50 ★ States
ALABAMA Birmingham: Older voters at risk for contracting COVID-19 shouldn’t have to comply with all the state’s requirements for casting absentee ballots, which disproportionately harm Black people during the pandemic, a federal judge decided Wednesday. Also, counties that wish to allow “curbside voting” should be allowed to do so, U.S. District Judge Abdul K. Kallon ruled.
ALASKA Juneau: Attorneys for the state want a judge to deny a request to block enforcement of witness requirements for absentee ballots, saying ballot envelopes listing the requirement have been printed, and the plaintiffs, who cite health concerns amid the pandemic, “inexcusably” waited until September to sue.
ARIZONA Lake Havasu City: Hospital officials and the state’s schools chief on Wednesday urged local governments not to lift their mask mandates, warning that moving too quickly could reverse the state’s progress in tamping down COVID-19.
ARKANSAS Little Rock: The state on Wednesday reported 19 more people have died from the illness caused by the coronavirus. The Department of Corrections also reported its second employee death from COVID-19.
CALIFORNIA Sacramento: Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill Wednesday that would have guaranteed most laid-off hospitality workers would be first in line to get their jobs back once rehiring begins. He said the bill is written too broadly. Moreover, he wrote, the requirements “place too onerous a burden on employers” who are also hard-hit by the pandemic.
COLORADO Colorado Springs: A federal judge denied a request to override the state’s 175-person limit on religious gatherings as a result of the pandemic.
CONNECTICUT Bozrah: About 1,000 people who rely on food from the Meals on Wheels program won’t get new deliveries for two weeks because of precautions being taken after a warehouse worker was exposed to the coronavirus. The organization is asking homebound customers in New London and Windham counties to use prepackaged meals that were provided as backup in the spring.
DELAWARE Wilmington: The state’s Pandemic Resurgence Advisory Committee released a report Thursday on steps Delaware needs to take to prepare for a potential second wave of COVID-19. It made recommendations like increased testing for Black and Latino communities, ensuring health care providers and hospitals have enough personal protective equipment, deploying short-term financial support programs for disproportionately affected businesses, and extending emergency shelter funding.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Washington: Some D.C. students will soon be able to see their classmates in person again, WUSA-TV reports. The district is allowing 13 schools to set up “student support centers,” which will involve in-person programming for small groups of students.
FLORIDA Miami: Faced with a state ultimatum, the Miami-Dade school board agreed unanimously to reopen schools for classroom instruction next week despite looming fears that they’re unprepared to prevent another spike in coronavirus infections.
GEORGIA Atlanta: Gov. Brian Kemp extended his emergency rules regarding COVID-19 again Wednesday as the state surpassed 7,000 deaths from the respiratory illness.
HAWAII Honolulu: A nursing home is trying to contain a COVID-19 outbreak involving 21 residents and six staff members, officials said. The state Department of Health is investigating the cases at the Liliha Healthcare Center in Honolulu, The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports.
IDAHO Boise: The state will remain in the fourth and final stage of reopening its economy amid the pandemic for at least another two weeks, Gov. Brad Little said Thursday.
ILLINOIS Springfield: Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration delivered some tough news Wednesday with restrictions on Halloween festivities. Instead of trick-or-treating this year, parents could arrange outdoor gatherings where kids and a parent wearing face masks could pick out candy that is spread out on tables, suggested the state’s public health director.
INDIANA Indianapolis: State officials released to the public a new online tool Wednesday designed to help track coronavirus cases in schools.
IOWA Des Moines: The city’s school board approved a plan Wednesday to return to in-classroom learning, but it included metrics for allowable coronavirus infection rates that the district doesn’t currently meet, making it unclear if students will actually return to school as planned.
KANSAS Topeka: The top public health official in the state said Wednesday that Kansas has yet to see its biggest wave of coronavirus cases, suggesting the pandemic could spawn an average of 800 or even 900 new cases a day in coming months.
KENTUCKY Paducah: The National Quilt Museum is now offering online subscriptions. Quilt Museum Digital was launched Tuesday as a way to reach quilting and fiber art enthusiasts around the world as coronavirus safety protocols curb visitation, museum CEO Frank Bennett told The Paducah Sun.
LOUISIANA Baton Rouge: House Republican lawmakers outlined their grievances Wednesday about the state’s handling of the COVID-19 outbreak, saying Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards’ regulations are too strict, even as public health experts warned of another expected coronavirus spike in flu season.
MAINE Portland: The state’s largest farm trade show will be a virtual event next year as the agricultural sector continues to adapt to the pandemic. The Maine Agricultural Trades Show will be held online in January 2021, the state’s Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry said in a statement.
MARYLAND Annapolis: The state reported zero deaths from the coronavirus in a 24-hour period Thursday morning, for the first time since March 28.
MASSACHUSETTS Boston: The city and nine other communities are now considered to be at “high risk” for the coronavirus, a state designation that will delay the next phase of reopening.
MICHIGAN Lansing: Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has revised rules related to the care of nursing home residents with the coronavirus, saying they should be sent to facilities with solid federal staffing ratings.
MINNESOTA Minneapolis: A federal judge on Wednesday rejected a challenge by GOP U.S. Senate candidate Jason Lewis to the state’s coronavirus restrictions, turning aside the ex-congressman’s arguments that the rules unconstitutionally limit his freedom to campaign.
MISSISSIPPI Jackson: Gov. Tate Reeves ended a statewide mask mandate Wednesday but said he will still require people to wear face coverings in schools to curb the spread of the coronavirus. People will also still be required to wear face coverings while receiving “close contact personal care services” in such places as salons, barbershops and spas.
MISSOURI Kansas City: The American Civil Liberties Union on Wednesday filed a federal lawsuit against a court order allowing some Kansas City-area evictions to continue during the pandemic.
MONTANA Helena: Gov. Steve Bullock urged local officials where coronavirus cases are surging to consider stricter measures including shutting down bars in some hot spots. But he stopped short Wednesday of any new statewide restrictions, as the state’s COVID-19 caseload continues to grow dramatically.
NEBRASKA Lincoln: Officials are defending the state’s $27 million contract with a Utah company to provide coronavirus testing services that some lawmakers have questioned because it was hastily arranged without taking bids. Doug Carlson, with the state’s Department of Administrative Services, told lawmakers the state was having trouble finding testing supplies until Nomi Health offered to step in.
NEVADA Reno: A day after Gov. Steve Sisolak authorized relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions on public gatherings, Washoe County health officials urged local leaders to postpone any changes because of a dramatic spike in new daily cases in Reno-Sparks the past two weeks.
NEW HAMPSHIRE Concord: A total of $557,000 is going to the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund to support small businesses and promote economic growth in communities amid the pandemic, the state’s congressional delegation said Tuesday.
NEW JERSEY Hackensack: One of the first two jury trials in the state since the onset of the pandemic has been suspended over concerns about the virtual jury selection plan put in place over the summer. The trial was to begin this week, but defense lawyers argued that the jury selection process unfairly excludes minority and older jurors.
NEW MEXICO Las Cruces: New Mexico State University has announced that classes will be entirely online after the Thanksgiving break and that the fall commencement will not be held in person because of coronavirus restrictions.
NEW YORK Albany: Schools across the state have reported that at least 1,200 students, teachers and staff have tested positive for the coronavirus since the start of the academic year, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Thursday, though that number is almost certainly an undercount.
NORTH CAROLINA Raleigh: Gov. Roy Cooper announced Wednesday that bars, amusement parks and movie theaters can partially reopen starting Friday.
NORTH DAKOTA Bismarck: Sanford Health opened a new unit at its Bismarck hospital Wednesday, adding 14 beds. Sanford said it’s not exclusively for coronavirus patients, but it could be used to treat them if the need arises. Sanford Health and CHI St. Alexius employees listed concerns about hospital capacity at the Burleigh-Morton COVID-19 Task Force meeting last week.
OHIO Columbus: An aid package is coming soon for small businesses and people struggling to pay rent during the pandemic, according to Ohio’s GOP Senate finance chairman.
OKLAHOMA Tulsa: The City Council has voted to expand and extend a requirement that masks be worn in public when social distancing is not possible in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
OREGON Salem: COVID-19 infections in the state rose 32% last week, with 1,999 new cases reported, according to the Oregon Health Authority.
PENNSYLVANIA Harrisburg: A Republican lawmaker’s positive test for COVID-19 on Thursday prompted legislative leaders to immediately cancel the day’s state House voting session. Rep. Paul Schemel’s press release did not say if he had been wearing a mask while inside the Capitol’s public spaces. A significant number of House Republicans have continued to be maskless inside the Capitol, and some have defiantly ridiculed mask-wearing as an overreaction or ineffective.
RHODE ISLAND Providence: More than 100 students at Johnson & Wales University have been quarantined after 31 people who attend the school’s Providence campus tested positive for COVID-19.
SOUTH DAKOTA Sioux Falls: State lawmakers on Wednesday worked to finalize their plan on how to spend more than $1 billion in federal coronavirus relief funds ahead of a special legislative session tentatively scheduled for next week.
TENNESSEE Lebanon: A manufacturer of N95 respirator masks plans to set up a $25 million facility in Middle Tennessee that is expected to create 220 jobs over the next three years.
TEXAS Austin: The number of newly reported cases of the coronavirus in Texas took a jump Wednesday as state health officials reported 5,335 new cases, 40% more than reported Tuesday. The state also reported 107 new deaths from COVID-19.
UTAH Salt Lake City: After Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox criticized the city’s school district for not mandating in-person learning, it reaffirmed its commitment to online learning during the pandemic until it is safe.
VERMONT Rutland: A judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a gym owner against the state over whether he could operate amid COVID-19 business restrictions this past spring.
VIRGINIA Norfolk: Efforts by the city to resume jury trials during the COVID-19 pandemic have stalled because most of the people being called to serve aren’t showing up. Roughly 9 out of 10 possible jurors aren’t showing up for court in Norfolk, a jump from the usual no-show rate of about 1 in 3, The Virginian-Pilot reports.
WASHINGTON Snoqualmie: At least 25 COVID-19 cases have been reported at the Salish Lodge & Spa, public health officials said Wednesday. The outbreak involves 23 staff and two guests, according to a news release sent by Public Health - Seattle & King County spokeswoman Sharon Bogan. The lodge was used as the exterior of the Great Northern Hotel in David Lynch’s “Twin Peaks” TV series, and its adjacent waterfall is immortalized in the show’s opening credits.
WEST VIRGINIA Charleston: Former coal CEO Robert E. Murray, who has fought federal regulations on the industry, has filed an application with the U.S. Department of Labor for black lung benefits, West Virginia Public Broadcasting and Ohio Valley ReSource report. Murray, 80, says he is heavily dependent on oxygen and “near death.”
WISCONSIN Milwaukee: Marcus Theatres has temporarily closed 17 of the 72 cinemas it reopened this summer, citing a decline in audience demand and the limited number of new releases. The pandemic led to the closure of movie theaters across the state in mid-March. The Milwaukeebased Marcus began reopening many of its theaters in August. Theaters Marcus has closed again include those in Appleton, Green Bay, Delafield and Menomonee Falls.
WYOMING Casper: The University of Wyoming announced its wrestling program halted activities after the team confirmed six COVID-19 cases.