50 ★ States

ALABAMA Tuscaloosa: City leaders are considering $400,000 in aid to help bars that were forced to shut down because of the pandemic. Bar owners say they are being hurt by a city order that forced them to close for two weeks after University of Alabama students returned to town and hundreds of new coronavirus infections were confirmed.

ALASKA Anchorage: The Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District, the state’s largest to open for inperson classes, has shifted to online learning only for three schools after five new COVID-19 cases were confirmed, Alaska Public Media reports.

ARIZONA Flagstaff: Northern Arizona University reopened for in-person classes Monday, welcoming students for the first time since the pandemic closed the campus in March.

ARKANSAS Little Rock: The state on Wednesday reported its largest single-day increase in deaths from COVID-19, and Arkansas’ top health official urged college students to avoid large parties.

COLORADO Colorado Springs: Colorado College said Tuesday that it is moving to online classes for the rest of the fall semester after hundreds of students went into quarantine because at least 10 had tested positive for the coronavirus.

CONNECTICUT Hartford: Opposed to the idea of automatically extending Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont’s pandemic emergency powers for another five months, the top Republican legislative leaders on Tuesday urged him to at least grant a special committee of lawmakers the ability to appeal or reject any executive order within 72 hours after it has been issued.

DELAWARE Dover: The state will allow some beach bars to reopen for Labor Day weekend, under strict social distancing guidelines.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Washington: Georgetown University reported four new COVID-19 cases within the school community Tuesday, according to WUSA-TV. Few students are living on campus this semester.

FLORIDA Miami: A cyberattack and a software glitch plagued the state’s largest school district during the first two days of its virtual start to the school year, officials said Tuesday.

GEORGIA Atlanta: Gov. Brian Kemp on Tuesday named a Department of Public Safety officer as the next director of the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency, tapping Capt. Chris Stallings to replace the retiring Homer Bryson at a time the agency is responding to the coronavirus pandemic.

HAWAII Honolulu: Health care officials have issued an urgent call for nurses to assist the state’s response to the pandemic as hospitals experience an influx of COVID-19 patients.

IDAHO Boise: The state will start making $300-a-week unemployment payments this week under President Donald Trump’s supplemental plan, Gov. Brad Little said Tuesday. The retroactive payments will cover five weeks beginning in late July.

ILLINOIS East St. Louis: Additional COVID-19 mitigation efforts will be implemented in the Metro East area as it shows a seven-day positivity rate of 9.6%, Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Public Health announced Tuesday.

INDIANA Bunker Hill: National Guard units are helping operate a prison faced with staffing shortages after several workers at the Miami Correctional Facility were stricken with COVID-19.

IOWA Des Moines: A longtime special education teacher with Des Moines Public Schools has died of complications from the coronavirus, the district confirmed Tuesday.

KANSAS Lawrence: University of Kansas athletes must play without fans, Kansas State University is battling four new coronavirus outbreaks, and a Topeka-area school district has halted in-person classes just days into the fall semester.

KENTUCKY Frankfort: The state has again extended its contract with an outside company hired to help work through a backlog of unemployment claims amid the coronavirus outbreak, Gov. Andy Beshear said Tuesday. The contract with Ernst & Young will be prolonged through the year’s end, the governor announced.

LOUISIANA Baton Rouge: The state is looking for people to work polling locations for the fall elections. Louisiana has had concerns about poll worker shortages for years, but those concerns have heightened with the coronavirus outbreak.

MAINE Augusta: A letter from state officials to the Maine Principals’ Association is dimming hopes for a quick resolution to fall high school sports. Health and Human Services Commissioner Jeanne Lambrew and Education Commissioner Pender Makin urged the organization to delay the season until safety guidelines can be reviewed further.

MARYLAND Annapolis: All businesses in the state will be able to open later this week as Maryland enters the third phase of its coronavirus recovery plan, Gov. Larry Hogan announced Tuesday.

MASSACHUSETTS Boston: A statewide coalition of teachers, school nurses, parents and other school employees has released a list of issues it says need to be addressed before schools can safely reopen. Among measures the recently formed Coalition to Safely Reopen Schools seeks are appropriate social distancing guidelines, effective ventilation and air circulation, safe cleaning practices, accessible and rapid COVID-19 testing, and clear guidelines for contact tracing.

MICHIGAN Lansing: The state should modify a system in which nursing home residents infected with the coronavirus can be treated and isolated in those facilities and take steps to improve life for all long-term care residents amid the pandemic, a task force urged Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in a report.

MINNESOTA St. Paul: A Ramsey County judge has dismissed a lawsuit challenging Gov. Tim Walz’s executive orders during the pandemic. Thirteen Republican legislators and a group of businesses contended the Democratic governor abused his power and interfered with the legislative process.

MISSISSIPPI Jackson: Federal monitors, in their most recent report about the Hinds County Detention Center, said both the information about the extent of COVID-19 infection at the facility and efforts to control its spread are inadequate.

MISSOURI Jefferson City: The state has paid a consulting firm more than $500,000 in emergency federal funding for pandemic-related costs, despite Gov. Mike Parson saying in early May that an independent foundation was paying the firm. State payroll records show the McChrystal Group has received $522,000 in federal CARES Act funding from the state, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

MONTANA Billings: The state’s most populous county has seen a sharp increase in violent crime since the pandemic began, driven by more domestic abuse and drugrelated crimes, authorities say. Yellowstone County saw a 20% spike in violent crimes from March through July, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said, and that appears to be a statewide trend.

NEBRASKA Omaha: The City Council voted Tuesday to extend its mask requirement through Oct. 20.

NEVADA Las Vegas: Tens of thousands of working or furloughed employees at the two largest Las Vegas casino companies will keep family health benefits until March 1 under an agreement involving unions representing bartenders and culinary workers, officials said.

NEW HAMPSHIRE Concord: President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign and the Republican National Committee want to intervene in a lawsuit by the American Federation of Teachers challenging New Hampshire’s voting procedures during the coronavirus pandemic.

NEW JERSEY Brick: Tape measures will join tapas as social distancing becomes essential to the ambiance at restaurants preparing for the limited resumption of indoor dining. New Jersey is beating its big-city neighbors to reopening indoor dining. Philadelphia is planning a return Sept. 8. New York City hasn’t reopened indoor dining yet.

NEW MEXICO Santa Fe: The Santa Fe area emerged as a major beneficiary of federal relief funds for local government, as the state assigned nearly $100 million to communities to offset spending on the pandemic response. McKinley County, which has the state’s most COVID-19 infections per capita, also received an outsized direct grant award.

NEW YORK New York: Gyms in the city were permitted to start reopening Wednesday with a slew of virusrelated restrictions.

NORTH CAROLINA Raleigh: At least 3,000 college students in the state have tested positive for the coronavirus since campuses reopened last month, with an overwhelming number coming from just three campuses, an Associated Press analysis shows, citing the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina State University and East Carolina University.

NORTH DAKOTA Bismarck: The state’s longest-serving Supreme Court justice is back in the hospital after he was released for rehabilitation following treatment for the coronavirus. Justice Gerald VandeWalle, 87, was readmitted this week following a chest X-ray, the Bismarck Tribune reports.

OHIO Cincinnati: The 2020 Cincinnati Pride parade and festival has been canceled. The annual festivities had been rescheduled for Oct. 3 amid growing concerns surrounding COVID-19. “Pride is a constant state of mind, one that we should all be able to embrace every day,” Cincinnati Pride said in a statement.

OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City: A city mask mandate is being extended by six weeks in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

OREGON Salem: The state has recorded 22 deaths involving boats this year, the most since 1993 and nearing the record of 25. The spike is another result of the record number of people outdoors in a summer when COVID-19 has limited most other options.

PENNSYLVANIA Harrisburg: Gov. Tom Wolf announced Tuesday that he has renewed a 90-day disaster declaration, now for a second time, after he originally signed it in early March following the confirmation of the first positive cases of the coronavirus in Pennsylvania.

RHODE ISLAND Providence: The state is setting up a rigorous coronavirus testing system for schools to quickly identify and stamp out possible outbreaks, Gov. Gina Raimondo said Tuesday.

SOUTH CAROLINA Columbia: After nearly six months of isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic, people can visit relatives and friends in nursing homes and residential care facilities, but there will be no hugs and kisses, and they will have to meet outside. Gov. Henry McMaster announced new guidelines for visitation Tuesday that require guests to give full contact information and pass a temperature check.

SOUTH DAKOTA Sioux Falls: A Minnesota man who attended the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota last month has died from COVID-19, health officials reported Wednesday. The death is the first reported from the biker rally that drew hundreds of thousands of people. The rally went forward despite fears it could become a superspreader event, with Gov. Kristi Noem welcoming bikers and the tourist dollars they spend.

TENNESSEE Chattanooga: Hamilton County is suing a business that it says isn’t complying with a mask mandate put into place due to the pandemic. The Hamilton County Health Department filed suit against Ed’s Supply Company, alleging employees and customers were not wearing masks or social distancing despite multiple warnings, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports.

TEXAS Austin: At least 4,116 newly confirmed coronavirus cases were reported Tuesday, an increase of 1,742 from the day prior, the Texas Department of State Health Services said.

UTAH Draper: The American Preparatory Academy charter school closed its elementary campus Tuesday after 15 students and staffers tested positive for COVID-19, executive director Carolyn Sharette told The Salt Lake Tribune.

VERMONT Brattleboro: Hand-sanitizing stations with art and music are welcoming patrons into some local businesses and reminding people to take public health precautions during the pandemic. The Handy Stations are part of Open Artful Streets, an initiative of the Human Connection Project and Brattleboro Housing Opportunities.

VIRGINIA Harrisonburg: James Madison University will transition at least temporarily to primarily online instruction after experiencing a “rapid increase” in cases of COVID-19 among students, the school’s president announced Tuesday.

WASHINGTON Pullman: The number of people testing positive for the coronavirus continues to grow rapidly in Whitman County, and various government agencies are working to slow the spread. A team from the Washington National Guard was headed to Pullman on Wednesday to set up a COVID-19 testing operation, county Director of Public Health Troy Henderson said.

WEST VIRGINIA Charleston: Education leaders in two counties rejected an offer Monday by Gov. Jim Justice to resume fall sports competitions if athletic teams test negative for the coronavirus.

WISCONSIN Milwaukee: The city’s health commissioner has resigned to take a job in the nation’s capital as the city and county continue to battle the coronavirus pandemic. “As much as I love my hometown, I believe that I am limited due to factors that are out of my control,” Jeanette Kowalik said in a news release. Under her leadership, Milwaukee declared racism a public health crisis in 2019, and the city and county were among the first in the nation to publicly report data on the race and ethnicity of COVID-19 patients.

WYOMING Casper: Coronavirus infections from off-campus gatherings at the University of Wyoming have led the school to quarantine dozens of students.