50 ★ States
ALABAMA Birmingham: The high school graduation season will present a test of the state’s ability to reopen society without hastening the spread of the new coronavirus as thousands gather for ceremonies next week. Gatherings of any size are allowed now as long as people from different households stay at least 6 feet apart.
ALASKA Anchorage: Some Southeast Alaskans who have seen the border with Canada closed because of the coronavirus feel cut off from an area they visit and drive through frequently. Haines, Skagway and Hyder all have been affected by the closure, The Anchorage Daily News reports.
ARIZONA Phoenix: Some restaurants reopened for dine-in service Monday as Gov. Doug Ducey relaxed more measures aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus.
ARKANSAS Little Rock: Gov. Asa Hutchinson said he’s “distressed” by reports of people not socially distancing because of the coronavirus, but he doesn’t regret allowing businesses to reopen.
CALIFORNIA Sacramento: The state’s top emergency official defended the state Monday over failed, high-priced deals for personal protective equipment, saying taxpayers haven’t lost money, and the state was doing its best amid a worldwide mad dash for gear during the pandemic.
COLORADO Denver: Catholics across much of the state are allowed to celebrate Mass in-person again, church officials said. While the details vary church to church, congregants must wear masks and practice social distancing, Colorado Public Radio reports. Schedules also have changed, and some churches are celebrating Mass more frequently and asking people to sign up ahead of time.
CONNECTICUT Hartford: The state’s COVID-19 death toll surpassed 3,000 on Monday, even as state officials announced plans to open day camps this summer. Officials reported 41 new deaths, bringing the total to 3,008. “Shame on us for underestimating, perhaps, what could happen,” Gov. Ned Lamont said, adding that the U.S. surgeon general had told last month that the outbreak would likely be similar to a bad flu season, in which about 100 in the state die.
DELAWARE Dover: Farmers markets in the state are set to reopen Friday after being closed for nearly two months amid the coronavirus pandemic, officials have announced.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Washing
ton: D.C. tops the charts as the region with the most essential workers in the U.S., says a report from the United Way of the National Capital Area that analyzed the number of workers in each industry using data from the Bureau of Labor, WUSA-TV reports.
FLORIDA Tallahassee: Four protesters in Tyvek suits, gloves and face masks lined up body bags on the steps of the Old Capitol in front of the Grim Reaper on Tuesday. The protest was organized by Indivisible, a grassroots progressive movement, to send a message to Gov. Ron DeSantis asking him “to listen to medical experts and not cave to pressure to open the state too fast, risking more lives.”
GEORGIA Atlanta: Trails at two national parks reopened Monday amid an ongoing loosening of coronavirus restrictions in the state. Visitors could access all trails and some parking areas at the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area and Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park and enter both parks for free.
HAWAII Hilo: Observatories on the state’s highest mountain have started resuming activities following a forced closure in response to the pandemic.
IDAHO Idaho Falls: A system able to decontaminate 80,000 N95 masks a day so they can be reused has arrived in the city, strengthening the state’s ability to protect health care workers, Gov. Brad Little said.
ILLINOIS Chicago: Gov. J.B. Pritzker and all senior administration officials will work from home after an aide tested positive for COVID-19, according to a Monday statement.
INDIANA Indianapolis: State officials said most businesses have been following restrictions imposed to slow the coronavirus’ spread. They have investigated 1,458 complaints since late March, finding about 90% unfounded, said Joseph Heerens, chief counsel of the governor’s office.
IOWA Iowa City: Gov. Kim Reynolds said she’s still considering how far to go in lifting local public health restrictions and now expects an announcement Wednesday.
KANSAS Wichita: A new drive-thru site that tests for the coronavirus without requiring participants to have symptoms is drawing heavy interest. The site drew lines of cars on its first day of operation Monday, television station KSN reports.
KENTUCKY Frankfort: A 10-yearold child has been put on a ventilator while battling complications linked to the coronavirus, state officials said Monday.
LOUISIANA Baton Rouge: Saying the state has made significant strides in combating the COVID-19 outbreak, Gov. John Bel Edwards announced he will begin loosening restrictions Friday on churches, restaurants, salons and gyms, moving away from a “stay-at-home” position he enacted in late March.
MAINE Augusta: Retailers in 12 counties that have not experienced large numbers of coronavirus cases began reopening Monday in Maine.
MARYLAND Annapolis: UnitedHealthcare has filed to offer individual health plans in the state’s health care exchange next year, Gov. Larry Hogan announced Tuesday, saying it’s more important than ever for residents to have access to health insurance options because of the coronavirus pandemic.
MASSACHUSETTS Boston: A Memorial Day weekend flag garden on Boston Common to honor the 37,000 military members from the state who have died in the service of the country dating to the Revolutionary War has been canceled because of the pandemic, organizers say. The Massachusetts Military Heroes Fund is instead asking residents to place a flag either in their window or on their front lawn and then to post pictures and videos on social media with the hashtag #HeroesFlagGarden.
MICHIGAN Ahmeek: An entrepreneur in the Upper Peninsula is responsible for billboards in the state’s urban areas that are encouraging people to reopen businesses May 21, even if coronavirus restrictions haven’t been lifted. Erik Kiilunen told MLive.com that the governor doesn’t seem to trust businesses to operate safely.
MINNESOTA Cold Spring: Workers protested what they consider dangerous working conditions at the Pilgrim’s Pride chicken processing plant, the site of one of the largest COVID-19 workplace outbreaks in the state. A chain of about 80 vehicles carrying workers and supporters rolled past the facility Monday, demanding the company shut it down for a deep cleaning and pay the workers for the downtime.
MISSISSIPPI Jackson: Gov. Tate Reeves encouraged employees to return to work as businesses reopen. He said exceptions can be made for people who are older or are medically vulnerable. “There’s really no government replacement for a job,” Reeves said.
MISSOURI Kansas City: Attorneys for the family of a nurse who died from COVID-19 filed a claim for death benefits under the state’s workers’ compensation laws. Celia Yap-Banago, 69, died April 21.
MONTANA Helena: The rate at which Montanans are diagnosed with COVID-19 continues to decline as the state begins its third week in which retailers have been able to reopen and the second week bars and restaurants could offer dine-in options with limited capacity.
NEBRASKA Omaha: Gov. Pete Ricketts pushed back Monday against four lawmakers who urged him to cancel a $27 million coronavirus testing contract with a group of out-of-state startups, calling their criticism “ludicrous” even though the program is off to a slow start and hasn’t kept up with demand.
NEVADA Reno: The century-old Reno Rodeo has canceled this year’s 10-day event in June due to the new coronavirus outbreak.
NEW HAMPSHIRE Concord: Gov. Chris Sununu said he won’t hesitate to shut down shopping malls again if safety guidelines aren’t followed. Monday was the first day nonessential retail stores, hair salons and golf courses could reopen in the state.
NEW JERSEY Trenton: The state will be more than doubling the number of public health professionals tracing COVID-19 cases, Gov. Phil Murphy said Tuesday. New Jersey will hire at least 1,000 people.
NEW MEXICO Santa Fe: Officials have announced that COVID-19 testing is now available for all workers in the state. The New Mexico Department of Health said Monday that drive-up testing would be open to government employees, utility and construction workers, grocery and pharmacy employees, and anyone in food service or other service industries.
NEW YORK New York: Gov. Andrew Cuomo stressed “reciprocal responsibility” as he urged New Yorkers on Tuesday to wear masks out of respect for other people and for the nurses and doctors who have died to protect people from the coronavirus pandemic, which he said had killed another 195 people.
NORTH CAROLINA Raleigh: Legislators and leading sheriffs want Gov. Roy Cooper to clarify or remove a portion of his executive order that limits how religious services can convene under his eased stay-athome rules for COVID-19. The order said worship services “shall take place outdoors unless impossible.”
NORTH DAKOTA Bismarck: Health officials reported two new deaths Tuesday from COVID-19, bringing the state’s death toll to 38.
OHIO Columbus: Retail businesses were set to reopen Tuesday following a nearly two-month-long shutdown ordered by Gov. Mike DeWine to limit the spread of the coronavirus. The Republican governor said the move means 90% of the state’s economy will be restarted by week’s end, with Friday’s expected reopening of barbershops, hair salons and outdoor restaurant dining.
OREGON Salem: Gov. Kate Brown has directed state agencies to prepare for a 17% budget cut due to cratering tax revenues because of the coronavirus outbreak.
PENNSYLVANIA Harrisburg: The state will roll out a plan to begin coronavirus testing for every resident and employee of nursing homes and other facilities that provide care for older adults, Gov. Tom Wolf said Tuesday.
RHODE ISLAND Providence: The state is committing $8.2 million to boost pay and help retain workers in nursing homes, group homes and other congregate care facilities during the coronavirus pandemic, the state Executive Office of Health and Human Services announced Tuesday.
SOUTH CAROLINA Columbia: At its first-ever oral argument via teleconference, the South Carolina Supreme Court heard concerns about potential difficulties of voting in this year’s elections due to the coronavirus outbreak, as social distancing recommendations remain in place. Last month, two lawsuits were filed in state and federal courts asking judges to require South Carolina to relax rules on absentee voting for the June 9 statewide primary.
SOUTH DAKOTA Vermillion: Some students at the University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine are staying in rural communities to help staff hospitals and clinics during the coronavirus outbreak. “Health care workers may become ill, their families may become ill, and we need students really to assist and fill a void in those situations,” said Susan Anderson, USD’s dean of rural medicine.
TENNESSEE Nashville: Trousdale County has the highest per-capita coronavirus infection rate in the U.S., and Bledsoe County has the fifth, according to an Associated Press analysis. In both counties, the high infection rates are attributable to their local prisons.
TEXAS Austin: Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday ordered coronavirus testing for all nursing home residents and staff after the White House urged the nation’s governors to do so as deaths mount nationwide.
UTAH St. George: ProjectProtect has expanded its volunteer opportunities into Southern Utah. The initiative, a collaboration among Intermountain Healthcare, University of Utah Health, Latter-day Saint Charities and several Utah nonprofits, was announced in April and seeks to enlist 10,000 volunteer sewers a week to produce more than 5 million medical-grade face masks. It’s also helping produce isolation gowns and more than 50,000 face shields.
VERMONT Burlington: University of Vermont President Suresh Garimella is warning that the coronavirus outbreak could produce big changes at the school, including possible layoffs and cuts to salary and benefits.
VIRGINIA Richmond: During a push to accelerate the review of paroleeligible inmates because of the coronavirus pandemic, Virginia released dozens of violent offenders, including killers, rapists and kidnappers, blindsiding prosecutors and victims’ families who say they were not properly notified as required by law, a review by the Associated Press found.
WASHINGTON Tacoma: Farmers will give away more than 200,000 pounds of potatoes at the Tacoma Dome on Thursday as part of a mission to get 1 million pounds of potatoes into the hands of people in need.
WEST VIRGINIA Glenville: Five inmates at a federal prison have tested positive for the coronavirus after a big transfer of prisoners led to the first case at the lockup.
WISCONSIN Madison: A majority of the state’s residents still support the “safer at home” order issued by Gov. Tony Evers in response to the coronavirus pandemic, but that support is down from where it was six weeks ago, based on the latest Marquette University Law School poll released Tuesday.
WYOMING Casper: Another Powder River Basin coal mine has reduced its workforce in response to weak market conditions. Nearly 400 coal miners in the basin have been laid off as less electricity use during the coronavirus pandemic diminishes demand for coal-fired power. From USA TODAY Network and wire reports