Humans are resuming routines. Their pets are stressed. | Coronavirus Updates Newsletter

The gist: This week, we look at how pet owners are helping dogs adapt to the new normal as their humans continue to return to their pre-pandemic schedules. Plus, staffers at one Philadelphia elementary school explain how this school year was more about survival than prioritizing joy. And in New Jersey, hospital workers have experienced an uptick in violence against them at their workplaces throughout the pandemic.

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— Nick Vadala (@njvadala, health@inquirer.com)

More than two years since COVID-19 hit, an increasing number of people are returning to their pre-pandemic routines, taking them away from home — and from their pets. For dogs, that means a greater amount of time spent home alone and more crowded streets when they’re outside. Behavioral issues like separation anxiety, leash reactivity, and poor socialization are cropping up as vets, doggie daycares, and trainers work to help owners help their pups adjust.

🏥 In the past two years of the pandemic, New Jersey hospital workers have experienced a 15% increase in violence at their workplaces.

✉️ The abortion pill became more accessible by mail during the pandemic, and Americans wishing to end pregnancies increasingly may turn to it after the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

🏫 For teachers and staffers at Philly’s William H. Ziegler Elementary School, this pandemic school year started with cautious optimism ended in utter exhaustion. Here’s a look inside their school year.

💉 Along with the Pfizer vaccine, the CDC is now recommending Moderna shots as an option for school-age kids and teens.

🦠 Some adults may get updated COVID-19 shots this fall, with government advisers voting that it’s time to tweak booster doses to better match the most recent virus variants.

📉 Coronavirus cases are decreasing in Pennsylvania and increasingly slightly in New Jersey. Track the latest data here.

Sure, you like Harry Potter. But we’re willing to bet you don’t like it like Rob “Potter” Green, the man behind the Hogwarts Express Magic Art Car. Green sacrificed his Jeep Wrangler for a 40-minute immersive ride called “Escape the Forbidden Forest,” complete with lights, sound, fog, projections, and puppetry by himself. And yes, you can go for a ride.

🍦 Center City’s dessert market is looking bullish with the addition of a Vanderwende’s ice cream shop, marking the business’s first location outside of Delaware.

🎆 The Fourth of July is Monday, but you can go see fireworks throughout the region all weekend long. Here’s where to get your star-spangled fix.

🍕 You wouldn’t think a spot like Tony’s Baltimore Grill in Atlantic City is the type of joint to be involved with an art show. But they are, and all the art is on their pizza boxes.

As the pandemic-time principal of Forest Hill Elementary in Camden, Fatihah Abdur-Rahman read stories to students in the park, distributed free books and water ice, and equipped them with gift bags she dubbed “calming bags” to help them deal with a time like no other. Now, she’s embarking on a journey to visit every state and continue the work she started in Jersey.