USA TODAY International Edition
50 States WEST VIRGINIA Keyser: Mineral County Board of Education members expressed their frustration with the state board of education Tuesday, saying they still don’t agree that the time was right to return students and teachers to in- person learning.
ALABAMA Montgomery: Gov. Kay Ivey on Thursday extended a statewide mask order into March as Alabama continues to face high numbers of coronavirus cases.
ALASKA Anchorage: COVID- 19 outbreaks have shut down operations at two large seafood processing plants in the Aleutian Islands just as the lucrative crab and pollock seasons begin, Anchorage Daily News reports.
ARIZONA Phoenix: A public health expert warned Wednesday that more people need to get tested. Only about 15,000 tests for the coronavirus are being administered each day across the state, a low figure considering Arizona is “one of the hot spots in the country if not the world,” said Dr. Joshua LaBaer, director of the Biodesign Institute research center at Arizona State University.
ARKANSAS Little Rock: A state Senate panel advanced legislation this week that would permanently allow home delivery of alcohol by liquor stores, which has been temporarily approved during the pandemic.
CALIFORNIA Sacramento: The state said it’s safe to resume using a batch of Moderna’s COVID- 19 vaccine doses after health officials urged a halt to injections and held a review because several people had reactions. The decision frees up more than 300,000 doses to counties, cities and hospitals struggling to obtain supplies.
COLORADO Denver: Emergency management officials have decided to decommission a temporary medical facility set up at the Colorado Convention Center, saying hospital capacity is expected to meet demand amid the coronavirus pandemic. Two other emergency sites – in Pueblo and Westminster – will remain open.
CONNECTICUT Hartford: Leaders of the General Assembly’s Public Health Committee on Wednesday pledged to move forward this session with legislation that would end a religious exemption from vaccinations for schoolchildren, despite calls from thousands of residents to postpone given that people will have to testify via Zoom, not in person at the Capitol, because of COVID- 19 restrictions.
DELAWARE Wilmington: More than 56,000 people in the First State signed up to get the COVID- 19 vaccine on the first day of a new online registration system that the state launched Wednesday morning at vaccinerequest. delaware. gov.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Washington: Starting at 5 a. m. Friday, D. C.’ s indoor dining ban will be lifted, and restaurants will be able to return to serving 25% of their regular capacity inside, WUSA- TV reports.
FLORIDA Tallahassee: The state’s surgeon general urged the federal government Wednesday to increase allotments of COVID- 19 vaccines to states like his, where large concentrations of seniors face the greatest risk of illness and death from the disease.
GEORGIA Atlanta: The state’s court system could take years to dig out of piled- up cases with jury trials delayed because of the pandemic, judges told lawmakers Wednesday.
HAWAII Honolulu: State lawmakers opened a new session Wednesday, with coronavirus protections in place like masks and clear plastic shields separating seats. Public health protocols blocked the public from entering the Capitol. The pandemic failed to stop all traditions: Lawmakers still donned flower lei and posed for photos to commemorate the day.
IDAHO Boise: House lawmakers finetuned legislation Wednesday in their power struggle with Republican Gov. Brad Little over emergency declarations stemming from the coronavirus pandemic. The new bill would limit government entities such as health districts from taking actions that don’t follow emergency declaration guidelines set by the Legislature.
ILLINOIS Chicago: The Chicago Teachers Union’s House of Delegates on Wednesday approved a resolution that would have its members stay out of the classroom until it reaches an agreement on health and safety protocols with the school district. The resolution now goes to the union’s 25,000 members for a vote.
INDIANA Franklin: A shipment of COVID- 19 vaccines that arrived already thawed prompted Johnson County health officials to briefly offer the shots to people not yet eligible.
IOWA Iowa City: An owner of a large pork production company that disproportionately benefited from a state coronavirus aid program recently donated $ 25,000 to Gov. Kim Reynolds’ campaign, a new disclosure report shows. Christensen Farms received $ 1.86 million through the Iowa Disposal Assistance Program, 72% of the pandemic aid awarded in its first rounds, an Associated Press review found.
KANSAS Topeka: The top health official in the state told lawmakers Kansas will likely see a small uptick in immediate supply of COVID- 19 vaccines with the change in presidential administrations.
KENTUCKY Frankfort: Gov. Andy Beshear has been chosen to help lead a national task force that will offer guidance to states on economic recovery amid the COVID- 19 pandemic. The National Governors Association said Wednesday that Beshear will serve as co- chairman of its Economic Recovery and Revitalization task force along with Gov. Henry McMaster of South Carolina.
LOUISIANA Baton Rouge: A police chief is recovering from COVID- 19, while a longtime fire chief has died of complications from the disease. Bruce Cutrer, who led Tangipahoa Fire District # 1 in Amite, died Tuesday, the Louisiana State Fireman’s Association said. Meanwhile, Youngsville Police Chief Rickey Boudreaux said his symptoms were serious and admitted he had let down his guard in the fight against the coronavirus, KLFY- TV reports.
MAINE Portland: A former quarantine requirement for out- of- state visitors during the pandemic was upheld by a federal appeals court. The current requirement is that most out- of- state visitors must test negative for the coronavirus within 72 hours of arrival or quarantine for 10 days once they get to Maine.
MARYLAND Baltimore: Restaurants can resume indoor and outdoor dining at limited capacity Friday, the mayor announced Wednesday.
MASSACHUSETTS Boston: Barnstable County Department of Health and Environment Director Sean O’Brien said the state has committed to opening a “soup to nuts” COVID- 19 vaccination site on Cape Cod as soon as February.
MINNESOTA Minneapolis: Pharmacies and health care providers are asking the state to include them in the COVID- 19 vaccine rollout. Pharmacists testified before a Minnesota Senate health committee Wednesday, telling lawmakers they can provide easier access.
MISSISSIPPI Jackson: The Mississippi Development Authority is giving its interim director the job permanently. John Rounsaville earned his promotion by buoying the state’s economy amid the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Tate Reeves said Tuesday.
MISSOURI O’Fallon: The state plans nine new mass vaccination sites by the end of the month in an effort to get protection against COVID- 19 to more people, Gov. Mike Parson said Wednesday.
MONTANA Great Falls: The Cascade County Board of Health voted Wednesday to ease COVID- 19 restrictions on business capacity, operating hours and maximum gathering sizes effective Friday.
NEBRASKA Lincoln: Local health officials could gain more authority to impose restrictions related to the coronavirus under a bill in the Legislature. Under the current rules, Gov. Pete Ricketts’ administration prevented local health officials from requiring people to wear masks.
NEVADA Carson City: The state reported a record 71 new deaths from the coronavirus Wednesday. That includes people who probably contracted the virus in mid- December, state COVID- 19 response director Caleb Cage said, suggesting reverberations from holiday gatherings could still be forthcoming.
NEW HAMPSHIRE Concord: The state’s unemployment rate for December was 4%, up slightly from November, reflecting the pandemic’s impact, officials said.
NEW JERSEY Trenton: The Murphy administration unveiled a phone line this week to help people get information on how to get a COVID- 19 vaccine shot. But the automated phone line – 855- 568- 0545 – tells callers to go to a website to find a vaccine provider, something that will not help some elderly New Jerseyans who don’t have a computer or struggle to use one. That won’t likely change until Monday.
NEW MEXICO Albuquerque: State health officials said Wednesday that they don’t expect to run out of COVID- 19 vaccine. Since its system was put in place late last year, New Mexico has been ordering the maximum number of doses it can, and its orders are typically filled, said Matt Bieber, a spokesman for the state Health Department.
NEW YORK New York: Fifteen COVID- 19 vaccination hubs run by the city are postponing all first- dose appointments, and other sites have stopped making new appointments, as the state burns through its supply, officials said Thursday.
NORTH CAROLINA Raleigh: Traffic deaths across the state last year surpassed 1,500 for the first time in 13 years despite a pandemic during which motorists logged 19% fewer miles, statistics show.
NORTH DAKOTA Bismarck: A survey sponsored by a union that supports the state’s teachers shows more willingness by instructors and staff to return to the classroom, thanks to a drop in COVID- 19 cases.
OHIO Columbus: A pharmacy responsible for distributing the COVID- 19 vaccine to nursing homes failed to document storage temperatures for leftover shots, resulting in 890 doses wasted, the state Health Department said Wednesday.
OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City: The state health department’s reporting of notably fewer new coronavirus cases in recent days is accurate, health commissioner Dr. Lance Frye said Thursday, a day after voicing concern that the count may have been underreported this week.
OREGON Salem: Even with the pandemic, the state has more students graduating from high school than ever before. According to data released by the Oregon Department of Education on Thursday, the class of 2020’ s four- year graduation rate is the highest ever reported at 82.6%.
PENNSYLVANIA Harrisburg: The state has surpassed 20,000 deaths from the coronavirus, the Department of Health reported Thursday.
RHODE ISLAND Providence: The state’s attorney general is reviewing whether Rhode Island’s largest hospital operators are properly distributing COVID- 19 vaccines after board members and trustees were offered shots, even as elderly residents won’t be eligible until at least next month.
SOUTH CAROLINA Columbia: State health officials have slightly expanded the pool of people eligible for a COVID- 19 vaccination to cover parents caring for medically fragile or severely disabled children.
SOUTH DAKOTA Pierre: As the state attempts to continue the fast pace of its COVID- 19 vaccine rollout, health officials on Wednesday described a multistep process that at times created a scramble for drivers to deliver shipments in winter weather. Still, officials have not received reports of vaccines going to waste, as has happened elsewhere. Secretary of Health Kim Malsam- Rysdon credited people who have jumped in to help.
TENNESSEE Nashville: Housing officials say the state will receive about $ 458 million in federal COVID- 19 money for rent relief.
TEXAS Austin: State health officials reported 450 new COVID- 19 deaths Wednesday as fatalities rapidly mount after a surge in hospitalizations. “Texas must avoid an additional surge in cases. Hospitals can’t take much more,” the Department of State Health Services posted on Twitter.
UTAH Salt Lake City: Local students are expected to resume in- person learning for at least two days a week amid arguments by legislative leaders and attorneys representing parents. If that plan changes, though, the Salt Lake City School District could lose funding under a bill that advanced in the Legislature on Wednesday, the Deseret News reports.
VERMONT Montpelier: Voters could be casting ballots by mail for their local municipal and school meetings this year as a way to reduce the spread of the coronavirus, under a bill Gov. Phil Scott signed into law.
VIRGINIA Petersburg: Civica Inc., a nonprofit formed by various health care providers, announced Thursday that it is planning a new pharmaceutical manufacturing plant in the city that’s expected to create more than 180 jobs and make drugs for treatment of COVID- 19 and other diseases.
WASHINGTON Seattle: State health officials said Thursday that they are plowing ahead with plans to open four mass vaccination sites next week, despite logistical concerns that include questions about supply.
WISCONSIN Madison: Gov. Tony Evers defended the state’s vaccination efforts in the face of increasing Republican criticism Thursday, while urging patience because the number of people eligible will expand exponentially next week. Everyone over age 65 – about 700,000 people – will be able to get a shot starting Monday, and the state Department of Health Services is considering a recommendation that teachers, grocery store workers, transit workers and others be added to the priority list.
WYOMING Casper: The U. S. government has approved routes for a system of pipelines that would move carbon dioxide across the state in what could be by far the largest such network in North America, if developed. The greenhouse gas would be captured from coal- fired power plants, keeping it out of the atmosphere, where it causes global warming. Officials have promoted carbon capture as a way to boost the state’s struggling coal mining industry.