50 ★ STATES
ALABAMA Auburn: White House coronavirus response coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx met with Gov. Kay Ivey on Thursday and praised her for issuing a statewide mask mandate. As Birx urged the extension of the order, a lawsuit was filed challenging it. Ex-Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore is challenging the constitutionality of the mandate and past state health orders that closed businesses or directed people to stay home. ALASKA Juneau: Alaska Native corporations are not eligible to receive a share of the $8 billion in federal coronavirus relief funding set aside for tribes, a federal appeals court panel ruled Friday in overturning a lowercourt decision.
ARIZONA Flagstaff: More than 120 Northern Arizona University students living in on-campus apartments had less than two weeks to move so the university could use their rooms to quarantine students exposed to COVID-19. Following the notice, some students said they were confused and frustrated when they learned they had to move a month after settling into the semester and felt the university did not take their welfare into consideration or plan ahead. ARKANSAS Little Rock: The number of reported coronavirus cases in the state has topped 80,000 after the addition Saturday of 809 cases of the virus that causes COVID-19, the Arkansas Department of Health said. CALIFORNIA Sacramento: The state has begun to see concerning upticks in coronavirus data after a sustained period of decline, the state’s top health official said Friday, urging people to renew efforts to prevent spread. The increases include the rate of cases per capita, hospital emergency department visits for COVID-19, and new hospitalizations for confirmed or suspected cases, California Secretary of Health and Human Services Dr. Mark Ghaly said. COLORADO Fort Collins: Two Colorado State University residence halls were placed under quarantine Thursday night after high levels of COVID19 were detected in their wastewater. CONNECTICUT Hamden: Quinnipiac University has sent home or suspended more than 20 students in recent days for violating visitor and other policies, both on and off campus, that are aimed at preventing the spread of the coronavirus, according to a top school official.
DELAWARE Dover: The state has seen its 630th COVID-19-related death. The Delaware Division of Public Health reported that the state’s seven-day rolling average of percentage of positive tests decreased 2 percentage points to 6.6%.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Washing
ton: Mayor Muriel Bowser announced a pilot that will allow a limited number of venues to host live entertainment during Phase 2 of D.C.’s reopening amid the pandemic, WUSATV reports.
GEORGIA Atlanta: A Georgia woman is one of several property owners suing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention over the CDC’s Sept. 1 moratorium on evictions. The case, filed this month in federal court in Atlanta, alleges the CDC order improperly denies landlords access to court processes. HAWAII Honolulu: A state-owned health care organization will take over a veterans care home where 26 residents have died of the coronavirus. The arrangement announced Friday will see Hawaii Health Systems Corporation take over as the operators of Yukio Okutsu State Veterans Home in Hilo.
IDAHO Moscow: Three people have been arrested after a church held a maskless psalm singing event in a city hall parking lot in violation of the town’s mask order.
ILLINOIS Springfield: Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White extended expiration dates for driver’s licenses another three months, to Feb. 1. INDIANA Indianapolis: A new executive order from Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb continues the mask mandate that has angered some conservatives but removes the 75% capacity limit for restaurants and the 50% limit that bars, movie theaters and other entertainment venues faced. They must still maintain at least
6 feet between unrelated patrons.
IOWA Des Moines: The state reported a jump of 1,086 new coronavirus cases Friday, the second consecutive day of new cases exceeding 1,000. Data from state health and education departments indicate the virus is circulating in schools and nursing homes. KANSAS Topeka: The state reported Friday that it had more than 1,300 newly confirmed coronavirus cases over two days, and most of the biggest spikes in the past two weeks occurred in rural counties. KENTUCKY Louisville: The state saw a high daily total of new coronavirus cases for a second consecutive Saturday, with 973. Kentucky was on pace to record its single highest week of positive cases, Gov. Andy Beshear said.
LOUISIANA Baton Rouge: The state will start borrowing money from the federal government in early October to keep paying benefits to jobless workers, as Louisiana’s oncehealthy unemployment trust fund is nearly empty because of the coronavirus outbreak, labor department officials said Friday.
MAINE Augusta: The state Department of Education has downgraded another county’s schools from green to yellow because of an outbreak of the coronavirus. Oxford County joined York County with yellow rankings Friday. The rest of Maine’s counties have a “green” ranking indicating low coronavirus risk. MARYLAND Baltimore: State health surveyors who’ve been visiting nursing homes during the pandemic are not required to be tested for the virus, The Baltimore Sun reports. MASSACHUSETTS Boston: Inmates at all state prisons are being allowed in-person visitors again. The state Department of Correction said inperson visits would resume Monday at all its facilities.
MICHIGAN Lansing: Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Friday that movie theaters and other venues can reopen in two weeks after nearly seven months of closure during the pandemic, and she relaxed a cap so more people can attend funerals and other indoor events. MINNESOTA Minneapolis: State officials have stopped a COVID-19 testing study after multiple reports that state and federal public health workers were greeted by racial and ethnic slurs as they went door-todoor.
MISSISSIPPI Jackson: The University of Mississippi Medical Center is offering free COVID-19 testing for college and university students, staff and faculty at multiple sites. MISSOURI Columbia: The University of Missouri has disciplined an additional 20 current or former students with suspensions, probation or other sanctions for what it called “egregious violations” of gathering policies meant to slow the spread of COVID-19 on campus. MONTANA Great Falls: The Blackfeet Tribal Business Council on Thursday authorized a mandatory 14-day shutdown of its reservation, beginning Sunday at midnight.
NEBRASKA Omaha: State public health officials have confirmed 453 new cases of the coronavirus but no new deaths.
NEVADA Reno: Gov. Steve Sisolak announced Friday that he will be modifying the current restrictions on group gatherings and youth sports this week in response to changing coronavirus trends.
NEW HAMPSHIRE Concord: Nursing homes in the state will be in charge of testing their staff for the coronavirus starting next month. The state is recommending facilities test all staff during the same week once a month and then every other week test 10% of staff chosen at random. NEW JERSEY Atlantic: The city firefighters union filed a lawsuit against the city and state over their handling of the pandemic, saying scores of firefighters have been exposed to the coronavirus. The union is calling for those exposed to be placed on paid leave and to selfquarantine for 14 days and for stations to be disinfected between shifts. On Friday, the union posted an “urgent” warning on Facebook to “residents, businesses and visitors” that firefighters directly exposed to the virus would be responding to their calls for service.
NEW MEXICO Santa Fe: The number of tips law enforcement has received about adults making online sexual solicitations toward children has doubled since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the state, an expert on human trafficking told a legislative committee Thursday.
NEW YORK New York: Expanded outdoor dining for restaurants will be extended year-round and made permanent, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Friday. The program allowing restaurants to seat customers on sidewalks and parking spaces has been seen as a lifeline for cashstrapped businesses.
NORTH CAROLINA Raleigh: The pandemic continues to cause economic hardship for universities. The Raleigh News & Observer reports N.C. State has announced new employee furloughs and salary cuts. And administrators at the University of North Carolina warned of similar actions as revenues drop. NORTH DAKOTA Bismarck: Dr. Paul Mariani resigned as the top state health officer Friday, a day after Gov. Doug Burgum reversed himself and rescinded a new order that would have enforced quarantines for close contacts of coronavirus patients. Mariani became the third person to resign the post since May. OHIO Cincinnati: The state has surpassed 150,000 cases of COVID-19 during the pandemic. There were six deaths, increasing the state’s coronavirus toll to 4,740. OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City: The city’s public school district announced Friday it is returning to distance learning for at least two weeks and canceling indoor athletics amid a continued rise in coronavirus cases. Oklahoma ranks fifth in the nation for new cases per capita in the past 14 days, according to data from Johns Hopkins.
OREGON Salem: The Oregon Health Authority reported 457 new confirmed COVID-19 cases Friday – the state’s largest daily total since the start of the pandemic. Officials attributed the rise in cases to Labor Day gatherings, the return of college students to campus and the interruption of testing during recent wildfires. PENNSYLVANIA Harrisburg: A day before a rally in Middletown, Gov. Tom Wolf on Friday accused President Donald Trump of blatantly disregarding social distancing and mask requirements during his frequent rallies in the battleground state, calling it dangerous and disappointing. RHODE ISLAND Kingston: The University of Rhode Island has joined a growing number of U.S. colleges canceling spring break to reduce travel and prevent the coronavirus’ spread. SOUTH CAROLINA Columbia: For the second time in a week, state health officials said a lab failed to report thousands of COVID-19 tests over several months. The state health agency reminded labs they are required to report COVID-19 test results to the state within 24 hours or face punishment if they repeatedly delay. SOUTH DAKOTA Sioux Falls: The coronavirus is infecting more women in the state’s prison system in Pierre, despite efforts to control an outbreak, with the Department of Corrections reporting Friday that mass testing had detected 51 additional women with the virus.
TENNESSEE Nashville: A week after Gov. Bill Lee wrote to the mayor criticizing his management of federal coronavirus relief funding, Tennessee’s House speaker is seeking to take the city’s leader to task, prompting Democrats to call the effort a “witch hunt.” House Speaker Cameron Sexton on Thursday wrote to the state comptroller of the treasury, asking that his office conduct a “thorough review” of how Nashville has spent federal COVID-19 relief money. TEXAS Austin: State health officials reported 3,283 new cases Saturday of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, along with 121 new deaths from the illness.
UTAH Salt Lake City: An outbreak at a homeless shelter in the city has resulted in 72 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, officials reported. VERMONT Montpelier: A system to provide child care to the state’s children during the pandemic so parents can return to work on days their kids aren’t in school is continuing to expand, officials said Friday.
VIRGINIA Richmond: Gov. Ralph Northam announced Friday that he and his wife have both tested positive for the coronavirus, though he said he is showing no symptoms. WASHINGTON Bremerton: Kitsap Public Health officials are investigating a handful of new COVID-19 cases among CHI Franciscan employees, including two staff members at St. Michael Medical Center in Bremerton, though health officials say they are not linked to an earlier outbreak at the hospital.
WEST VIRGINIA Charleston: The Catholic Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston won’t accept Gov. Jim Justice’s offer to allow private and religious schools to reopen in “orange” counties – based on their rating on the state’s color-coded COVID-19 map – if students and staff get tested for the coronavirus. Diocese spokesman Tom Bishop gave several reasons for the decision, including an opposition to forcing students and staff to take coronavirus tests, The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports. WISCONSIN Madison: The state on Saturday hit a record for coronavirus cases reported in a single day as health officials said 2,817 more people have tested positive for the virus. The state has seen some of the nation’s fastest coronavirus spread over the past two weeks.
WYOMING Cheyenne: The state is planning on adding seating capacity at restaurants after current coronavirus restrictions expire Sept. 30, Gov. Mark Gordon said. The announcement came one day after the state reported its highest number of new confirmed coronavirus cases since the pandemic began with a record 137 on Wednesday, the state Department of Health said.