50 ★ States

ALABAMA Montgomery: Gov. Kay Ivey said Wednesday that the state is shifting to personal responsibility in the fight against COVID-19, keeping her promise to let a statewide face mask order expire Friday. Alabama opened vaccine eligibility to anyone 16 and older two days ago but ranks last in the U.S. for the percentage of people who have received a dose, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

ALASKA Anchorage: The Anchorage School District will implement weekly coronavirus tests for high school hockey players after at least 64 students tested positive or were told to quarantine because they were in close contact with someone who had.

ARIZONA Phoenix: Pima County can continue to enforce its mask mandate in spite of an executive order issued by Republican Gov. Doug Ducey that bars local orders, according to an informal opinion issued by Arizona’s attorney general Tuesday.

ARKANSAS Little Rock: Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Tuesday that he opposes government-mandated COVID-19 “vaccine passports,” but private businesses should have the right to require vaccinations.

CALIFORNIA Oxnard: A gym owner is protesting a Ventura County panel’s vote to drop lawsuits against businesses that violated COVID-19 orders while she could be forced to close over the high costs of obeying the rules. Vanessa White, of Santa Paula Fitness, said she applied for every form of aid she could over the past year but owes $75,000 in back rent.

COLORADO Denver: The state has reported its first cases of a coronavirus variant first found in Brazil that has proven adept at infecting people who previously contracted the virus.

CONNECTICUT Hartford: State officials are looking into the possibility of eventually having to administer booster shots of COVID-19 vaccines in nursing homes, while also vaccinating new residents and staff, Gov. Ned Lamont said Monday.

DELAWARE Rehoboth: As more people get vaccinated against COVID-19 and make plans to hit the beaches, “help wanted” signs remain in many windows up and down the state’s coast. Some business owners have called this year’s hiring season a “nightmare,” while others in the hospitality industry worry an employee shortage may worsen if the state further lifts pandemic-related restrictions and capacity limits.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Washington: In a sign of a return to pre-pandemic normalcy, the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts has announced plans for its 50th anniversary season, including a September grand reopening,

WUSA-TV reports. GEORGIA Athens: The Athens-Clarke parklet program was extended Tuesday, and the College Square outdoor dining plaza is now permanent. The parklet program was introduced at the start of the pandemic when the need arose for safe outdoor dining, converting business-adjacent parking spaces or small sections of road into mini-parks with small dining areas.

HAWAII Honolulu: The island of Kauai has rejoined the state’s Safe Travels program, which means outof-state visitors can skip quarantining with a negative coronavirus test up to 72 hours before their flight.

IDAHO Boise: Gov. Brad Little issued an executive order Wednesday banning the state from requiring or issuing COVID-19 “vaccine passports.”

ILLINOIS Chicago: At a vaccination site that opened last week for union workers, Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday urged members to share their experience getting a COVID-19 shot and act as “role models” for reluctant family and friends.

INDIANA Indianapolis: Bars and restaurants say they have not heard from public health officials after reports that an NCAA fan who visited a number of local businesses had died of COVID-19 complications. Shapiro’s Delicatessen owner Brian Shapiro said contact tracers haven’t reached out. “The bigger question is why didn’t Alabama be more proactive with our board of health?” he said.

IOWA Iowa City: Coronavirus cases are on the rise again in city schools, resulting in 12 classrooms being temporarily closed due to exposure and more than 500 quarantined children.

KANSAS Valley Center: The city’s school district is considering dropping its masking and social distancing rules after a former Sedgwick County commissioner complained the policies are “irrational” because COVID-19 cases are falling.

KENTUCKY Frankfort: Gov. Andy Beshear signed bills Wednesday directing over $1 billion in federal pandemic relief for big-ticket items like broadband expansion, school construction and water projects.

LOUISIANA Shreveport: A teachers union has sued the Caddo Parish School Board, saying a $1,000 bonus discriminates against women, older workers and disabled people. The “Caddo Heroes Stipend Allocation” payment is meant for full-time employees who were present for at least 90% of their scheduled workdays during the 2020-21 school year.

MAINE Calais: The state will work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to get vaccines to rural and underserved communities, officials said Tuesday. The administration of Gov. Janet Mills said the state and FEMA will partner on a mobile vaccination unit, only the second of its kind in New England.

MARYLAND Annapolis: Gov. Larry Hogan still backs his administration’s purchase of 500,000 coronavirus tests from South Korea, even after a blistering legislative audit concluded the procurement process was deeply flawed. Hogan called the report “partisan nonsense” and said he “wouldn’t change a single thing.”

MASSACHUSETTS Boston: Gov. Charlie Baker received his COVID-19 vaccine Tuesday. “So far I feel great,” the Republican governor said. “This vaccine is a critical tool to end the pandemic.”

MICHIGAN Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan will stick to a virtual graduation ceremony but allow graduates to watch the event on screens inside the football stadium, officials said. The university has been criticized by some parents and students for not having a traditional graduation in the stadium even as vaccines become widely available and as gathering limits are eased.

MINNESOTA Minneapolis: State health officials on Tuesday reported nearly 500 residents are hospitalized due to the coronavirus as case numbers continue to rise despite Minnesota’s vaccination campaign.

MISSISSIPPI Jackson: The state is receiving about $29.7 million from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to support COVID-19 vaccination efforts. About 75% must focus on initiatives intended to increase access and acceptance among minority communities. MISSOURI Columbia: The health department on Tuesday announced it identified the state’s first case of a new coronavirus variant first identified in South Africa.

MONTANA Helena: The state has a new program to provide rental assistance for people who have lost income and are at risk of housing instability due to the pandemic, Gov. Greg Gianforte said Tuesday.

NEBRASKA Lincoln: Residents who stop working temporarily to care for a family member with a serious health condition could claim jobless benefits under a bill that state lawmakers advanced Tuesday.

NEVADA Las Vegas: State and federal health officials are taking mobile COVID-19 vaccination units this week to Pahrump and a tribal site in Carson City. The Southern Nevada Health District reported Tuesday that it had more vaccination slots available than people booking appointments at its biggest sites.

NEW HAMPSHIRE Concord: U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan says state residents have lost more than $950,000 to pandemic-related fraud, identity theft and other scams, and she’s pushing the Federal Trade Commission to do more to stop it.

NEW JERSEY Trenton: An assemblyman wants extra coronavirus testing and vaccination sites at the Jersey Shore, perhaps along the boardwalk, for the summer season. NEW MEXICO Albuquerque: The New Mexico National Guard and Civil Air Patrol have logged more than 1.6 million miles in the past year as part of the state’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.

NEW YORK Albany: Lawmakers and Gov. Andrew Cuomo have struck a budget deal that caps nursing home profits and establishes how much they must spend on resident care and staffing. Cuomo on Tuesday also signed a bill repealing COVID19 legal liability protections granted to nursing homes and hospitals.

NORTH CAROLINA Asheville: Making shelter a right and boosting Buncombe County’s community paramedics, a program touted by police-defunding activists, are among priorities listed by City Council members for an expected $26 million in federal pandemic aid.

NORTH DAKOTA Bismarck: The state Supreme Court plans to resume in-person arguments in June, if all parties involved in a case agree. It’s also considering making some pandemic protocols permanent, such as letting defendants plead guilty to Class C felonies in writing without appearing in court.

OHIO Columbus: A GOP-backed House bill introduced Wednesday would allow Ohioans to decline any vaccine because of religious reasons, medical reasons or natural immunity. It would prevent anyone who chooses not to be inoculated from facing discrimination, being denied services or forced to wear a mask, or facing other penalties financial or social from businesses, schools or government.

OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City: The state will drop its residency requirement for COVID-19 vaccinations, the health department said Wednesday, as appointment slots go unfilled.

OREGON Portland: A measure that would reinstate and extend a moratorium on foreclosures until Sept. 1 amid the COVID-19 pandemic passed the state House on Tuesday. The new legislation would not protect commercial property owners.

PENNSYLVANIA Philadelphia: Vaccination appointments in the city will be open to everyone 16 and older April 19, but health officials are asking younger, healthy adults to wait.

RHODE ISLAND Providence: Opening regional vaccination sites is critical to ensuring everyone who wants a COVID-19 shot has access, even if they can’t make it to a mass vaccination site, Gov. Daniel McKee said Wednesday. The Democrat, after touring new regional sites in Westerly and East Providence, said 97% of all Rhode Islanders have access to a vaccination site within a 15-minute drive.

SOUTH CAROLINA Charleston: The American Civil Liberties Union sued Gov. Henry McMaster this week, arguing that his order requiring state agencies to “immediately expedite” employees’ return to the office amid the pandemic exceeds the governor’s authority and poses health risks, as well as barriers to caregivers.

SOUTH DAKOTA Sioux Falls: U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson received a COVID-19 vaccine Tuesday as part of an effort to promote widespread vaccinations to extinguish the pandemic. The state reported no new deaths Wednesday for a sixth day – the longest streak since this time last year.

TENNESSEE Nashville: Gov. Bill Lee on Tuesday joined fellow Republicans nationwide in advocating against COVID-19 “vaccine passports,” which are being developed in some areas of the world to let inoculated people travel, shop and dine more freely. No city, county or government entity in Tennessee appears to have suggested forcing businesses to require patrons to show proof of vaccination.

TEXAS Austin: Fed up with difficulties related to vaccine access, multiple Vietnamese American organizations in the city say they’re taking it upon themselves to help vulnerable populations in their community. To dispel fears, a local group called Open Eyes Beyond Border worked with the Austin Vietnamese Senior Citizens Association in late March to hold a vaccine information session, where medical professionals answered questions in Vietnamese. The organization will work with a local pharmacy to hold a pop-up vaccination event this weekend in North Austin.

UTAH St. George: Intermountain Healthcare said Monday that it would be relaxing some of its visitor restrictions thanks to decreasing coronavirus case rates across the state.

VERMONT Montpelier: As more residents get vaccinated, Gov. Phil Scott announced a three-month plan Tuesday for loosening COVID-19 restrictions, with a goal of being largely back to normal by July 4.

VIRGINIA Richmond: The Virginia Employment Commission says people collecting unemployment benefits will soon have to look for jobs again to get aid, a rule temporarily suspended during the pandemic.

WASHINGTON Seattle: A state senator has apologized after she participated in a legislative video hearing as she drove to the Capitol. The Seattle Times reports Sen. Rebecca Saldana, D-Seattle, said her attempt to multitask Tuesday en route to Olympia was “not in compliance with the law.”

WEST VIRGINIA Charleston: The state will get $3.3 million for affordable housing from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. “Many of our fellow West Virginians are currently experiencing homelessness, including children and families, and the COVID-19 pandemic has only worsened this heartbreaking issue,” Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said in a statement.

WISCONSIN Milwaukee: The Wisconsin State Fair wants public feedback on comfort levels toward large events, COVID-19 health safety measures and more ahead of this year’s fair. Those who take the short survey at bit.ly/39vLkDp have a chance to win a $50 Visa gift card.

WYOMING Cheyenne: The state Department of Health has announced multiple coronavirus variants were discovered in recent months. The Wyoming Public Health Laboratory found at least 40 cases involved the strain first found in the United Kingdom, more than 40 involved two variants found in California, and one involved the South Africa variant, the Wyoming Tribune Eagle reports.