50 ★ States

News from across the USA

ALABAMA Tuscaloosa: The Alabama Department of Public Health said it could not verify reports of so- called COVID- 19 parties where students deliberately tried to become infected, but it also warned people not to try it.

ALASKA Bethel: An official in one village says residents have been humiliated and discriminated against after the regional health corporation announced two people who were there tested positive for COVID- 19. Napaskiak Tribal Administrator Sharon Williams said village residents have been turned away from businesses in the nearby hub community of Bethel, even though they are adhering to proper COVID- 19 protocols, KYUK in Bethel reports.

ARIZONA Phoenix: The latest figures from health officials indicate the state is only intensifying as a coronavirus hot spot with new peaks in hospitalizations and emergency room visits. State health officials said Friday that the capacity of hospitals’ intensive care units was at an alltime high of 91%.

ARKANSAS Little Rock: The governor on Friday allowed cities to enact measures requiring masks in public to prevent the coronavirus’ spread, relenting after opposing such mandates at the state or local level.

CALIFORNIA San Francisco: As the coronavirus surges in the state, Californians celebrated Independence Day with virtual parades featuring photos of flag- draped front porches. Meanwhile, law enforcement officers were out and about, reminding people to wear masks in public and turning away disappointed sun- seekers from beaches that were closed.

COLORADO Fort Collins: Fans of Horsetooth Reservoir have taken to heart the message that it’s OK to enjoy the great outdoors during the coronavirus pandemic. With so many people vying to get on the water, officials are looking into options for managing crowds. That could include hiring additional rangers.

CONNECTICUT Hartford: Representatives of the nursing home and assisted living industry are urging residents “to do their part” and help keep the current spread of the coronavirus low in the state as a way to prevent a resurgence in long- term care facilities. They credited social distancing, hand washing and the wearing of masks with the decreasing rate of infections and deaths in nursing homes and assisted living centers, which have borne more than half of the state’s deaths.

DELAWARE Wilmington: The state announced 192 additional cases of coronavirus Friday, continuing a trend of relatively large daily increases versus two weeks prior.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Washington: President Donald Trump enticed the masses with a “special evening” of tribute and fireworks in the nation’s capital Saturday, with coronavirus infections on the rise. Crowds on the National Mall were strikingly thinner than those gathered for last year’s jammed celebration there. By the World War II Memorial, the National Park Service handed out packets of five white cloth masks to all who wanted them. People were not required to wear them.

FLORIDA St. Petersburg: The Fourth of July holiday weekend began Saturday with some sobering numbers in the Sunshine State: Florida logged a record number of people testing positive for the coronavirus.

GEORGIA Atlanta: A dog in the state is believed to have been the second canine in the U. S. to test positive for the virus that causes COVID- 19, health officials said.

HAWAII Honolulu: A U. S. judge will not stop the state from enforcing a quarantine on arriving travelers, saying in a ruling that the emergency mandate is reasonable during the coronavirus pandemic.

IDAHO Boise: The mayor has signed a public health emergency order requiring face coverings in all indoor and outdoor public places in the state’s largest city.

ILLINOIS Springfield: Casinos that fail to follow guidelines aimed at limiting the spread of the coronavirus could be disciplined, including loss of their license, state regulators warned last week. Illinois allowed video gaming businesses and casinos to begin reopening Wednesday.

INDIANA Indianapolis: Despite extended restrictions for restaurants, bars and entertainment venues, the coronavirus won’t hamper students’ return to school sports and activities this week. Extracurricular and co- curricular activities can resume as planned Monday, according to the governor’s office.

IOWA Des Moines: The state reported another 786 confirmed coronavirus cases Saturday, pushing its total for the pandemic past 31,000.

KANSAS Wichita: Protesters who oppose a city ordinance requiring that masks be worn in public gathered outside Mayor Brandon Whipple’s home Saturday.

KENTUCKY Louisville: A judge has blocked some limits on auto racetracks and child care facilities put in place due to the pandemic, reasoning that participating in those kind of businesses is a value judgment best left to individuals.

LOUISIANA Baton Rouge: Few prisoners have been released through the furlough program state officials developed in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The Louisiana Department of Corrections created a review panel in April tasked with considering up to 1,100 state prison inmates for temporary release. Only 63 are set to be released.

MAINE South Portland: Universal testing at a youth detention center has yielded no positive cases of coronavirus, the Maine Department of Corrections said. The state conducted campuswide testing at Long Creek Youth Development Center in South Portland after a person who was being released tested positive.

MARYLAND Annapolis: Coronavirus has forced the Ballet Theatre of Maryland to build an outdoor stage for practicing and possibly even performances in the future as the arts scene learns how to navigate the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, The Capital Gazette reports.

MASSACHUSETTS Boston: Museums are announcing reopening plans now that they are allowed to start welcoming visitors again under the third phase of the state’s coronavirus economic recovery plan. The Peabody Essex Museum in Salem announced it will open its doors July 16- 17 to members, patrons and some medical workers, then open to the public July 18. The Springfield Museums, a complex of five museums including one dedicated to Dr. Seuss, will welcome back members July 9- 10 and nonmembers July 13, according to its website. Three major museums in the Berkshires – the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, the Norman Rockwell Museum and the Clark Art Institute – are scheduled to reopen the weekend of July 11- 12.

MICHIGAN West Branch: Several horses displaced by the pandemic and flooding have found a new home at a rescue farm. Amid the COVID- 19 crisis, caretakers began abandoning their pets or placing them with friends and family, the Midland Daily News reports. D& R Acres Hobby and Rescue Farm is now home to 38 horses, donkeys, mules, ponies and miniature horses.

MINNESOTA Minneapolis: The number of Minnesotans receiving intensive care for COVID- 19 has jumped by nine, health officials reported Friday, marking the largest single- day increase in more than a month.

MISSISSIPPI Jackson: Days after the city passed a new rule requiring people to wear masks in public, City Councilman Kenneth Stokes is proposing that its government purchase 100,000 masks to distribute to residents.

MISSOURI Bonne Terre: St. Francois County has seen a big increase in confirmed coronavirus cases, and most of those infected are prison inmates.

MONTANA Helena: State health officials reported 45 new cases of COVID- 19 on Friday and counted the 23rd coronavirus- related death.

NEBRASKA Lincoln: The state has reported another 198 novel coronavirus cases, increasing the total for the pandemic to 19,660.

NEVADA Las Vegas: A coronavirus mask mandate by Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak is drawing protests and organized opposition from a self- described conservative Republican activist who is vowing to target elected officials who he says threaten personal liberty. “We’re a diverse group of people who don’t want to wear masks and don’t want the government to tell us to use masks,” said Ian Bayne, head of the new “No Mask Nevada” political action committee.

NEW HAMPSHIRE Concord: The federal government is no longer sending nursing homes disposable isolation gowns described as useless garbage bags and instead is providing a different style, according to a spokesperson for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The New Hampshire Health Care Association, which represents nursing homes, said last week that the bulk of the items sent by FEMA to protect workers against the coronavirus were unusable.

NEW JERSEY Seaside Heights: Few people on the borough’s worldfamous Boardwalk were wearing masks or observing social distancing Saturday. While many of the local attractions and shops were opened for business, some of the rides at Casino Pier and Breakwater Beach Waterpark remained closed Saturday, as they are considered “high touch points.”

NEW MEXICO Santa Fe: State Health Secretary Kathyleen Kunkel on Friday announced her intention to retire once the current wave of coronavirus infections subsides.

NORTH CAROLINA Asheville: A new Elon University survey says most people in the state have worries about the coronavirus, and about 74% of residents support a requirement to wear a mask to stem its spread.

NORTH DAKOTA Bismarck: A number of safety changes are being implemented as courthouses in the South Central District of North Dakota prepare for resuming jury trials July 14 amid the pandemic.

OHIO Cincinnati: As college administrations continue to roll out plans for fall semesters amid the coronavirus pandemic, faculty in the state are aiming to make sure their voices are heard. Midwest chapters of the American Association of University Professors voiced their concerns last week about reopening campuses and outlined principles they want universities to follow as they make decisions about the upcoming semester.

OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City: The state on Sunday reported an additional 283 confirmed coronavirus cases. The Oklahoma State Department of Health said the new cases bring the state’s total to 15,928.

OREGON Corvallis: An Oregon State Police trooper is on leave and the state police superintendent has publicly apologized after the uniformed officer allegedly refused to wear a face mask inside a coffee shop. After a video of four troopers not wearing masks was made public Thursday, and employees alleged one trooper said the mask mandate violated his “civil liberties,” OSP Superintendent Travis Hampton called the behavior “embarrassing and indefensible.”

PENNSYLVANIA Harrisburg: The rising number of COVID- 19 infections in the Pittsburgh area helped drive the state’s number of confirmed new cases to 667, the state Health Department said Friday. Pennsylvania’s death toll from the coronavirus pandemic rose by 34 to more than 6,700.

RHODE ISLAND Bristol: What’s billed as the oldest Fourth of July celebration in the country was scaled back but not canceled because of the pandemic. The day started with a rolling celebration with vehicles festooned in red, white and blue and the 88th Army Band performing in a flatbed truck.

SOUTH CAROLINA Columbia: The state’s wildlife agency is reopening its offices that have been closed since the COVID- 19 pandemic started.

SOUTH DAKOTA Pierre: Health officials in the state have confirmed 50 new coronavirus cases. They warn that President Donald Trump’s Fourth of July rally at Mount Rushmore on Friday evening could help to spread the virus across the state.

TENNESSEE Knoxville: Knox County and Shelby County on Friday joined Nashville and Memphis in requiring people to wear face masks in many public settings to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

TEXAS Austin: Leaders in two of the state’s biggest cities, Austin and Houston, are calling on the governor to empower local governments to order residents to stay home as Texas’ continued surge in coronavirus cases tests hospital capacity.

UTAH Springdale: More than 3,400 people shuffled onto Zion’s shuttles on its reopening day last week as the national park welcomes more visitors amid the coronavirus pandemic.

VERMONT Montpelier: Vermont State Historic Sites are now open on a limited basis. Guests will be required to wear facial coverings in buildings and in the presence of others outdoors. Some spaces will not be open to visitors because of social distancing requirements.

VIRGINIA Hampton: Hampton University has announced it will offer only online classes in the fall due to the coronavirus outbreak.

WASHINGTON Spokane: While the coronavirus at first pounded the greater Seattle area, the epicenter of the state’s outbreak has moved east thanks to exploding caseloads in June. Washington is seeing rising cases driven in large part by increasing numbers in Yakima, Benton, Franklin and Spokane counties.

WEST VIRGINIA Charleston: The Flatwoods Department of Motor Vehicles office is offering title and license plate services by appointment.

WISCONSIN Madison: State health officials reported the most coronavirus cases in a single day Saturday, tallying 738 people with the virus. WYOMING Green River: Genesis Alkali, which mines and refines soda ash and related products in the city, plans to lay off an unspecified number of workers in response to the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic, officials said.