HIGHLIGHT: FLORIDA
Miami Beach: Local faith leaders and the fire department have joined resources to expedite vaccination of older adults, starting with the homebound and those in low-income housing. Firefighters have an “evacuation list” of people they need to get to safety during hurricanes and turned to temples and churches that minister to many of the neediest in the community. Rabbi Mendy Levy of the Chabad Hasidic movement helps train health providers who treat Holocaust survivors, some of whom can be retraumatized by injections and white coats after being subjected to experiments in concentration camps. It’s crucial that firefighters and nurses take the vaccines to a welcoming setting, such as a synagogue or a patient’s home, and visit with them and their families. “Though it’s a trigger, so in general they are afraid, they recognize this is a God-given gift,” Levy said.
ALABAMA Tuscaloosa: The city’s schools will continue their Monday through-Thursday schedule of inperson classes for the rest of the school year, according to Superintendent Mike Daria. He said Tuscaloosa City Schools will resume five days of face-to-face instruction next fall. ALASKA Anchorage: Gov. Mike Dunleavy said he’s feeling better after contracting the coronavirus last month. He said he had a bad headache, fever, chills and body aches for several days, and he encouraged residents to get vaccinated.
ARIZONA Phoenix: Restaurant workers may have to wait a little longer for their chance to sign up for COVID-19 vaccines, despite the fact that their jobs often require interaction with customers. The state switched away from its phase-based distribution plan Monday and started an agebased plan for access to shots, though some counties may prioritize essential workers differently. ARKANSAS Little Rock: The state on Monday expanded eligibility for COVID-19 vaccines to another 180,000 people, including manufacturing workers, essential government employees, those working in public transportation and grocery stores, and people with developmental and intellectual disabilities. CALIFORNIA San Jose: Santa Clara County will not participate in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to have Blue Shield control vaccine distribution. County Executive Jeff Smith said a contract with the health insurance company would not improve speed or efficiency, The Mercury News reports. COLORADO Buena Vista: Three cases of the coronavirus variant originating in South Africa have been reported at a correctional facility in the town, officials said. CONNECTICUT Hartford: The state is on track to receive more than $10 billion in federal funding in the Democratic coronavirus relief legislation before Congress, including $4 billion worth of stimulus payments, members of the state’s House delegation said Tuesday. The money will also go toward expanded food assistance, rental and mortgage aid, statewide and community-based vaccination clinics and outreach, health insurance subsidies, school safety improvements, child care tax credits, and struggling child care providers. DELAWARE Dover: The state says it’s reviewing new federal guidance that eases restrictions on socializing for those who are fully vaccinated. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Washington: The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History has acquired the vial that contained the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine administered in the United States as part of its plans to document the global pandemic and “this extraordinary period we were going through.” GEORGIA Atlanta: Every hospital or nursing home patient could designate at least one person to have an hour of access each day under a bill approved by the state House on Monday. HAWAII Honolulu: The state Department of Health has launched a mental health crisis counseling hotline at 1-800-753-6879 to provide residents support amid the pandemic. The program, called “Ku Makani – The Hawaii Resiliency Project,” is available for children, teens and adults who speak a variety of languages. IDAHO Boise: A state House panel on Tuesday approved a bill banning anyone under 21 from buying cigarettes or electronic smoking products. ILLINOIS Chicago: Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Monday said the mass vaccination site at the United Center will be limited to Chicago residents because the federal government wants to ensure people most in need are being vaccinated. INDIANA Indianapolis: A proposal making its way through the Indianapolis City-County Council would temporarily limit the fees – typically about 30% – that third-party food delivery services charge to restaurants, an attempt to protect an already struggling local food industry. IOWA Des Moines: Des Moines Public Schools is giving middle and high school students who might otherwise have received failing grades during this heavily disrupted school year the chance to raise their grades this summer or next year.
KANSAS Wichita: Middle and high school school students in the city’s school district will be able to return in person five days a week at the end of March, after spring break, as more staff members are vaccinated. KENTUCKY Frankfort: About a quarter of the state’s adults have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, Gov. Andy Beshear announced Monday.
LOUISIANA Baton Rouge: On the anniversary of its first confirmed case, the state widened COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to anyone 16 and older with one of two dozen highrisk medical conditions, Gov. John Bel Edwards announced Tuesday. MAINE Portland: Camp Winnebago owner Andy Lilienthal said camp directors know how to keep kids safe – there were no coronavirus infections at his camp last summer. His biggest concern is that demand is too high amid worries about the emotional toll the pandemic is taking on kids. “It makes me sad to turn people away,” he said. MARYLAND Annapolis: Gov. Larry Hogan is proposing a $1,000 bonus for state employees to recognize their hard work to deliver essential services to Marylanders despite a public health emergency. MASSACHUSETTS Boston: Unions have proposed having firefighters administer COVID-19 vaccines to educators, who become eligible to sign up for their shots later this week, to make the process faster and more convenient.
MICHIGAN Lansing: Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is asking Michiganders to turn on the lights outside their homes for an hour starting at 8 p.m. Wednesday to remember thousands of people killed by COVID-19. MINNESOTA Minneapolis: The state is expanding eligibility for vaccines after reaching its goal of inoculating at least 70% of people 65 and older, Gov. Tim Walz said Tuesday. The next two phases becoming eligible at once starting Wednesday include people with underlying health conditions and those at a risk of workplace exposure, including about 45,000 people who work at food processing plants. MISSISSIPPI Jackson: A top public health official is urging people to keep wearing masks even after Gov. Tate Reeves lifted his mandate. “Just like in a baseball game, if you’re up a run or two in the sixth or seventh inning, you don’t just lay down and let the other team just go at it on offense,” said Dr. Thomas Dobbs, the state health officer. MISSOURI St. Louis: A year after the state confirmed its first COVID19 infection, local governments on Monday continued to relax coronavirus restrictions as the number of cases declines and vaccinations efforts expand. St. Louis County Executive Sam Page announced that public gathering limits have been eased from 10 to 20 people and that businesses may stay open until midnight. The Cape Girardeau County Commission voted unanimously to rescind the county’s mask mandate immediately.
MONTANA Kalispell: The COVID-19 relief bill approved by the U.S. Senate over the weekend includes funding for Amtrak’s Empire Builder route, which runs through northern Montana. Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester proposed the legislation to provide up to $166 million to reinstate furloughed employees and restore daily service on the carrier’s routes, the Daily Inter Lake reports. NEBRASKA Omaha: Officials may start using mobile sites to help expand the number of places where residents can get vaccinated, Gov. Pete Ricketts said Monday. NEVADA Las Vegas: Health officials reported Monday that about 1 in 6 residents has received at least a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
NEW HAMPSHIRE Concord: Some town managers worry about the future of small businesses, infrastructure projects and caring for seniors beyond the pending coronavirus relief package. “Businesses are trying to reopen, they’re trying to have some normalcy, but if they don’t survive, we’re going to have a lot of empty storefronts” and concern about a property tax base loss, said Steve Fournier, Newmarket town manager, during a call hosted by U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen.
NEW JERSEY Middletown: With the state’s commercial fishing industry about to receive a second round of federal coronavirus aid, boat owners and those who run fishing-related businesses say the extra money is helping to keep them afloat amid a sea of red ink. U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. held a news conference at the Belford Seafood Cooperative with boat owners and those who run related businesses. Many said the extra money could make the difference between working and not working this spring and summer. NEW MEXICO Santa Fe: The state House endorsed a tax increase Monday that would boost subsidies for insurance coverage on the state health insurance exchange.
NEW YORK Syracuse: The state will lower the vaccine eligibility threshold from age 65 to 60 this week and will soon loosen restrictions on vaccination sites that local officials criticized, under a plan Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Tuesday. NORTH CAROLINA Nags Head: The Cape Hatteras National Seashore recorded nearly 87,000 visitors in January, breaking the record for January 2020 by 5,000, The Virginian-Pilot reports. Dave Hallac, superintendent of the National Parks of Eastern North Carolina, said the desire for escape from coronavirus-related isolation helped fuel the increase in traffic.
NORTH DAKOTA Bismarck: The GOP-led Legislature has relaxed a requirement for lawmakers to wear masks in House and Senate chambers. The amended rule only allows lawmakers to be maskless on chamber floors. The public and media still must wear a face covering. OHIO Cincinnati: Dancing is again allowed at weddings, proms and banquet hall events, state health officials clarified this week.
OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City: State health officials plan to start offering COVID-19 vaccines Tuesday to workers in a wide range of essential industries, a move that will immediately make a vast majority of Oklahomans eligible. Among those now eligible are child care workers and students and employees at colleges, universities and vocational schools. OREGON Portland: The state’s housing problem was further exacerbated in 2020 by the COVID-19 pandemic and wildfires. Lawmakers are considering options that include building more shelters, extending the grace period by which tenants must pay back their rent, increasing homeownership access to low-income individuals, and an effort to reduce housing disparities for communities of color. PENNSYLVANIA Harrisburg: State, county and city governments in Pennsylvania will receive about $13 billion from the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 rescue package making its way through Congress. Governments can use the money to pay for costs associated with responding to the pandemic or to backfill revenue losses inflicted by the pandemic’s effects, officials with the Independent Fiscal Office said, but the funding cannot finance tax cuts.
RHODE ISLAND Providence: The state plans to get all K-12 teachers, school support staffers and workers at state licensed child care facilities their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by the end of March, Gov. Daniel McKee said Tuesday.
SOUTH CAROLINA Greenville: Sales of lottery tickets have soared during the pandemic. Slightly more than $2 billion was spent on lottery tickets in South Carolina between mid-April 2020 and the end of last month, an increase of almost 19% compared to the same period in the prior year. SOUTH DAKOTA Sioux Falls: The state Department of Corrections won’t say how many of its staff members or inmates in their care are receiving COVID-19 vaccines. TENNESSEE Nashville: The city intends to vaccinate 10,000 residents in one day at a drive-thru event at Nissan Stadium on March 20 – the largest mass vaccination drive announced in Tennessee so far. Registration begins 10 a.m. Wednesday at covid19.nashville.gov.
TEXAS Austin: Despite Gov. Greg Abbott’s statewide mask mandate ending Wednesday, the Austin area’s top public health official said he wants to hold off on relaxing pandemic rules because of an uptick in hospitalizations over the weekend. UTAH St. George: The popular outdoor sculpture gallery Art Around the Corner makes its return this month. The open-air gallery was most recently updated in 2019, with the COVID-19 pandemic delaying any 2020 updates, but residents can expect to start seeing new pieces of work move into place along downtown streets in the coming weeks.
VERMONT Montpelier: The number of new coronavirus cases in the state is increasing, but cases among older Vermonters and deaths continue to decline, officials said Tuesday. VIRGINIA Richmond: Gov. Ralph Northam said Tuesday that the state has reached a goal of administering an average of 50,000 vaccine shots a day, and 18% of Virginians have received at least one dose. WASHINGTON Seattle: Officials say the start of in-person classes for some special education students and preschoolers in Seattle Public Schools has been pushed back to March 29. WEST VIRGINIA Charleston: West Virginia University will get a $307,000 grant to study best practices for online tutoring in science, technology, engineering and math fields for undergraduate students in response to learning loss during the pandemic.
WISCONSIN Madison: About 2 million more residents, including those with certain preexisting conditions, will be eligible for COVID-19 vaccines in the next round to be announced later this week, the state’s deputy health secretary said Monday. WYOMING Casper: Teton County health officials have detected the coronavirus variant that originated in South Africa – the state’s first case.