News from around our 50 states

Alabama

Montgomery: The state will roughly double the number of people eligible to receive immunizations against COVID-19 this month even though there’s still not enough vaccine for everyone who qualifies for a shot, the head of the state health agency said Friday. Dr. Scott Harris, the state health officer, said everyone 65 and older, educators, court officials, corrections officers, postal employees, grocery store workers, some manufacturing workers, public transit workers, agriculture employees, state legislators and constitutional officers will be eligible to get vaccinations when the program expands Feb. 8. Currently, only people 75 and older, first responders, health care workers and long-term care residents are eligible. The state has been hearing complaints that more people aren’t allowed to get in line for shots. The change means as many as 1.5 million people in the state will qualify for shots, up from about 700,000 currently, Harris said during a media briefing. But there still won’t be enough vaccine. Harris pleaded with healthier, younger people who are at reduced risk for the virus to let others go first. Expanding eligibility to 1.5 million people would require 3 million doses, when the state has been getting about 60,000 first doses a week.

Alaska

Anchorage: Severe child abuse cases in the state have increased significantly at times during the coronavirus pandemic, experts said. As students return to classrooms, child welfare advocates are assessing the impact of the pandemic on child abuse, Alaska Public Media reports. Visits by one clinic to children in need of hospitalization for severe injuries because of suspected abuse skyrocketed by 173% in the last year. Barbara Knox, the medical director of Alaska Child Abuse Response and Evaluation Services, found an alarming change while evaluating 2020 child abuse data for the clinic, known as Alaska CARES, at Providence. “The cases that are presenting are presenting inpatient, and it’s the big and the bad,” Knox said. “A serious uptick in cases of abusive head trauma, serious physical abuse.” Reports to the state Office of Children’s Services decreased by up to 30% in some months of 2020, while evaluations by Alaska CARES slightly decreased compared to 2019. The lower reporting rate and spike in severe cases are likely due to a combination of factors, including increased isolation, stress from family financial instability and school closures, Knox said.

Arizona

Phoenix: Overall deaths in the state increased by 25% in 2020, underscoring the toll of the COVID-19 pandemic, preliminary new data shows. Arizona recorded 60,161 deaths in 2019 and 75,133 deaths in 2020, according to preliminary data from the Arizona Department of Health Services. That’s a difference of nearly 15,000 deaths, a year-over-year increase of about 25%, but the uptick cannot yet entirely be attributed to the coronavirus. Year-over-year increases in total deaths in Arizona have typically ranged between 1% and 4% in recent years, and population growth in recent years has ranged between 1.6% and 2%. Known deaths from the virus in Arizona last year surpassed 10,200, although that number is expected to change as more COVID-19 deaths are identified. That leaves more than 4,700 additional deaths over the 2019 count. Some may be COVID-19 deaths not yet identified; others may be pandemic-related deaths due to delayed care or avoiding emergency rooms. Other possibilities include deaths related to increased substance abuse and mental health issues during the pandemic. State officials already report that opioid overdose fatalities appear to have increased significantly in 2020.

Arkansas

Little Rock: Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Sunday that the distribution of COVID-19 vaccine has been “seamless” under the administration of President Joe Biden. Hutchinson said on ABC’s “This Week” that anything that can be done to speed up production of vaccines, including invoking the Defense Production Act, would be good. “In terms of the vaccine distribution, it’s been seamless. And I was delighted that we had a … 14% increase in vaccine supply last week. This is going to be very, very important for us,” he said. The state reported Saturday that 299,938 of the 520,000 doses Arkansas has received of the vaccine have been administered. “Thank goodness we have that partnership, which is good, with the federal government. And President Biden and his team is – is working to assure that partnership and not tear it apart, which I’m very grateful for,” Hutchinson told “This Week.” In the past week, Arkansas saw the number of people hospitalized because of the virus drop to its lowest point since November. There were 911 people hospitalized with the coronavirus in the state Saturday, a drop of 40 patients from Friday, according to the Arkansas Department of Health.

California

Los Angeles: The state reached 40,000 coronavirus deaths Saturday as fatalities surge at a record pace while new infections begin to taper. Data reported by Johns Hopkins University shows the state passed the grim milestone amid a recent sharp decline of new cases and hospitalizations following record highs. California’s first COVID-19 deaths were in February, and it took six months for the state to record 10,000, then four months to double to 20,000. In just five more weeks, the state reached 30,000. It then took only 20 days to get to 40,000. Now only New York has more deaths – fatalities there have topped 43,000 – but at this pace California will eclipse that too. California’s death toll has climbed rapidly since the worst surge of the pandemic started in mid-October and accelerated through Thanksgiving and Christmas as people gathered for the holidays and infections surged. On one day alone in December, the state recorded nearly 54,000 new cases, and overall the number now is about 3.3 million, by far the most in the country and a level topped by only four other countries. Still, the nation’s most populous state ranks 24th in the country in cases per capita.

Colorado

Denver: The state will open COVID-19 vaccine appointments up to people ages 65 to 69 and school personnel Feb. 8, Gov. Jared Polis announced Friday. In addition to preschool through 12th grade teachers, child care providers, bus drivers, safety workers and paraprofessionals will be eligible to receive the vaccine. “Our schools are a cornerstone institution of our society, and it’s important that we – just as we have focused on them returning safely to school – that we’re able to keep our schools in-person in as safe a way as possible,” Polis said. He said the decision to move up school-facing personnel is “foundational to equity across the entire economy” and especially for essential workers who have had to choose between work and watching their children at home for remote schooling. State officials estimate there are 408,000 people in this group, and the goal is to vaccinate 55% by March 5. Adults 65 to 69 will be able to schedule appointments through providers, and educators will get vaccines through their employers, officials said. Colorado’s goal is to vaccine 70% of residents age 70 and up by the end of February. Polis said by Feb. 8, the state will have vaccinated more than half of its 70-and-older population.

Connecticut

Hartford: Vaccines have been administered to enough nursing home residents to potentially stop the transmission of the coronavirus among them, a top state official said. Connecticut nursing homes are reporting that 90% to 100% of residents have received at least the first of two vaccine shots, and the majority have received both shots, Josh Geballe, chief operating officer for the state, said Saturday. Because of nursing home turnover, “we actually have more residents who have gotten their first dose than we have nursing home residents,” Geballe said, according to the Connecticut Post. Experts say that in order to reach “herd immunity,” or widespread resistance, about 70% to 85% of a population must be vaccinated against COVID-19. Geballe said vaccination rates and infection control measures have helped Connecticut’s congregate care facilities to reach that threshold. He said the number of weekly cases in nursing homes has declined by 66% in the past three weeks. Geballe said some vaccine doses that had been earmarked for nursing homes under a partnership with CVS and Walgreens are being reallocated to hospitals and retail sites.

Delaware

Dover: The jump in coronavirus cases that came after the holidays appears to have peaked in the state. COVID-19 hospitalizations are at their lowest level since Dec. 6. The seven-day average of daily new cases last week hit its lowest since Dec. 2. The percentage of positive tests is also down. The seven-day average daily rate is 7.7%, the lowest since Nov. 29. But the number of COVID-19-related deaths has continued to climb. Delaware reported three new deaths Thursday, bringing the total to 1,075. The people who died most recently ranged in age from 77 to 86. Health professionals are concerned about how long the downward trend will last, with new variants of the virus circulating. Delaware has confirmed its first three cases of the coronavirus variant from the United Kingdom that appears to spread more rapidly, the Division of Public Health announced Friday afternoon. All three cases are from the same New Castle County household: two adults and one child, all with mild symptoms. The three had no known recent travel but may have been exposed while attending a family gathering with people from states where the variant had already been identified, officials said.

District of Columbia

Washington: The vaccination rollout now includes not only include traditional public school teachers and staff but also employees who work for public charter schools, WUSA-TV reports. With a partnership between DC Health and One Medical, charter school educators and workers are now eligible to receive their first dose of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine at a designated clinic. In the midst of a limited number of vaccinations readily available, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced close to 2,000 doses have been allocated for charter schools in the first week. The number for traditional public schools was 3,950. The distribution will have to come in waves because about 10,000 of the public charter school staff are eligible for the vaccine. Those who meet the requirements work in school buildings where in-person learning is taking place. Each of the 128 campuses operated by 66 charter organizations can determine when and how it would like to reopen. More than half of local charter schools have been providing some version of in-person learning.

Florida

Fort Lauderdale: The predominantly Black farming communities on the shore of Lake Okeechobee will get a COVID-19 vaccine station after a public outcry over a decision to give Publix sole local distribution rights left lower-income families isolated and facing long drives to reach the chain’s nearest supermarket. Florida Emergency Management Director Jared Moskowitz said Friday that the state will set up a vaccine station in Belle Glade to serve it and its neighboring towns of Pahokee and South Bay. He said there was no intention of leaving out the communities, but it became clear they needed a solution after people at Tuesday’s Palm Beach County Commission meeting pointed out that the nearest Publix is 25 miles away, sparking widespread media attention. Palm Beach County Commissioner Melissa McKinlay, who represents the area and raised the issue Tuesday, said she is glad the state fixed the problem, but it shows even officials don’t understand that the county is not just the wealthy and middle-class neighborhoods along the Atlantic Coast. More than 90% of those residents live within 2 miles miles of a Publix, but the chain has no stores in the mostly lower-income rural areas inland.

Georgia

Elberton: A northeast Georgia medical practice that disobeyed state guidelines and vaccinated teachers from the local school system has lost its appeal to have its supply of COVID-19 vaccines reinstated. However, the state Department of Public Health said it will send more vaccines to five other sites in Elbert County, northeast of Athens on the South Carolina state line. “Because The Medical Center of Elberton violated a critical component of the provider agreement, DPH is not able to rescind the suspension from the COVID Vaccine Program,” Public Health Commissioner Kathleen Toomey wrote Friday in a letter to the Medical Center of Elberton in a letter reported by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The state says the Medical Center of Elberton can use remaining supply to give second doses to people already vaccinated. But it said it will pick up any remaining doses after that. Toomey promised to increase supply to five other providers: the Elbert County Health Department, Elbert Memorial Hospital, a supermarket, a pharmacy and a medical practice in Bowman.

Hawaii

Honolulu: The Hawaii Tourism Authority has started planning for the possibility the organization could be defunded by the state. Officials at the agency responsible for leading statewide tourism recovery said the authority is in a dire financial situation, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports. The agency was established by the Legislature in 1998 to serve as the state’s lead agency supporting tourism. Democratic Gov. David Ige issued an executive order after the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic ceasing transient accommodations tax disbursements to the authority. The agency in 2019 received $79 million in transient accommodations tax funds and another $16.5 million for the Hawaii Convention Center. In fiscal year 2020, the authority received only the first four months of its tax distribution. The agency cut its fiscal budget in September to $48 million from $86 million, followed by another cut in November to $41 million. The authority is operating through funding from prior years and budget cuts, while rapidly burning through its reserves.

Idaho

Boise: A panel of lawmakers voted to introduce legislation to prevent state public health officials from ordering schools to close or take preventative measures such as requiring masks during public health emergencies. The House Education Committee voted to introduce the legislation, presented by Rep. Gayann DeMordaunt, R-Eagle, on Friday, the Idaho Press reports. DeMordaunt said the bill stripping the authority from state health officials promotes “representative government” because it would place decisions in the hands of local school boards. She said the bill was one endorsed by a working group of state lawmakers last summer. According to numbers from the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, more than 161,000 Idaho residents have been identified as being infected with the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 1,721 of them died from COVID-19. Public health experts and Gov. Brad Little have stressed that precautions like wearing masks, practicing social distancing and keeping sick people quarantined are necessary to slow the spread of the contagious virus and to keep the state’s hospital system from being overwhelmed.

Illinois

Chicago: A plan to reopen the city’s schools remained in limbo as last-minute negotiations over COVID-19 safety measures with the teachers’ union stretched into Sunday, amplifying the possibility of a strike. Roughly 62,000 students and about 10,000 teachers and staff in K-8 were expected to start school Monday as part of the district’s gradual reopening, plans Mayor Lori Lightfoot insisted would take place. The Chicago Teachers Union has fought returning to classrooms in the nation’s third-largest district, defying orders to come to class ahead of students. The union has said that if the district locks teachers out of email and teaching platforms, which it has done previously, teachers will picket. Chicago Public Schools officials and the union reported weekend progress, with talks continuing into Sunday. Both sides have been fighting for months over issues including vaccinations, metrics used to gauge infections and special accommodations for employees who have concerns, such as a high-risk family member in their household. The district’s CEO, Janice Jackson, took to national television Sunday to insist it was safe to reopen Chicago schools with proper protocols.

Indiana

Indianapolis: Amid contention over how students should receive instruction amid the pandemic, Republican lawmakers are prioritizing a bill that would expand the number of stipends available to use on private school education at taxpayers’ expense. The House bill would open eligibility for state vouchers to more students from middle-income families, raising income eligibility for a family of four up to about $110,000 per year in 2022 and a little more than $145,000 by 2023. The income bar exceeds the maximum amount allowed for a student to qualify for the federal free or reduced-price lunch program by 225% in 2022 and 300% the following year. It’s also nearly double Indiana’s median income for families, which is about $74,000 per year. Income tiers within the program would also be eliminated, awarding all participating students the maximum award – 90% of the amount the state would have provided to their public district. The most costly expenditure in the legislation would create education savings accounts that provide grants to parents of children with special needs to spend on their education. The savings accounts would be more generous than vouchers.

Iowa

Des Moines: The state reported a record 250 deaths linked to the coronavirus Sunday – the biggest one-day increase it has recorded. The deaths included many from the end of December and early January because it often takes more than a week for deaths to be added to the state totals after a person has died. Previously, the most deaths ever reported in a single day was 198 on Dec. 8, when the state made a change in how deaths were reported. Meanwhile, Gov. Kim Reynolds on Friday signed into law a bill that requires school districts to provide full-time in-class learning to parents who request it, only hours after Republicans in the Legislature approved the bill and handed her a victory in her effort to get children back in school even as coronavirus infection rates remain high. Reynolds signed the bill, which takes effect Feb. 15, despite an outcry from teachers, school nurses and other education professionals who said it is dangerous to require teachers and staff who have not received the COVID-19 vaccine to be in classrooms. The Republican governor has been criticized throughout the pandemic for pushing for in-class learning.

Kansas

Topeka: Gov. Laura Kelly on Friday tapped a Lawrence woman who has technology experience to run the Kansas Department of Labor, which has struggled to process a surge in claims from workers who lost their jobs during the coronavirus pandemic. Amber Shultz will serve as acting labor secretary until the state Senate confirms her as the new head of the agency, the governor’s office said in a news release. Kelly’s first labor secretary, Delia Garcia, resigned in June amid problems with the system for distributing unemployment benefits. Her replacement, Acting Secretary Ryan Wright, was allowed by law to serve only six months. In December, Acting Secretary Brett Flachsbarth became the third person to lead the department while the governor worked to find a permanent leader for the agency. “Amber has a wealth of leadership experience when it comes to technology and innovation, and I have no doubt she will hit the ground running at the Department of Labor as we work to modernize the unemployment insurance system,” Kelly said. Shultz most recently worked as general manager of municipal services and operations department for the city of Lawrence.

Kentucky

Louisville: The bourbon industry absorbed some setbacks but showed resilience in the face of pandemic-related clampdowns on bars and restaurants as liquor sales benefited from enduring demand for a good stiff drink. Despite plunging sales from bars and restaurants, the American whiskey sector still rang up increased revenues in 2020. Liquor store and online sales surged. Combined U.S. sales for bourbon, Tennessee whiskey and rye whiskey rose 8.2%, or $327 million, to $4.3 billion in 2020, the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States said Thursday. At Barret Liquors in Louisville, sales surged 30% to 40% last spring as the pandemic took hold, store owner Manoj Uppal said. Each spring day resembled a weekend, and the rush at times left him without some brands, he said. But customers unable to find their favorite spirits didn’t leave empty-handed. “They ended up buying something else,” he said. Demand eventually slowed somewhat, and the year ended with sales up about 15% over 2019, Uppal said. Sales so far this year are up about 5% from a year ago, he said.

Louisiana

Baton Rouge: Nearly 21,000 businesses received more than $262 million in grants to help them weather the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, under a program managed by state Treasurer John Schroder and financed by lawmakers with federal aid. The grants averaged about $12,650, the Republican state treasurer said of a program that ended in December after it ran out of cash and hit a federally mandated deadline to spend the coronavirus money. “The Main Street Recovery Grant Program kept businesses open,” Schroder said Thursday. “It gave businesses a fighting chance.” Of the 20,751 businesses that received grants, Schroder said nearly half had gotten no assistance from other federal grant programs created by Congress to help struggling companies. Grants went to retailers, restaurants, construction companies, real estate rental businesses, manufacturers, agriculture businesses and more. The state’s grant program denied nearly 14,000 Louisiana businesses because they didn’t meet criteria set by state lawmakers. Another 6,000 applicants were deemed eligible, but the program had no money to give them.

Maine

Augusta: Home sales in the state went up almost 10% last year despite the coronavirus pandemic, and home values went up, as well. The Maine Association of Realtors said sales of single-family existing homes increased even in the face of challenges from the pandemic. The statewide median sales price went up to $256,000, which was an increase of almost 14%, the association said. Sales were especially strong at the end of the year. Sales across Maine went up more than 31% in December 2020 compared to the previous December, the association said. Aaron Bolster, association president, said low mortgage rates and better control of the pandemic than some states worked in Maine’s favor. Cumberland and York counties had the highest home prices in the state.

Maryland

College Park: A bill in the Legislature would grant school students excused absences for mental health reasons. Under the proposed law, students would be allowed to skip school once every quarter – without needing a doctor’s note. Sponsored by Del. Alonzo Washington, D-Prince George’s County, the legislation aims to alleviate mental health problems exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. “Right now, we know mental health and mental illness is running rampant, especially among students,” Washington told Capital News Service. He voiced concerns about the general mental health of students across Maryland, noting that 70% of teens admit to experiencing anxiety and depression and that 1 in 6 say they have considered suicide. A lot of these issues, Washington said, can be traced back to difficult pedagogical environments. “We know the stress of school is a lot for high school students,” he said. Such stress can negatively affect academic performance as well as mental health. Washington also compared the one day off to the paid sick leave teachers get and said allowing students the same privileges would benefit both parties.

Massachusetts

Boston: More than 100 lawmakers who asked Gov. Charlie Baker two weeks ago to prioritize funeral home workers for COVID-19 vaccines say they are frustrated that they have yet to hear back from the administration. “I’m very stunned there has been no reply,” said state Rep. Sally Kerans, D-Danvers. Funeral workers, she said, are the only “COVID-facing” professionals left off the list for the first phase of the state’s vaccination plan. “I can’t help but think there’s a bias toward end-of-life care somewhere in the administration,” said C.R. Lyons, president of the Massachusetts Funeral Directors Association. Funeral workers often have to travel to high-risk areas of nursing homes and hospitals to collect virus victims. There have been a number of situations where smaller funeral homes have had to “essentially shut down” following outbreaks among staff, Lyons said. A spokesperson for the state COVID-19 Command Center in a statement last month said the current vaccine distribution plan is based on the recommendations of an advisory group made up of health professionals, community leaders and local officials.

Michigan

Lansing: A few hundred high school athletes, their parents and other supporters rallied outside the state Capitol over the weekend in support of the reopening of sports programs shut down by COVID-19 restrictions. Saturday’s “Let Them Play” demonstration was held as the state reported 1,358 newly confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 104 deaths. Orders released earlier last month by Michigan’s Department of Health and Human Services ban contact winter sports like basketball, wrestling, hockey and competitive cheerleading. Various coaching associations have written letters to Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and other state officials urging that their sports be allowed to continue. Whitmer’s administration extended the ban on youth contact sports through Feb. 21, three months after it began. Non-contact winter sports like bowling, boys swimming and gymnastics are allowed to begin their seasons. Ethan Dunn wants to get back on the basketball court for East Lansing High School. “It’s very painful for myself and everyone else I’m sure – especially the seniors – to have their season taken away like this and not have the opportunity,” Dunn said Saturday.

Minnesota

Minneapolis: A large school district has been forced to return to distance learning after an outbreak of COVID-19 among its transportation workers. Bloomington Public Schools brought back preschoolers through second graders Jan. 19 and had planned to bring back third to fifth graders Monday. But the district informed parents Thursday evening that the plan will be on pause until Feb. 12. Bloomington’s retreat underscores the unique challenges of protecting bus drivers, many of whom are at higher risk of severe illness because of their age. Drivers are often retirees working for supplemental income. At least eight people in the Bloomington district’s transportation department have tested positive, and more than a dozen employees are under quarantine, Bloomington schools spokesman Rick Kaufman said. “There’s always a tremendous amount of hope, bringing students back to school,” he said. “It’s gut-wrenching to now have to move to distance learning. But again, this is the up-and-down of COVID-19 and its impact on our communities.”

Mississippi

Jackson: Residents scrambled to book appointments for COVID-19 vaccinations after Republican Gov. Tate Reeves announced Friday that 15,000 new openings were available for the first of two doses. “I’m sure they will be booked quickly!” Reeves wrote on Twitter. “Stay safe and God bless!” In just over two hours, all the appointments were filled. Laurie Bertram Roberts, who splits time between her home in Jackson and a job in Alabama, said she and one of her daughters went online Friday and booked vaccination appointments for themselves and six other family members. Roberts said they managed to get appointments for five people in Jackson, where they live. But they had to book one appointment in Vicksburg, about an hour’s drive one way, and two in Natchez, about a two-hour drive. Roberts posted to Facebook: “Got my whole family registered for vaccine appointments and I feel like we got the Golden Ticket!” Vaccinations in Mississippi are currently available for people 65 and older, health care workers, and those who are at least 16 and have health conditions that might make them more vulnerable to the virus. Roberts, 42, said she and her relatives all have underlying medical conditions.

Missouri

Jefferson City: A slew of state lawmakers swarmed the Capitol Plaza Hotel on Wednesday to get their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine alongside other state workers, even though it wasn’t their turn. The hotel clinic was supposed to be vaccinating critical workers in the state’s public safety and transportation departments as well as other employees currently eligible for shots based on their age or risk factors. Lawmakers aren’t scheduled to become eligible until the next tier of the rollout. But on Wednesday morning, House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, and her staff started hearing the clinic was accepting all comers. Quade went over, confirmed the rumors and quickly sent an email to her caucus and their staffers letting them know about the availability. Shortly afterward, state health director Randall Williams said the lawmakers were “mixed up.” Quade later conceded she had made a mistake, saying she did not intend to break any rules. A number of lawmakers in both parties have tested positive for the coronavirus in the three weeks since session began, and the House even skipped session last week in an effort to quell an outbreak.

Montana

Helena: The state’s effort to vaccinate health care workers and those over age 70 against COVID-19 continues to ramp up while cases and hospitalizations decrease. But Gov. Greg Gianforte said Friday that he would like to see the state get more vaccine each week. So far, more than 99,000 doses have been administered in Montana, Gianforte said, with just over 24,500 people fully immunized and about 50,000 having received their first of two doses. Those numbers do not include doses administered by Veterans Affairs and Indian Health Service clinics. Montana is expected to get 15,600 first doses and 6,300 second doses of vaccine this week, said Greg Holzman, the state’s medical officer. That’s more than the state received last week, but Gianforte said that “falls woefully short of what we could use.” The state polled hospitals and county health officials who indicated they could effectively distribute at least twice that much in a week, he said. Gianforte, a Republican, wrote a letter to President Joe Biden asking for an increase in vaccine allowance, arguing the state is not being rewarded for its efficiency in distributing vaccines.

Nebraska

Omaha: More than 54,000 people signed up for a vaccine on the day the state’s new registration website went live, officials said Friday, as they sought to assure residents that the elderly and vulnerable will still get priority. Officials with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services said the website’s launch Thursday went smoothly. Nebraska residents can register for a vaccination at vaccinate.ne.gov. State officials said the website will only allow Nebraska residents to qualify, and there’s no need to rush because the site will determine who’s eligible based on the state’s vaccination plan and not how quickly people add their names to the list. Nebraska officials have spent the past several weeks vaccinating front-line health care workers and are moving now to people who are at least 65 years old or have underlying health conditions. “It’s not first-in, first-out,” said Lori Snyder, chief information officer for the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. “This will not disadvantage anyone.” Snyder said the state has also set up a hotline where residents can register by calling 833-998-2275 or 531-249-1873.

Nevada

Reno: The governor and the state’s attorney general are denouncing resolutions approved by five rural counties that attempt to defy restrictions intended to slow the spread of COVID-19. Gov. Steve Sisolak and Attorney General Aaron Ford said Friday that the resolutions passed by Lyon, White Pine, Eureka and Elko counties have no force of law and cannot override the governor’s emergency directives. “Resolutions like this are mere statements and nothing more,” the two Democrats said in a joint statement. They said the directives have been issued under state law and upheld in courts several times. “We recognize the tolls this pandemic is taking on all Nevadans,” they said. “We are all tired of this virus. But every day, and in rural counties, Nevadans die due to COVID-19.” Sisolak and Ford said they are determined to continue working with local elected officials to protect Nevada residents and support their economy. “That said, we believe resolutions like those passed in some of the rural counties are counterproductive and confusing to Nevadans,” they said. “Far from helping, resolutions like this send mixed messages to their residents and businesses – implying that they need not comply with emergency directives when, in fact, they must.”

New Hampshire

Concord: A Republican legislator in the state House failed to cover his face as required for more than three hours of testimony in a hearing room Friday, a day after he returned from Florida. Rep. Al Baldasaro, R-Londonderry, said he had maintained social distance throughout his trip and later donned a face shield, saying he was doing so to satisfy anyone who was “whining and complaining.” “The people elected me to do a job and I will not be showing a sign of weakness by hiding in a basement or my computer because of COVID,” he said in an email to the Associated Press. “I will not stop living my life, as virus’s never stopped me as a US Marine from training in 3rd world countries, with Malaria and other virus’s.” While the 24-member Senate has been conducting its hearings and sessions entirely remotely, leadership in the 400-member House – one of the world’s largest legislative bodies – has resisted that approach, even after the death of Speaker Dick Hinch from COVID-19 in December. After Baldasaro returned with a plastic face shield, he said: “I don’t want any Democrats on the screen to get COVID. So let me make them happy and play the game here.”

New Jersey

Trenton: Food pantries and soup kitchens providing hunger relief will be able to get some relief of their own. The New Jersey Pandemic Relief Fund, a nonprofit organization formed last year to fight the medical, social and economic impact of COVID-19 on New Jersey’s most vulnerable communities, is leading a $2.8 million initiative to fund small and medium-sized food pantries and soup kitchens across the state. The initiative will provide for a program to help food pantries and soup kitchens with operating budgets of less than $500,000. Grants between $5,000 and $15,000 will be available to those experiencing large surges in demand for emergency food, the need to winterize their outdoor “grab and go” food distribution, or the need to expand operations to meet continued increased demand for food due to the pandemic. The money can be used for infrastructure needs, such as refrigeration and shelving, or personal protective equipment. It may also be used to buy heaters and tents. Food pantries and soup kitchens can apply for the grants by contacting the food banks with which they work in the state that are part of the initiative.

New Mexico

Santa Fe: The Democratic speaker of the state House is restricting access by lawmakers to the House floor and closing off conference rooms after the disclosure that a Republican legislator tested positive for the coronavirus, along with several earlier positive tests among legislative staff. Speaker Brian Egolf of Santa Fe said Friday that he will begin restricting in-person access to House floor sessions to himself and one additional person from each political party, along with a handful of crucial clerical and technology staff. That would establish almost entirely online participation in House committee hearings and floor debates. The Capitol is closed to the public. Egolf said legislators must forge ahead under the new safety precautions. “We have got to deliver COVID-related relief to the people of New Mexico,” he said. “There is no need to delay the session.” Republican House Minority Leader Jim Townsend said the male lawmaker who tested positive is asymptomatic and doing fine. The legislator’s name has not been made public. The Senate devises its own participation rules and pandemic precautions. It is holding committee meetings by video conference while convening occasional floor sessions with the option of participating online from an office within the state Capitol complex.

New York

New York: Black and Latino New York City residents are receiving COVID-19 vaccines at far lower rates than white or Asian New Yorkers, Mayor Bill de Blasio acknowledged Sunday as he vowed to continue expanding access to the shots in communities that have been ravaged by the coronavirus. The data released by the city’s health department shows that 48% of residents who have gotten at least one vaccine dose are white, a figure that far exceeds the roughly one-third of the city’s population that is non-Hispanic white. The vaccine numbers are incomplete because about 40% of people who have been vaccinated in the city haven’t provided demographic information. Still, the figures mirror vaccination data from other cities and states, with Black people in all locations getting inoculated at levels below their share of the population. Just 11% of vaccine doses administered to New York City residents went to Black people and 15% to Latinos, although Black and Latino New Yorkers make up 24% and 29% of the city’s population, respectively. The percentage of vaccine doses that went to Asians, 15%, is about the same as their proportion of the city’s population, 14%.

North Carolina

Raleigh: Most prisoners can get five days knocked off their sentences if they receive COVID-19 vaccinations, state corrections officials said Friday. A package of incentives, which also include extra visitations and a free 10-minute phone call, were unveiled a few weeks after prison leaders said they were considering ways to motivate prisoners to obtain the two necessary doses. “We think we’ve put together a high-impact package,” Commissioner of Prisons Todd Ishee said, according to WRAL-TV. About 21,000 of the 29,000 offenders behind bars are eligible for sentence reductions. Those who aren’t would receive $5 prison canteen credits. The system has received 3,300 vaccine doses from the state, prison spokesman Brad Deen said Friday, with another 2,000 doses expected next week. Vaccinations are currently voluntary for prisoners and staff. While 850 offenders have received their first dose so far, about 2,800 of the 14,100 staffers have taken their first shots, the Department of Public Safety said. The staff total includes people who received doses that were separate from the prisons’ supply.

North Dakota

Bismarck: State health officials confirmed Sunday that deaths and hospitalizations due to complications from the coronavirus remained unchanged over the prior day. The update showed 67 new virus cases out of 2,495 processed tests, for a positivity rate of 3.11%. The number of fatalities remained at 1,422 since the start of the pandemic, and hospitalizations of COVID-19 patients stood at 50, including eight people requiring intensive care. The state’s hospital tracker listed 39 staffed ICU beds and 406 staffed inpatient beds available across North Dakota. There were 243 new cases per 100,000 people over the past two weeks in North Dakota, which ranks 49th in the country for new cases per capita, according to the COVID Tracking Project. One in every 904 people in North Dakota tested positive in the past week. Cass County, which includes Fargo, and Burleigh County, which includes Bismarck, have combined to record more than a third of the positive tests in the state.

Ohio

Cleveland: Two people accused of causing permanent hearing loss to a restaurant employee while using megaphones during a coronavirus-related protest outside the eatery are facing felony assault charges. Josiah Douglas, 25, of Cleveland, and Sydney Yahner, 21, of Willoughby were indicted last week by a Cuyahoga County grand jury, Cleveland.com and Scene Magazine report. Both have pleaded not guilty. Their attorney, Peter Pattakos, called the charges an “outrageous attack” on the pair’s First Amendment right to engage in peaceful protest. “Being subject to a baseless felony prosecution is one of the worst things that happen to a person at the hands of the government,” Pattakos said. Douglas and Yahner were among a small group of protesting near an outdoor patio at a restaurant in July to protest what they said was the lax response to pandemic protocols there and at other restaurants owned by the same man. An undercover detective wrote in a police report that Douglas and Yahner repeatedly blasted the megaphones in the employee’s face. Pattakos previously said there is no evidence the employee suffered from hearing loss in one ear, as the woman has claimed.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma City: State House and Senate leaders on Friday announced COVID-19 safety protocols for the upcoming legislative session that include encouraging – but not requiring – lawmakers to wear masks when at the Capitol. The precautions announced jointly by House Speaker Charles McCall and Senate President Pro Tem Greg Treat include requiring staff and visitors to wear masks and livestreaming of all proceedings. There will also be limits on capacity of committee rooms and legislative chambers, remote voting on bills in committee, and proxy voting in the Senate and remote voting in the House on bills on the floors of the bodies. At least seven of the state’s 149 lawmakers and Gov. Kevin Stitt have tested positive for the coronavirus. The session begins Monday. The death toll in Oklahoma due to COVID-19 topped 3,500 on Saturday, according to the Oklahoma State Department of Health. The department reported 33 additional deaths due to COVID-19 to bring the total to 3,504 since the pandemic began, and it reported 2,373 new coronavirus cases for a total of 386,590. Oklahoma remained sixth in the nation in the number of new cases per capita with 917.38 per 100,000 people, according to Johns Hopkins data.

Oregon

Vale: A high school in a remote town ordered a halt to in-person classes Friday after eight people there tested positive for the coronavirus, and Republican lawmakers accused the Democratic governor of prioritizing urban over rural residents for vaccine distribution. The development in the high school in Vale, a town of 2,000 residents in eastern Oregon, comes as Gov. Kate Brown has faced criticism for prioritizing educators over senior citizens for vaccine eligibility in her effort to get schools across the state to reopen. All teachers became eligible to receive scarce vaccines last Monday, even though eligible health care workers, who were prioritized first, haven’t all been vaccinated yet. Alisha McBride, superintendent of the Vale School District, said all in-person instruction and activities at Vale High School would be paused from Monday through Feb. 11. The eight individuals who had been in the building tested positive for the virus last week. McBride would not say if the eight were students or teachers, but they apparently became infected outside the school. “It appears that the positive individuals had contact outside of the school building,” McBride said in an email.

Pennsylvania

Philadelphia: City health officials say the acting deputy health commissioner resigned after allegations that she inappropriately gave out information to potential vendors about the city’s efforts to arrange COVID-19 vaccine distribution. Dr. Caroline Johnson communicated with at least two potential vendors – Philly Fighting COVID and the Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium – about the city’s request for business partners to submit proposals, the Philadelphia Department of Public Health said in a statement. Those communications came after the call for submissions was made public, but the department says her actions were “inappropriate because the information shared was not available to all potential applicants.” One of the vendors with which she communicated, Philly Fighting COVID, was eventually chosen, but its downtown vaccination site was shuttered last week by the city amid concerns about the qualifications of the psychology graduate student behind the effort and the organization’s for-profit status. City officials shut the operation down once they learned its CEO had switched his privacy notice to potentially sell patient data, a development he called a glitch that he quickly fixed.

Rhode Island

Providence: Restrictions that required many businesses to close early to thwart the spread of the coronavirus have been lifted. Democratic Gov. Gina Raimondo issued an executive order Friday eliminating the requirement that many businesses, including restaurants, close at 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday. State Department of Health Director Nicole Alexander-Scott said last week that the curfew would be lifted Sunday because key coronavirus metrics were heading in the right direction. But Matt Sheaff, a spokesperson for the state Commerce Department, said Friday’s order ends the operating-hour restriction put in place in late November, effective immediately. The order also extends to Feb. 27 a range of other restrictions on travel, social gatherings and businesses that Raimondo has imposed to help control spread of the virus. “Small businesses, especially our restaurants, have been hit so hard during this pandemic,” Sheaff said in a statement. “Because our COVID-19 data is showing positive signs across the board, we are able to gradually relax some of the business restrictions in place.”

South Carolina

Columbia: Health officials on Friday reported the state’s first death from a COVID-19-related illness that affects children and teens. The 17-year-old from the Upstate region died Wednesday from Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children, the Department of Health and Environmental Control said in a statement. “It’s heartbreaking to have to report the death of such a young person,” said DHEC State Epidemiologist Dr. Linda Bell. “Our condolences go out to the family and to the many families that have suffered loss related to COVID-19.” Officials said at least 42 cases of MIS-C have been reported in South Carolina. The rare illness occurs in some children and teenagers who have contracted COVID-19 or been in contact with someone infected with the coronavirus, the health department said. About 1,600 cases and 26 deaths associated with MIS-C have been identified across the country as of early January, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Health experts said the recent surge in coronavirus cases across the state could lead to more MIS-C cases.

South Dakota

Pierre: The South Dakota Department of Health is looking for volunteers to help administer vaccines. Health officials have set up a website where potential volunteers from across the state can register to assist with COVID-19 vaccination efforts. And volunteers who are willing to help in medical settings may qualify to receive their vaccine early, the Rapid City Journal reports. “An effective and streamlined volunteer pool that is willing and able to assist will be key as vaccination efforts are expanded,” the DOH said, adding that the federal vaccine allocation is expected to increase in the weeks and months ahead. Volunteers who register on the portal can select what type of volunteer work they are seeking. The DOH said volunteers don’t necessarily have to have a medical background. Applicants will be vetted by DOH before any volunteer opportunities are offered. “Since the beginning of the pandemic, there is not a week that goes by in which we are not asked, ‘How can I help?’ ” Health Secretary Kim Malsam-Rysdon said. “This is part of what makes South Dakota such a great place to call home. We work with what we have, while helping as many as we can.”

Tennessee

Nashville: The state’s largest school districts are facing calls from Gov. Bill Lee to offer in-person learning, but Nashville and Memphis education officials on Friday declined to commit to a time frame. Lee, a Republican, has sharpened his criticism of schools that have refused to offer in-person teaching because of COVID-19 safety concerns, declaring last month that those districts were not using science to make such decisions. According to the governor’s office, Lee spoke with the top school officials in Nashville and Shelby County – which encompasses Memphis – last week not only to stress the importance of offering in-person instruction again but also to say the districts should do so by Feb. 15. Lee has zeroed in on the two school districts – the state’s more left-leaning urban centers with notably higher Black and brown communities – as they have largely remained virtual during the pandemic. “Consequences or anything of that nature was not discussed,” Laine Arnold, Lee’s spokesperson, said in an email Friday. Shelby County Schools Superintendent Joris Ray announced Friday that the district had scrapped its plan to return to in-person learning Feb. 8 because of a spike in coronavirus cases.

Texas

Houston: The state is scheduled to get more than 520,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine this week, more than state officials said they had originally expected to receive. Texas Department of State Health Services officials said the boost in doses is due to two factors: a 30% increase in the Moderna vaccine that’s being provided by the federal government and a one-time return of 126,750 doses of the Pfizer vaccine that Texas had been required to set aside for a federal program that is vaccinating residents and staff at long-term care facilities. The health department said these returned doses will be given to counties where allocations have been significantly less than their share of the population, particularly in the suburban Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston areas. The Houston Health Department has said that this week it will focus its vaccine allocation on people at the highest risk for severe illness and those in vulnerable communities. “We know it is important to vaccinate the people who are the most vulnerable, and they should be among the first to get shots, especially when supply is scarce,” Mayor Sylvester Turner said.

Utah

Salt Lake City: Government leaders in Uintah County are defending the decision to use coronavirus relief funding to build a snow tubing and skiing hill near Vernal. Buckskin Hills Ski and Snow Tubing Hill opened last month thanks to about $500,000 allocated to the project by the Uintah County Commissioners from federal funds designed to help communities cover expenses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, The Salt Lake Tribune reports. Local business owners and residents are upset about the decision. Commissioner Bart Haslem said the project was justified because it helps people get outside for recreation while social distancing. The money also helped expand the parking lot so residents can come to watch bike races held at the location in the summer at a safe distance from their cars, he said. Funds not spent by the county by end of 2020 would have gone back to the state, said Duncan Evans of the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget. Evans declined to say if Uintah County’s decision to use the fund for the snow hill was appropriate. But he said it was the state’s preference that counties and cities used the money for urgent needs in their communities rather than giving it back.

Vermont

Montpelier: The state will be testing light-based air filters on public buses to see if they improve air quality and protect against the coronavirus and other airborne illnesses. More than $580,000 from the Federal Transit Administration will cover the cost of installing the devices, testing the air on the buses and conducting a public opinion survey, said Dan Currier, public transit coordinator for the Vermont Agency of Transportation. “We saw this research grant and wanted the opportunity to try out this technology and see if it also helped to improve the air quality, not just the surface cleanliness,” Currier told the Times Argus. One of Vermont’s eight public transit providers will be selected to get the the devices. Currier expects to get the units by April, and testing will be done in the months after that. Green Mountain Transit, which serves the Burlington area and other parts of Chittenden County as well as Washington, Grand Isle and Franklin counties, is getting five buses this summer with UVC filters in them, said Jon Moore, general manager for the bus company. The filters were available as an optional feature when the buses were purchased, he said.

Virginia

Norfolk: Economists say the economy in the state and the Hampton Roads region could see growth this year. The Virginian-Pilot reports the prediction comes from Old Dominion University professors Robert McNab and Vinod Agarwal, who presented their annual forecasts Wednesday. McNab said that we could see “another roaring ’20s” if the country plays its COVID-19 vaccine cards right. McNab said much of the nation’s job recovery will depend on the vaccine rollout and the willingness of individuals to get a shot. He said vaccinations will lead to lower infections and more jobs. But the recovery could be delayed if there is significant resistance to the vaccine or supply constraints. “Obviously, COVID-19 will frame 2021,” he said. The Hampton Roads region is home to several military installations, including the world’s largest Navy base in Norfolk. The regional economy should bode well in the near term, with defense spending growing by 6% in 2020 and expectations that it will grow by another 5% in 2021, Agarwal said. Agarwal also said he expects the region’s hotel industry to grow by 18.7% this year as the vaccine makes more people confident to take vacations.

Washington

Seattle: Local hospitals rushed out COVID-19 vaccines to hundreds of people in the middle of the night after a freezer where they were being stored failed. It’s not clear what caused the freezer failure Thursday night, but the UW Medical Center’s Northwest and Montlake campuses and Swedish Medical Center received more than 1,300 doses that needed to be used before they expired at 5:30 a.m. Friday, The Seattle Times reports. Word of the unexpected doses spread on social media, and a line of hopeful vaccine recipients snaked out the clinic door and through a parking lot at UW Medical Center-Northwest. A hundred people lined up at Swedish Medical Center’s clinic at Seattle University. The hospital tweeted at 11:59 p.m. that it had 588 doses to give out, and by 12:30 a.m., all the appointment slots had been taken. At the UW Medical Center-Northwest, assistant administrator Jenny Brackett walked along the crowd calling out and asking if anyone was over 65. One woman plucked from the crowd at UW Medical Center-Northwest, Tyson Greer, 77, said she had been waking up at 1 a.m. or 3 a.m. for more than a week to search online for coveted vaccination appointments.

West Virginia

Charleston: The state exceeded 2,000 deaths linked to COVID-19 on Friday, as fatalities catch up to weeks of high coronavirus case numbers that are now declining. There were 562 new confirmed cases reported Friday, down 67% from the beginning of the year. Hospitalizations also declined 36% to 519 patients. But 23 new deaths put the state’s tally at 2,006. The state also reported vaccinating 10.3% of its population with at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and 3.3% have received both shots. Republican Gov. Jim Justice said Friday that all 214 long-term care centers have been offered their second doses. The state has not released data showing how many residents and staff declined shots. Justice said outbreaks at nursing homes declined 50% since the beginning of the year, down to 55 outbreaks. Justice also said all school workers age 50 and over who signed up for a first shot would have received their doses by the end of Friday. Officials also pledged that school workers 50 and older who did not receive a shot on the first go-around can still register online for priority access. “I would tell you, pre-register and go on right now,” Justice said at a news conference.

Wisconsin

Madison: Democratic Gov. Tony Evers lashed out Friday at rival Republicans who tried to repeal his statewide mask mandate, saying killing the order would be a ridiculous move comparable to abolishing speed limits. Republican leaders say they want to kill the mandate not because they don’t believe masks work in the fight against the coronavirus but because Evers is trampling their constituents’ personal liberties. Evers told reporters during a conference call Friday that Republicans were trying trying to throw out one of the only tools he has left to mitigate COVID-19’s spread. GOP lawmakers and conservative groups last year convinced the state Supreme Court to kill Evers’ stay-at-home order and the limits he placed on the size of indoor gatherings. “It is important for people to remember that masks save lives,” the governor said. “It is not about individual liberty, as others would say. If some of those arguments would be in place, I would expect the Assembly and the Senate to be sending me legislation getting rid of speed limits on our highways so that liberties to go 100 mph aren’t constrained. Obviously that’s ridiculous, and getting rid of this mask mandate falls within that category.”

Wyoming

Yellowstone National Park: Park officials reported more than 3.8 million people visited Yellowstone National Park last year despite the closures related to the coronavirus pandemic, down only 5% compared to 2019. The park closed March 24 to help limit the spread of COVID-19 and was closed all of April, The Billings Gazette reports. The two entrances in Wyoming reopened May 18, and the three entrances in Montana reopened June 1. Visitation levels in September and October were the busiest on record, with more than 837,000 people in September and more than 359,000 people in October, officials said. The park continued drawing visitors despite numerous facility closures, restrictions, bus shutdowns, and limitations on places to stay, eat and learn more about the region. Employees at the park were handling increased duties with smaller staff to avoid the spread of the virus. In comparison, visitation at Yellowstone reached 4 million in 2019, 4.11 million in 2018 and 2017, and 4.25 million in 2016, officials said. Park officials continue to urge visitors to recreate responsibility and avoid traveling.

From USA TODAY Network and wire reports