Technologies

School Mask Mandates: Only 2 US States Still Require Masks in the Classroom

And with Washington ending school masking on March 21, there’s just one holdout without a projected end date.

For the most up-to-date news and information about the coronavirus pandemic, visit the WHO and CDC websites.

With school mask mandates expiring in California and Oregon last week, Hawaii remains the only state in the union to still require face coverings in the classroom to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

Hawaii only recently announced its mask requirement in indoor venues — bars, restaurants, movie theaters and the like — will end on March 25.

«It’s taken the entire community to get to this point — with lowered case counts and hospitalizations,» Hawaii Gov. David Inge tweeted on March 8. «We’re also better at treating people who are infected, have boosters, & the CDC rates our COVID19 community level ‘low.'»

Read on to learn more about mask requirements, how guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has shifted and more.

Which states have school masking requirements?

Only Washington state and Hawaii still require students, staff and visitors to wear face masks in public schools.

Washington, DC, officially ended its school mask mandate on March 8.

California schools no longer require masks as of March 11 — the same day that Oregon‘s mask mandate expired. Individual California school districts can now determine their own guidelines: San Diego Unified, for example, announced that masks will be required until April 4.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has said that school masking requirements will expire on March 21, along with the public masking mandate.

Hawaii is now the only state without a projected end date for school mask requirements, although officials lifted an outdoor mask mandate on school campuses last week.

Which states still require masks indoors?

Indoor masking requirements in Washington and Oregon expired on March 11. Hawaii‘s mask mandate for indoor settings will end on March 25.

Connecticut still maintains an indoor mask requirement for unvaccinated residents.

What are the CDC’s mask recommendations?

The CDC updated its mask recommendations in early March: While it still recommends people in areas with high levels of COVID-19 transmission wear masks indoors, it’s taking a more «holistic» approach that evaluates new infections and hospitalizations, as well as ICU bed occupancy rates.

You can look up your own county’s community COVID level with the CDC’s COVID-19 County Check tool.

The CDC has said that people outdoors generally do not need to wear masks, regardless of community COVID level, unless they are in extended close contact with other people.

What is the federal mask mandate?

The US national mask mandate requires those traveling by train, bus, airplane or other public transportation to wear masks while doing so. The rules went into effect with an executive order from President Joe Biden in January 2021. The mandate was originally supposed to expire on Jan. 18, 2022 — it was extended to March 18 during the omicron surge and now has been extended again to April 18.

In a joint statement with the Transportation Security Administration, the CDC announced that it would use the next month to «work with government agencies to help inform a revised policy framework for when, and under what circumstances, masks should be required in the public transportation corridor.»

What is the World Health Organization’s position on masks?

The World Health Organization’s current guidance is that wearing a well-fitting mask that covers the nose and mouth is recommended indoors in areas with poor ventilation or where social distancing cannot be maintained, «irrespective of vaccination status or history of prior infection.»

The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.

Technologies

Google’s New AI Features Are Trying to Make Data Entry a Thing of the Past

More Gemini AI features will come to Google Docs, Sheets and Slides.

The latest batch of Google updates to its workspace tools highlights AI’s promise to automate mundanity in the workplace. Google Docs, Slides, Sheets and Drive all have new AI-powered features, the company announced Tuesday. The one thing all these updates have in common? Gemini is using your files, emails and chats to give you relevant information, not random answers gleaned from the web.

These updates come as AI is playing a bigger role in our work lives, for better or worse. Agentic tools like Claude Cowork and coding assistants like Anthropic’s Claude Code and OpenAI’s Codex are more capable than chatbots and able to handle tasks announced independently. AI tools are also becoming more customized, with Google’s personalized intelligence rolling out across its platforms to help refine AI outputs to things that are relevant and useful for you. Google continues that trend with this new batch of Workspace updates.

New Gemini AI features in Google Workspace apps will cite their sources after each query. For example, if you ask Gemini in Google Docs to fill out an itinerary template, it will pull the information from your email, chats and files. The «sources» tab in the Gemini side panel will show you where it found the information it used, like your flight confirmation email and chats discussing dinner plans. Seeing where Gemini pulled its answers from is also how you’ll double-check Gemini’s work.

The most impressive new features are in Sheets, where AI can fill in the holes in your spreadsheets. You can describe what you want the AI to do with a simple prompt and avoid writing an exact formula. You can click on an empty cell, select the pop-up that says «Drag to fill with Gemini,» then highlight the cells you want Gemini to fill in. That deploys an AI agent to search the web to fill each cell with the necessary information.

For example, if you have a spreadsheet of the contact info for local companies, you can have Gemini search the web to fill in a the location, CEO and other publicly available information of each company. The tool aims to dramatically reduce the time needed for manual data entry. Gemini can also summarize, categorize and create charts with prompts alone.

You can also chat with Gemini in Sheets and have it scour your raw data to make custom reports and charts. No need for pivot tables if they confound you as much as they baffle me. One of the biggest uses of AI at work is helping create presentations.

In Google Slides, you can now tell Gemini in natural language what you want to appear on a slide, and it will create it, matching the style of your existing slides. You can also ask Gemini to edit your slides if you don’t want to waste time painstakingly moving design elements around the slide. The AI should fill the slides with relevant information based on your instructions and the work files it has access to, so you shouldn’t need to replace a bunch of filler text.

If you use Docs, Sheets and Slides through the Workspace account of your company, then you won’t be able to turn off AI features individually. The managing company is in control of AI access for users. Personal users can tweak their settings to limit Gemini. The new features are rolling out in beta now, in English only, to Google AI Ultra and Pro subscribers in the US, as well as some Google Workspace customers who are part of the Gemini Alpha testing program.

For more, check out the new cowork feature in Copilot and how to use Perplexity AI for deep research.

Technologies

Nintendo Switches Lanes, Sues US Over Tariffs

Mario wants his money back.

Tariffs implemented by President Donald Trump were struck down by the Supreme Court last month. Companies that were subjected to those fees, such as FedEx and Dollar General, have since sued the federal government, and Nintendo wants a piece of the action.

Nintendo filed a lawsuit against the federal government in the US Court of International Trade on Friday, as first spotted by Aftermath. The complaint seeks refunds of tariffs Nintendo paid, plus interest, and asks the court to declare the tariffs unlawful and stop the government from collecting them going forward.

«Since February 1, 2025, President Trump has executed the unlawful Executive Orders, imposing tariffs on imports from a vast swath of countries,» Nintendo said in the complaint.

When reached for comment, Nintendo of America confirmed the lawsuit.

«We can confirm that we filed a request. We have nothing else to share on this topic,» Nintendo of America said in an emailed statement on Friday, March 6.

It’s unclear how much Nintendo paid in tariffs, and it did not state an amount in the lawsuit. While the Switch 2 was priced at $450 when it launched last year, and has stayed at that amount, Nintendo did increase the price of the original Switch and accessories for both consoles. Microsoft and Sony also increased the prices of their hardware and accessories last year due to tariffs.

The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

On Feb. 20, the Supreme Court ruled by a vote of 6 to 3 that the sweeping tariffs Trump instituted last year exceeded his executive powers. Following the ruling, on the same day, Trump announced a new set of tariffs of 10% on imported goods that would last for 150 days, starting Feb. 24.

The decision on what to do with the collected tariffs — a reported $166 billion — has been left to the US Court of International Trade. Judge Richard Eaton told the US Customs and Border Protection on Wednesday, March 4, to refund the importers that were forced to pay tariffs, which is more than 330,000. On Friday, the CBP said it couldn’t easily issue tariff refunds because its system requires duties to be recalculated and refunds processed entry by entry. This process would involve tens of millions of transactions. The agency said it’s updating its systems and could start providing refunds by late April.