50 ★ States ALABAMA Spanish Fort: A city worker who accused the mayor of slapping her last year has been fired after refusing to perform temperature checks on people at City Hall, her lawyer said. Lyndsey Cooper was dismissed for insubordination, said h
ALASKA Anchorage: An annual extreme mountain race has been postponed until next year over coronavirus concerns, organizers said. The committee that oversees the Mount Marathon Race in Seward said it failed to find another appropriate date this year.
ARIZONA Phoenix: The number of patients hospitalized with positive or suspected cases of COVID-19 in the state has reached an all-time high, according to state figures. The Department of Health Services said hospitals reported a total of 1,009 hospitalizations Monday.
ARKANSAS Little Rock: The state on Tuesday marked another one-day record for new coronavirus cases, and the governor said plans to further loosen restrictions on businesses remained on hold amid the spike.
CALIFORNIA Sacramento: A Chinese company paid by California to manufacture hundreds of millions of protective masks missed a Sunday deadline for federal certification, marking the second time its shipments to the state will be delayed. State officials said they are deciding whether to give BYD more time or seek a refund for about a quarter-billion dollars.
COLORADO Denver: The state is adding more than 800 new contact tracers to quickly identify coronavirus outbreaks as it gradually reopens its economy, Gov. Jared Polis said.
CONNECTICUT Hartford: When determining eligibility for unemployment benefits, the state Department of Labor is now allowed to consider whether returning to work during the pandemic would pose an “unreasonable risk” to a person’s health or the health of their household.
DELAWARE Dover: Democratic Gov. John Carney plans to back off restrictions he imposed on church worship to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, state attorneys told a federal judge Tuesday.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Washing
ton: D.C. reported just one new coronavirus death Wednesday, WUSA-TV reports. That’s the lowest daily number since April 5.
FLORIDA Tallahassee: The state’s largest association of educators called Tuesday for changing how schools operate in the era of the coronavirus – including staggering schedules, suspending active-shooting drills, and imposing social distancing rules on buses and campuses.
GEORGIA Savannah: The state’s confirmed-case count for COVID-19 rose to 48,894 by Wednesday afternoon, while the statewide death toll reached 2,123, according to figures posted by the Georgia Department of Public Health.
HAWAII Honolulu: Coronavirus information from state health officials presents an incomplete story of the pandemic’s impact on racial and ethnic communities, some critics said. Until recently, health authorities did not have time to take a second pass at data to make more focused breakdowns such as whether people in the Hawaiian and Pacific Islander categories were of Filipino, Korean, Japanese or Chinese descent.
IDAHO Boise: Thousands of people attended a vigil in front of the Statehouse to protest the killing of George Floyd in a largely peaceful demonstration Tuesday.
ILLINOIS Chicago: Ten state-run testing sites for the coronavirus reopened Wednesday after state officials shut them down Sunday in response to unrest following protests.
INDIANA Indianapolis: An apparent slowdown of coronavirus-related deaths is continuing in the state, as figures released Wednesday by health officials show it has been more than a week since more than 20 people per day died with infections.
IOWA Des Moines: Coronavirus tests have revealed that 224 employees of a Tyson beef and pork processing plant in Council Bluffs have tested positive for the virus, company officials said Tuesday.
KANSAS Wichita: Health officials want to randomly test Sedgwick County residents to determine the spread of coronavirus in the area. Residents who get a call from the local health department will be offered testing regardless of whether they have symptoms of COVID-19, KSNW-TV reports.
KENTUCKY Winchester: Day-use recreation sites at Daniel Boone National Forest are reopening after being temporarily shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic.
LOUISIANA New Orleans: State health officials reported more than 400 newly confirmed cases of the new coronavirus Tuesday and 34 more deaths related to the disease caused by the virus. The number of current cases resulting in hospitalization continues to fall.
MAINE Portland: State leaders are considering a “layered” approach instead of a 14-day quarantine for tourists who might be bringing the coronavirus to Maine, its top economic official said.
MARYLAND Snow Hill: At least four correctional officers at the Worcester County Jail have tested positive for COVID-19, county officials confirmed Tuesday evening.
MASSACHUSETTS Boston: People with family members in nursing homes and some other long-term care facilities were allowed to start to visit their loved ones again starting Wednesday, according to new state guidelines meant to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
MICHIGAN Lansing: Gov. Gretchen Whitmer told Congress on Tuesday that Michigan still lacks enough supplies to fully ramp up testing for the coronavirus and said it is difficult to determine what the U.S. government is shipping. “It’s made our planning very difficult,” the Democratic governor testified remotely to the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.
MINNESOTA St. Cloud: A judge on Tuesday blocked a chain of central Minnesota bars and restaurants from offering sit-down dining in violation of Gov. Tim Walz’s peacetime emergency order during the COVID-19 pandemic.
MISSISSIPPI Vicksburg: Distance learning within the local school district as a result of the pandemic has allowed construction workers to get ahead on several school renovation projects, according to the project’s manager.
MISSOURI St. Louis: St. Louis County Executive Sam Page on Wednesday asked protesters who didn’t wear masks or socially distance themselves during protests over the death of George Floyd to quarantine. Page said he’s concerned days of protests over Floyd’s death in Minneapolis police custody might reverse progress made in the county to reduce the virus’s spread.
MONTANA West Glacier: Glacier National Park will start a limited reopening for visitors next week following the park’s closure in March because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
NEBRASKA Omaha: Eleven employees and one patient have tested positive for the coronavirus at the state-run psychiatric hospital in Lincoln.
NEVADA Carson City: The number of Nevadans who have tested positive for COVID-19 has increased by 101, bringing the statewide total of known infections to 8,931 people, according to new numbers posted to the Nevada Health Alliance dashboard Wednesday.
NEW HAMPSHIRE Concord: Candidates were permitted to start signing up for the Sept. 8 state primary Wednesday, but they’re being encouraged to do so by mail because of concerns about the coronavirus.
NEW JERSEY Trenton: The average number of people who become infected with coronavirus from another infected person has fallen below one in New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy and health officials said Tuesday. Before Murphy’s stay-home order went into effect in March, the rate was above five, he said.
NEW MEXICO Santa Fe: State health officials on Tuesday reported an additional 227 coronavirus cases, with just over half of those among inmates at a detention center in Otero County.
NEW YORK New York: City buses and subways should look different when the city begins to ease coronavirus restrictions next week, with hand sanitizer in stations and social distancing markers in place, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday. Ridership is expected to increase when the city enters the first phase of the state’s region-by-region reopening process Monday.
NORTH CAROLINA Raleigh: State legislators want to make available another $300 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds to Gov. Roy Cooper’s administration to cover additional expenses incurred due to the virus. The Senate voted unanimously for the measure.
NORTH DAKOTA Bismarck: Another person has died from COVID-19 in the state, bringing the total number of deaths to 66, health officials said Wednesday.
OHIO Columbus: Gov. Mike DeWine said Tuesday that the state “fully intends” for schools to reopen this fall. “The goal is to have kids back in the classroom,” the governor said.
OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City: The State Department of Education released guidance Wednesday for how public schools could reopen in the fall that includes use of masks for staff and students to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
OREGON Portland: State parks have started to reopen, but the agency that manages them is facing an estimated $22 million budget shortfall between now and next June amid the economic collapse caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department said Tuesday that it will lay off 47 full-time employees by June 30. That’s in addition to the 338 seasonal staff that will not be rehired this year, The Oregonian/ OregonLive reports.
PENNSYLVANIA Harrisburg: Elementary and secondary schools inside the state’s less restrictive reopening zones can resume teaching in person and other activities at the end of June, the Education Department announced Wednesday.
RHODE ISLAND Newport: The City Council has passed a resolution that requires pedestrians to wear face coverings on the city’s busiest streets for a large portion of the day to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Council Vice Chairwoman Susan Taylor said social distancing is not possible on Newport’s narrow sidewalks.
SOUTH CAROLINA Columbia: A week into the summer season that typically drives the state’s robust tourism economy, finding ways to safely draw visitors amid the pandemic is top-ofmind for officials discussing the state’s reopening. “For the tourism industry, it is certainly a depression,” Helen Hill, CEO of the Charleston Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, said Tuesday of the overall economic downturn spawned by the outbreak.
SOUTH DAKOTA Sioux Falls: The South Dakota Board of Regents announced Wednesday that once students break for the Thanksgiving holiday this fall, they won’t return to campus for the rest of the semester. Instead, students will complete their final exams remotely, according to a press release by the regents.
TENNESSEE Nashville: A small county in the northwest corner of Tennessee is once again leading the nation in active coronavirus cases per capita after an outbreak at a state prison. An analysis by the Associated Press on Wednesday shows Lake County, with a population of just over 7,500, has reported 352 new cases over the past seven days. Health Department spokesperson Shelley Walker said in an email that the high case count is attributable to an outbreak at the Northwest Correctional Complex there, although online records for the prison show only 230 inmates as positive for the virus.
TEXAS Corpus Christi: The United Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday received 10,000 face masks from the UniFirst Corp. to help local small businesses stay afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic.
VERMONT Marshfield: Gov. Phil Scott hopes to announce Friday that restaurants may reopen for indoor dining, with physical distancing a high priority, he said Wednesday. The state is also working on a plan to allow visitors from certain states, or possibly regions of those states, without requiring them to quarantine, he said.
VIRGINIA Richmond: Gov. Ralph Northam said most of the state will start its second phase of reopening Friday as Virginia’s key health metrics continue to show positive trends amid the pandemic. The governor said Tuesday that restaurants can start serving customers inside, gyms can reopen indoor areas at limited capacity, and museums and zoos can reopen – all with certain restrictions.
WASHINGTON Olympia: Gov. Jay Inslee on Tuesday extended the state’s eviction moratorium through Aug. 1, saying the intent of his order was to prevent an increase in homelessness during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The Seattle Times reports that the moratorium – in place since March and extended once – was scheduled to expire this week.
WEST VIRGINIA Huntington: Marshall University is offering a virtual program for people who want to learn about jazz improvisation and traditions. The program runs next week, Monday through Friday at 1 p.m. each day. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the program will be livestreamed through the Marshall University Jazz Facebook page.
WISCONSIN Madison: Steven Avery, whose criminal case was featured in Netflix’s “Making a Murderer” documentary, has contracted COVID-19 in prison, his attorney said Wednesday. Offender records show Avery is incarcerated at Waupun Correctional Institution, where officials say 184 inmates have tested positive.
WYOMING Laramie: University of Wyoming officials have drafted a plan to resume classes on campus with a modified schedule next school year, if the state helps with funding. From USA TODAY Network and wire reports