florida.

But there are other cases still out there. And litigation isn’t the only challenge for Atlanta’s water supply.

And get more on our “Water Wars” collaboration with Alabama Public Radio and WFSU in Tallahassee. 

APS cheating scandal six years on… 

 

 

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