COVID cases have jumped in recent weeks, and if California were still using a tier-based system for lifting restrictions, the county would currently be in the most restrictive, purple one. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Unified School District is still planning to restart in-person instruction in less than two weeks. Aviva Alvarez-Zakson teaches world history and ethnic studies at LAUSD’s Hamilton High. She’s struggling to embrace excitement when there are so many unknowns about the semester ahead. Meanwhile, rapid response nurse Erin McIntosh at Riverside Community Hospital says the number of COVID patients coming in doubled over the past week or two. And this time, they’re in their 20s, 30s, and 40s.