Tide fan frenzy, valentine volunteers, ventilator theft: News from around our 50 states

Alabama

Tuscaloosa: Thousands of excited football fans partied in streets around the University of Alabama after the Crimson Tide defeated Ohio State for the national championship, ignoring pleas for common sense and safety at the height of the coronavirus pandemic. Students and others poured out of jam-packed bars near campus as time expired in Miami late Monday, gathering on University Boulevard in an area called “The Strip,” traffic cameras and images posted on social media show. Many of the fans screaming and cheering as they pressed against each other in the street didn’t wear face masks. The scene was exactly what officials feared before the game as they urged people to watch at home and celebrate privately. More than 5,300 people have died in Alabama from the illness caused by the coronavirus, and about 404,000 have tested positive. About 14,200 people have tested positive in Tuscaloosa County, making it one of the worst in the state for the virus in overall numbers, and about 175 COVID-19 patients are being treated by DCH Regional Medical Center, located in the city. People lined up to get into bars an hour before kickoff despite police warnings.

Alaska

Anchorage: Data from the Alaska Department of Corrections shows more than 40% of the people incarcerated in the state have been infected with the coronavirus. Case counts have exceeded 100 inmates in at least six prisons, Alaska Public Media reports. Jeremy Hough, the department’s facilities director, said the high numbers are partially a result of the state’s robust inmate testing program, which has conducted an average of four tests per person since the pandemic began. The department has clear policies about masks and hygiene and goes beyond recommendations for prisons from the federal Centers for Disease Control, including providing cleaning supplies, masks and educational materials, Hough said. “I can’t think of anything that we should be doing more than we already are,” Hough said. “I can tell you that there are several people that argue that we’re doing too much.” But advocates and families have said overcrowding, inconsistent precautions and a general lack of transparency from the department are among the causes for the high infection rate. Some lockups have used gym floors to house inmates, which advocates claim makes ensuring proper hygiene an impossibility, especially during a pandemic.

Arizona

Phoenix: Schools that have lost students during the pandemic would see their funding cut under a proposal Gov. Doug Ducey outlined Monday in his annual State of the State address, which hardened his long-standing resistance to school and business closures. The Republican governor warned schools he expects them to offer in-person instruction as teachers gain access to the COVID-19 vaccine. “We will not be funding empty seats or allowing schools to remain in a perpetual state of closure,” Ducey said. “Children still need to learn, even in a pandemic.” Ducey wants to fund public and charter schools based on current enrollment, not at pre-pandemic levels, said Getchen Conger, Ducey’s deputy chief of staff. That could open up big holes in budgets for schools, which statewide have seen enrollment decline by about 4%, according to the Department of Education. The governor would not defund virtual education, Conger said. Ducey has refused pressure from Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman, a Democrat, to pause in-person learning amid a rise in coronavirus infections that is crushing hospitals. Hoffman said she believed that “many educators will take (Ducey’s plan) as a slap in the face, especially those who have been teaching from home since March under these very difficult circumstances.”

Arkansas

Little Rock: Hospitalizations for the illness caused by the new coronavirus set a second record high in three days Monday, the state Department of Health reported. The 1,371 COVID-19 hospitalizations bested the record of 1,346 set Saturday. “Today’s report of 31 additional hospitalizations will add to the load of our health care workers,” Gov. Asa Hutchinson said. “The better news in the new cases are starting to slow somewhat. Let’s work toward a true downward trend.” The 1,268 new cases brought the total number since the Arkansas outbreak started in early March to 256,344, the health department reported. Active COVID-19 cases numbered 25,534 on Monday, almost 2,000 fewer than Sunday, but 38 new deaths increased the state’s COVID-19 death toll to 4,081.

California

San Diego: Several gorillas at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park have tested positive for the coronavirus in what are believed to be the first known cases among such primates in the United States and possibly the world. The park’s executive director, Lisa Peterson, said eight gorillas that live together at the park are believed to have the virus, and several have been coughing. It appears the infection came from a member of the park’s wildlife care team who also tested positive for the virus but has been asymptomatic and wore a mask at all times around the gorillas. The park has been closed to the public since Dec. 6 as part of California’s lockdown efforts. Veterinarians are closely monitoring the gorillas, and they will remain in their habitat at the park, north of San Diego, Peterson said. For now, they are being given vitamins, fluid and food but no specific treatment for the virus. “Aside from some congestion and coughing, the gorillas are doing well,” Peterson said. Wildlife experts have expressed concern about the coronavirus infecting gorillas, an endangered species that share 98.4% of their DNA with humans and are inherently social animals.

Colorado

Loveland: Life hasn’t looked the same since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic last March, but the virus isn’t stopping troops of loyal volunteers from keeping one of the city’s sweetest traditions going. Starting Feb. 1, a pared-down group of volunteers will begin stamping the thousands of valentines that come through Loveland from across the world as part of the Sweetheart City’s 75-year-old valentine re-mailing program. Valentines will be stamped with a special 2021 collector’s stamp and Loveland postmark before being sent on to their final destinations. In years past, roughly 50 volunteer stampers – a lot of whom are senior citizens – sat in close quarters at the Loveland Chamber of Commerce as they stamped stacks of red, white and pink envelopes with each year’s specially designed Sweetheart City markings. But with many volunteer stampers in a higher-risk category for COVID-19, the program has given its regular volunteers the opportunity to sit out stamping. Those who are healthy with no preexisting health conditions can participate as long as they are willing to wear a mask and socially distance the entire time, according to Loveland Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Mindy McCloughan.

Connecticut

Hartford: Residents age 75 and older will be able to begin signing up for COVID-19 vaccination appointments next week, a process Gov. Ned Lamont promised Monday will be more orderly than in states where senior citizens have waited outdoors in long lines. The Democrat said vaccines will be administered by appointment only, and people will be able to sign up online or by telephone, tentatively beginning Monday. Meanwhile, medical organizations across the state are also planning to reach out to many eligible for Phase 1B, urging them to get vaccinated. Some of that advanced registration work is expected to begin Thursday. There are already more than 100 vaccination sites across the state, said Josh Geballe, Lamont’s chief operating officer. The state is planning to move into more broad-based, appointment-only vaccination clinics soon, as well. The first one, Lamont said, is expected to open at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, where the UConn football team plays, in the next 10 days. Other large sites are being considered as well. People should not contact their own doctors for vaccination appointments, he said.

Delaware

Dover: The Legislature is considering exempting unemployment benefits that were paid in 2020 from state income taxes. The proposal would be accomplished through a bill lawmakers introduced Monday with the support of Gov. John Carney. It would also waive the 13-week waiting period before the state could “trigger on” to pay extended unemployment benefits in periods of high unemployment. The proposal comes after more than 160,000 people filed for unemployment last year as a result of businesses shutting down temporarily or permanently due to Carney’s emergency orders to slow the spread of COVID-19. That record rate is drastically more than what the state Labor Department and its Division of Unemployment are used to seeing and has given the state government an unprecedented and overwhelming deluge of paperwork since the spring. As a result, people across the state have waited weeks, if not months, before seeing a penny of their due assistance. The General Assembly returned to work Tuesday for the first time in six months and will conduct committee meetings and floor debates over Zoom to avoid spreading the virus in Dover’s Legislative Hall.

District of Columbia

Washington: Howard University has announced its participation as a clinical trial site to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of Novavax’s new COVID-19 vaccine, WUSA-TV reports. Novavax is the fifth company to launch a large-scale trial in the U.S. The two-shot vaccine won’t need to be kept at extremely cold temperatures or require special freezers, making it much more accessible. Novavax researchers are looking for 30,000 volunteers to participate in this trial, specifically seeking those who are the most at risk. “We believe that diverse participation in COVID-19 trials will go a long way toward encouraging potentially life-saving vaccination when it is available,” said Howard University President Dr. Wayne A.I. Frederick,, a practicing surgeon at Howard University Hospital. “Our goal through participation is to ensure a safe and effective product is developed to address the needs of Black, Latino and other minority communities.” Vaccine hesitancy is an issue Fredrick has said could lead to larger issues down the road. He is worried about what the future may look like for Black Americans if mindsets do no not shift around the COVID-19 vaccine.

Florida

Tallahassee: Lawmakers returned to the state Capitol on Monday amid a recent surge in COVID-19 cases and some concerns over security in the wake of last week’s attack on the U.S. Capitol. It was a generally subdued opening to the work of lawmakers, whose regular session starts in March. The only committee to meet extensively Monday was the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee. Members of the public and lobbyists not directly involved in the hearing had to monitor proceedings blocks away from an arena at Florida State University. Lawmakers have been mindful of the pandemic that has sickened nearly 1.5 million Floridians and killed more than 23,000. A procedural briefing for committee leaders had to be postponed because state Sen. Kathleen Passidomo, the chair of the Rules Committee, announced Sunday that she tested positive for the coronavirus. The pandemic will be front and center in this week’s legislative agenda, including a discussion Wednesday by the Senate Health Policy Committee on the state’s response to the outbreak.

Georgia

Atlanta: The Republican majority leader of the state Senate announced Tuesday that he tested positive for the coronavirus during mandatory testing at the Capitol. Sen. Mike Dugan, whose district includes Carroll, Douglas and Paulding counties, said in a statement that he was experiencing “minor” symptoms and would isolate at home. Dugan said he received the positive result Tuesday morning, the second day of Georgia’s legislative session. He was tested Monday. “I had results prior (to) noticing any real symptoms,” Dugan said. Both chambers of the Legislature are requiring members and staff to take twice-weekly saliva tests to try to slow the spread of the virus. Both chambers also require face masks. The mask requirement is a new policy in the state Senate, which made mask-wearing optional during the final days of last year’s session – despite having several members sickened by COVID-19 in March. Dugan was at the Capitol on Monday during the opening day of the legislative session. He also attended a watch party last Tuesday for Georgia’s two Republican U.S. Senate candidates, Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, who lost their bids to Democrats Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff.

Hawaii

Honolulu: Businesses are anticipating a possible tripling of unemployment taxes that could slow the recovery of the economy that has been crippled by the coronavirus pandemic. The state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations must notify employers of the state unemployment tax rate no later than March 15, The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports. The applicable tax rate takes effect this month, with the payments due by the end of April. Individual tax contributions by employers are calculated according to unemployment insurance fund utilization. Businesses that made cuts to their workforce or reduced employee hours face higher unemployment taxes. The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii anticipates Hawaii’s yearly unemployment tax on businesses is set to automatically triple in 2021 to an average of 3.65%, or $1,757 per employee, up from 1.11%, or $534 per employee. Labor and industrial relations department spokesman Bill Kunstman said it is “unlikely that the average employer’s unemployment tax rate would go to the max, as the average employer has sufficient reserves to prevent that trigger.”

Idaho

Boise: The Legislature says a judge shouldn’t force its leaders to make additional accommodations for lawmakers during the pandemic. Two Democratic lawmakers, Reps. Sue Chew of Boise and Muffy Davis of Ketchum, sued the Legislature and House Speaker Scott Bedke last week, saying the Statehouse is unsafe for them and others with chronic health conditions because coronavirus precautions are being ignored. Chew, who has diabetes and hypertension, and Davis, a paraplegic with compromised lung function, contend that conditions at the Statehouse violate the Americans with Disabilities Act. They want a judge to order Bedke and the Legislature to allow lawmakers to participate remotely and make other coronavirus-related work accommodations. On Monday, attorneys for Bedke and the Legislature asked a judge to refuse the request, contending that Davis and Chew aren’t being singled out because the rules apply to all and saying that the rules don’t have a disproportionate impact on lawmakers with disabilities. Many legislators don’t wear masks or follow other federal and state recommendations designed to reduce the virus’s spread.

Illinois

Chicago: The state’s top doctor received a COVID-19 vaccine Tuesday at a suburban Chicago clinic after delivering an emotional address about the difficulties of the pandemic for health care workers and her own family. Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said she was getting vaccinated for her children and her husband, who was diagnosed earlier this year with a medical condition that put him at a higher risk. She said she wanted to see family members again for real hugs, not virtual ones. “I hugged and cried with my mother in person during my father’s burial in February, and I am desperate to touch and hold and kiss my sweet mother again,” she said before getting the shot at a Cook County clinic in North Riverside. “I can’t wait until we have enough for every single person so we can put this nightmare behind us.” Illinois officials said Tuesday that the state has received has received roughly 870,000 vaccine doses. Nearly 640,000 have been delivered to providers, and about 231,000 are going to long-term care facilities through a federal government partnership. The state is currently offering the shots to health care workers and residents and employees of nursing homes.

Indiana

Indianapolis: The city will tap nearly $13 million to provide rental assistance, housing for the homeless and other pandemic relief efforts intended to aid vulnerable residents. The Indianapolis City-County Council voted 23-0 Monday night to direct $12.9 million from the city’s general fund to the relief efforts as city officials await possible additional federal funding. Indiana’s capital has already spent the $168 million it received last year coronavirus relief aid approved last March by Congress. That funding went toward food and rental assistance, combating homelessness, and aid for local businesses, among other uses. Mayor Joe Hogsett said in a statement that even though Indianapolis residents have begun receiving a vaccine, “the effects of COVID-19 continue to threaten far too many in our city.” The city’s funding includes $6 million for rental assistance, $2 million for non-congregate shelter for high-risk homeless residents, $1.9 million for coronavirus contact tracing efforts and $300,000 for food assistance.

Iowa

Des Moines: A second, larger round of federal dollars meant to ease the coronavirus pandemic’s toll on public schools delivered $345million to the state this week. The Iowa Department of Education announced it received the funds Monday. This round of COVID-19 relief for schools is more than four times the amount the state received last spring through earlier federal pandemic aid. Iowa’s public school districts will get 90% of the funds, while the remainder will fund “state-level educational efforts” related to the pandemic, the release said. “Schools can use this funding to measure and address unfinished learning and contend with other coronavirus-related challenges,” Ann Lebo, director of the Iowa Department of Education, said in a statement. “That includes the need for increased professional development, educational technology, cleaning supplies and other sanitation measures, facility repairs, upgrades to improve air quality in school buildings, summer learning, supplemental after-school programs and mental health services.” Unlike last spring’s round of funding, this one will not go to any non-public schools.

Kansas

Topeka: Legislators are reviewing the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, though U.S. government data showed Monday that the state’s inoculation rate no longer lagged most other states. Top Republicans in the GOP-controlled Legislature were unhappy with what they considered a rocky vaccination rollout, in part because a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report at the end of December showed Kansas ranking last among states for its inoculation rate. Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly and officials in her administration said repeatedly that the state’s low ranking was due to slow reporting by vaccine providers. The House and Senate health committees planned to have separate hearings Tuesday on the state’s vaccine distribution, only a day after the Legislature opened its annual 90-day session. The CDC said Monday that Kansas is now up to 2,650 shots per 100,000 residents and that 25 states have lower vaccination rates. Dr. Lee Norman, head of the state health department, and Kelly said providers have been concentrating on giving the shots first and reporting the data later. They’ve also said some providers were not fully trained on the system the state uses to provide data to the CDC.

Kentucky

Frankfort: Graffiti proclaiming COVID-19 as a fraud was spray-painted on the home mailbox of the state’s top public health official in an action Gov. Andy Beshear denounced Monday as an attempt to “create fear.” The weekend vandalism occurred at the home of Dr. Steven Stack, Kentucky’s public health commissioner. Stack frequently speaks at the governor’s press conferences, taking a high-profile role in Beshear’s efforts to combat the coronavirus. “Because of his work, thousands of people are alive today that wouldn’t be,” Beshear said at a press conference. “And whether you agree or disagree with the steps that ultimately I made the calls on, trying to create fear in his family is the lowest form of low.” The Democratic governor had a message for whoever is responsible: “The cowards out there that did it, we’re working to find you.” The words “COVID is PCR fraud” were spray-painted on Stack’s mailbox, Beshear said. PCR is a standard test for COVID-19. The state on Monday surpassed 305,000 COVID-19 cases and is approaching 3,000 deaths since the pandemic began.

Louisiana

Baton Rouge: The state on Monday boosted distribution of COVID-19 vaccines to the elderly, increasing the number of doses available to people age 70 and older in the second week of eligibility and expanding the locations where they can get the shots to include every parish of the state. The Department of Health’s list of pharmacies offering the vaccine to the elderly, which numbered 107 last week, grew to 209 pharmacies and health clinics across the 64 parishes this week. Gov. John Bel Edwards’s administration also was steering thousands more doses to the facilities for vaccinations of people 70 and older and a broader cohort of health care workers than were eligible in the first weeks of immunizations. Demand remained certain to exceed supply, with each facility estimated to receive about 100 doses of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine for distribution this week. That’s about double the doses released to the pharmacies last week. People still need to make an appointment to get a shot. “Eligible residents must contact a participating provider and make an appointment with them. Patients who arrive without an appointment will not be vaccinated,” the health department stressed in a statement.

Maine

Portland: Food pantries across the state are seeing a surge of demand as coronavirus cases and unemployment claims rise. More than 60% of food pantries in Maine saw increases in clients in November, the Good Shepherd Food Bank said. “There is a desperate need out there,” Don Bisson, executive director of the Biddeford Food Pantry, told The Portland Press Herald. The Biddeford pantry has seen a 25% increase in demand compared to this time last year. Food pantry operators say they have plenty of food for the people who need it now. But they say they will need aid to help families as the pandemic continues. Meanwhile, the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles has reinstated regular deadlines that were extended due to the pandemic. Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, has rescinded a March executive order that eased requirements for renewals. The reinstated deadlines and requirements apply to driver’s licenses, driver permits, state identification cards, commercial driver licenses and numerous other credentials that have expired since Mills first declared a state of civil emergency. Driver license vision screenings that were waived last year are also back in effect.

Maryland

Annapolis: The state has confirmed its first two cases of a more contagious coronavirus variant first identified in the United Kingdom. Two Anne Arundel County residents tested positive for the variant and are in isolation, Gov. Larry Hogan announced Tuesday. Little information was available about the cases, which Hogan said he learned about minutes before a 1 p.m. news conference. One of the two people who tested positive had recently returned from travel abroad, Hogan said, and the other person is their spouse. Contact tracing is underway to determine with whom who the couple may have interacted. Hogan said the family has two children who are also quarantining, though they have not been tested. Hogan said the person may have traveled to multiple continents. A private lab that handled the person’s coronavirus test identified strange sequences and sent the sample to the Maryland public health lab, Hogan said. The state lab and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention both confirmed the presence of the U.K. variant. Hogan said it is likely that the variant has already spread to every state but has not yet been identified everywhere.

Massachusetts

Boston: The state is preparing to open its first mass vaccination site this week at Gillette Stadium as it ramps up efforts to get shots into arms and help stem the spread of the coronavirus. The site will open Thursday by first administering vaccinations into staff members, Gov. Charlie Baker said Tuesday at a press conference. Starting Monday, the site will begin giving shots to first responders. At first the site will have the capacity to administer up to 300 doses a day. Baker said capacity will expand over time to up to 5,000 doses a day or more, eventually extending to the general population. “These vaccines are safe and effective,” Baker said. On Monday, the state began administering vaccine doses to first responders – including police, firefighters and EMTs. Baker said eligible vaccine recipients will be able to schedule appointments on the state’s COVID-19 vaccine website. The next phase of the vaccine plan will focus on congregate care facilities, he said. Vaccines are not expected to be available to the general public until April.

Michigan

Detroit: A 65-vehicle drive-in theater is coming to downtown Detroit as part of efforts to boost the city amid the coronavirus pandemic. Detroit-based Bedrock real estate and Emagine Entertainment are scheduled to open the Monroe Street site this month with 1993’s “Jurassic Park.” Family-friendly movies will be shown on a 60-foot-by-32-foot outdoor digital projection screen on the site of a future office, retail and residential development called the Monroe Blocks. The drive-in will feature outdoor seating, pedestrian paths, concession pavilions, lighting and warming areas. Mask-wearing, social distancing and other COVID-19 guidelines will be enforced while visitors are outside their vehicles. Patrons will be able to order food from some downtown restaurants and have it delivered to their vehicles. The area had been the home of Detroit’s first theater district in the early 1900s. The drive-in is part of Bedrock’s “Decked Out Detroit” initiative with Rocket Community Fund, one of Bedrock’s efforts to support Detroit small businesses and the community during the pandemic.

Minnesota

Minneapolis: The state launched a dashboard Tuesday to provide more information on the status of vaccination efforts. The dashboard includes data on the numbers of doses promised to the state by the federal government, doses shipped to Minnesota providers and doses administered. The website will be updated daily, though the figures will lag by a few days because providers have up to three days to submit data. The dashboard shows 144,503 people had received at least one dose of vaccine from providers in the state as of Saturday, including 7,392 who’d gotten their second dose. The figures include health care workers employed in Minnesota who live in neighboring states but don’t include shots given by federal programs. As of Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has promised 541,100 doses to Minnesota. The first are going mostly to front-line health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities. The Minnesota Department of Health on Tuesday reported 1,335 new coronavirus cases and 13 new deaths, raising the state’s totals to 438,867 cases and 5,724 total deaths. The broad trends in new cases, deaths and hospitalizations have been downward recently.

Mississippi

Jackson: Residents who are 65 and older and those with preexisting conditions will now be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, Gov. Tate Reeves announced Tuesday. The announcement comes less than a week after the state made vaccinations available for Mississippians 75 and older. Drive-thru sites for vaccinations have been set up across the state. The vaccine is also available at some private clinics. The development means the vaccine is available to health care workers, those 65 and older, and individuals with health conditions. Reeves said teachers will be on the list of those next eligible. “We are working ahead of schedule, but we are never working fast enough,” the Republican governor said Tuesday at a media briefing. People eligible to receive the vaccine can make an appointment at COVIDvaccine.umc.edu or by calling the COVID-19 call center at 1-877-978-6453.

Missouri

O’Fallon: The St. Louis Blues won’t be playing to an empty arena when they open their first homestand next week. The NHL team said Monday that it will allow a very small crowd made up of medical workers and public safety employees who have been on the front lines during the coronavirus pandemic. The Blues are set to open the truncated schedule with two games at Colorado on Wednesday and Friday, followed by a four-game homestand that begins Jan. 18 against the San Jose Sharks. The Blues plan to allow fewer than 300 fans. The team said it is working with health care systems and public safety organizations to identify front-line workers for January home games. Invited fans will sit in “socially distanced seating pods” throughout the plaza level of the Enterprise Center, the team said. The opener also will include a puck drop honoring front-line workers. Face coverings will be required for all fans and staff, and cash will not be accepted in the building under new anti-virus protocols. Hospitals remain dangerously close to capacity across the state. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services said inpatient bed capacity statewide is at 22%, but it’s as low as 11% in some areas.

Montana

Helena: A state House committee held a hearing Tuesday on a bill to limit the power of the governor to address declared disasters lasting longer than two months, instead shifting it to lawmakers for dealing with emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Current law in Montana gives the governor the power during declared emergencies to issue executive orders and spend federal emergency funds received by the state without approval from the Legislature, which meets every other year. Under the bill, approval from the Legislature would be required if a governor wants to extend a state of disaster beyond 60 days. The bill would make it easier for lawmakers to convene special sessions during declared disasters. Legislators would get the ability to end emergency executive orders issued by the governor and could also assume the role of allocating federal emergency funds. The bill comes in response to the emergency declaration, still in place, issued by former Gov. Steve Bullock in March. It gave the Democrat the ability to issue statewide mandates and allocate coronavirus relief funds without input from the Republican-controlled Legislature.

Nebraska

Lincoln: More than 40% of the state’s 90,000 health care workers have received the first of two doses of COVID-19 vaccine as distribution ramps up. State health officials said 78,074 of the 144,363 doses Nebraska has received so far have been administered, primarily to health care workers. Residents and workers at long-term care facilities have also begun getting vaccines as part of the first tier of distributions in Nebraska. About 10,000 people have received both doses of the vaccine. Gov. Pete Ricketts said Tuesday that health officials are still working through first-tier recipients, and some areas of the state have started vaccinating the next high-priority group: people who are at least 75 years old. Ricketts encouraged people to get vaccinated but said he opposes mandates for vaccines or coronavirus tests. Nebraska also plans to launch a website and telephone hotline that will allow people to register for vaccinations. “There’s a variety of channels” where people will be able to sign up, Ricketts said. The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in Nebraska has increased over the past two weeks from 798.86 new cases per day Dec. 28 to 1,003.71 per day Monday.

Nevada

Carson City: Roughly two-thirds of the COVID-19 vaccine doses the state has received from the federal government remain in vials. Only six states have administered fewer doses per capita than Nevada, data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows. Now, four weeks after receiving its first vaccine shipment, Nevada is making changes to its distribution plan. Public health officials announced Monday that once all front-line health care workers and long-term care facility residents are offered vaccines, providers will be directed to concurrently vaccinate high-risk groups – including residents with underlying conditions and workers the state deems essential, such as teachers, service industry workers, legislators and mining industry workers. The plan also lowers the age threshold for priority distribution from 75 to 70. Nevada Health Bureau Chief Candice McDaniel attributed the incomplete rollout to a lack of advance notice from the federal government, which alerts officials of how many doses are scheduled to be delivered no more than a week in advance. Gov. Steve Sisolak said the federal government had put state and local vaccination teams in “an impossible position” to guess how many people to prepare to vaccinate.

New Hampshire

Concord: Residents who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or were previously infected with the coronavirus no longer need to quarantine after being exposed to an infected person or after traveling, according to new guidance from the state Division of Public Health Services. Under previous guidance, anyone who was exposed to the virus was advised to quarantine for 14 days, while those returning to New Hampshire after traveling outside of New England were told to quarantine for 10 days. An update issued Monday says those quarantine periods are unnecessary if someone is at least 14 days past their second dose of the vaccine or if within 90 days of being infected. The guidance still urges people with prior infections to get vaccinated. And officials continue to discourage any nonessential travel, even for those who are vaccinated or had previous infections, because “protection is not 100%, durability of immunity is still unknown, and there are new circulating strains” of the virus that are being investigated.

New Jersey

Trenton: The COVID-19 vaccine is giving the Garden State a sense of promise that people will be able to gather and celebrate together again, Gov. Phil Murphy said Tuesday during his third State of the State address. The annual address is typically given during a joint legislative session in the Trenton statehouse, but because of coronavirus distancing rules, Murphy prerecorded the roughly 35-minute speech, which was aired on social media, including YouTube. The outbreak, as it has across the world, took hold of the agenda in New Jersey, with restaurants and bars still facing capacity limits, many schools teaching remotely, and masking and distancing requirements firmly in place. So far, about 233,000 people have been vaccinated, out of about 400,000 doses the state has received. Murphy wants to have nearly 5 million adults inoculated by June. “We will begin to see the light on the horizon get a little brighter,” the Democrat said. “Be assured, we will get back to being able to gather and celebrate with our families and friends. We will be able to see all our children back in the schools they love. We will see our economy recover and flourish.”

New Mexico

Santa Fe: Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is recommending a 3.3% increase in state general fund spending in the coming fiscal year to devote more to public education and health and workplace safety programs, as authorities grapple with the economic hardships and mounting death toll of the pandemic. The budget proposal presented Monday to the Legislature would boost general fund spending by $236 million to $7.3 billion for the fiscal year starting July 1, 2021. The Democrat-led Legislature convenes Jan. 19 for a 60-day session as New Mexico battles an unrelenting pandemic with major uncertainties about future economic recovery. Tight restrictions on public gatherings and nonessential business remain in place across most of the state. At the same time, the state has reserves of roughly $2.5 billion at its disposal, and proposals are on the table this year to tap more money for education from the state’s $20 billion land grant permanent fund. Finance and Administration Secretary Debbie Romero said a one-time burst of spending worth $475 million also is recommended for pandemic relief, with details left to negotiations with the Legislature.

New York

New York: The state expanded eligibility for the COVID-19 vaccine again to allow anyone over age 65 to get it, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Tuesday. Cuomo said the state is following new federal guidance, which now means more than 1 in 3 New Yorkers is eligible to get vaccinated. The federal government will also no longer hold back required second doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, a move expected to practically double supply. People who are age 75 and up and a much longer list of workers – including transit employees, grocery clerks, teachers, police officers and firefighters – became eligible to get the vaccine Monday. Cuomo has warned that it will take six months to vaccinate 7 million New Yorkers, less than half of the state’s 19 million residents, if the state keeps receiving only 300,000 vaccine doses a week. He said it was unclear as of Tuesday morning how the federal government’s new move would affect New York’s weekly allocations.

North Carolina

Greensboro: Appalachian State University and the University of North Carolina-Charlotte have delayed the start of in-person classes as the number of coronavirus cases rises across the state. The Greensboro News & Record reports in-person classes at Appalachian State won’t begin until Feb. 1, two weeks later than originally planned. UNC-Charlotte said Monday that it is pushing back face-to-face classes by a month. Both institutions are part of the UNC System. They will start their spring semester classes with remote instruction later this month. UNC-Chapel Hill was the first public university in North Carolina to push back the start of in-person undergraduate classes. It announced last week that undergraduate classes will be held online for the first three weeks of the semester. North Carolina reported a record 11,581 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday. The state also reported nearly 6,000 new cases Monday.

North Dakota

Bismarck: Supporters of amending the state’s constitution to legalize recreational marijuana are taking another run at the issue, after failing to collect enough signatures to get it on the 2020 ballot. Secretary of State Al Jaeger said the group filed the petition Monday. If approved, backers would have one year to turn in at least 26,904 valid signatures to put it to a vote in November 2022. Petition-gatherers fell just shy of 24,000 signatures in last year’s effort. Organizers said they were hampered by the coronavirus pandemic. Proponents of recreational marijuana have said they were encouraged by similar measures that were approved by voters in neighboring South Dakota and Montana in November.

Ohio

Columbus: Gov. Mike DeWine vetoed a bill that would have lifted his health department’s order on county fairs, allowing rides, games and grandstand events. Senate Bill 375, which DeWine rejected Monday, would have eliminated an order limiting county fairs to junior fair activities for 4-H, FFA and other youth organizations. The bill would have created a working group to study and recommend protocols to conduct county fairs and festivals in a safe and hygienic way. However, DeWine vetoed that proposal, saying he would consult with health officials at the state and local level before the 2021 fair season. “It is imperative that such fairs be conducted in a safe manner that reflects the facts on the ground at the time,” DeWine wrote in a veto message. “A blanket recission of the current order does not achieve the goal of working together to properly plan the upcoming fair season while ensuring the public health and protection of the people of Ohio.”

Oklahoma

Oklahoma City: The Oklahoma State Department of Health has begun making COVID-19 vaccines available to the nearly 150 members of the Legislature. The Health Department offered vaccines to lawmakers this week, said John Estus, spokesman for House Speaker Charles McCall, citing “continuity of government and due to their frequent travel and public interaction across the state.” Some lawmakers work in health care settings and have already received vaccines through their work. House Majority Floor Leader Jon Echols, R-Oklahoma City, said he plans to take the COVID-19 vaccine, but he will wait until doses are available to the general public. The state is continuing to vaccinate health care workers, first responders, residents in long-term care facilities and Oklahomans age 65 and older. The second phase of the state’s vaccine plan also includes teachers and those with severe underlying medical conditions, but it has not begun widespread vaccinations for those groups. Legislators returned to the Capitol last week to prepare for the session that begins Feb. 1. Many did not wear masks, despite a rule that Capitol visitors wear masks inside when physical distancing is not possible.

Oregon

Salem: A gym that made headlines for violating COVID-19 restrictions and remaining open in defiance of public health orders was fined an additional $126,749, Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration officials said Tuesday. Courthouse Club Fitness was fined for “willfully continuing to potentially expose employees to the infectious coronavirus,” OSHA officials said. The fine is the largest penalty issued to an employer by Oregon OSHA for a violation related to COVID-19 and comes two months after the agency tasked with enforcing compliance to Gov. Kate Brown’s pandemic restrictions fined the gym $90,000. A series of protests, some involving far-right groups, outside OSHA employees’ homes followed the issuance of the initial fine. In counties with the “extreme risk” designation, indoor gyms are required to remain closed. With one of the highest case rates in western Oregon, Marion County remains in the “extreme risk” category.

Pennsylvania

Harrisburg: The state will speed up vaccines for seniors ages 65 and older at the urging of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, state health director Rachel Levine said Tuesday. Levine said she would review new recommendations from the federal government and make changes to the current rollout plan. “We’re still waiting to hear the exact recommendation and the exact plan,” Levine said during a news conference. “They are recommending that we start vaccinating those 65 and older. We want to see the whole plan as they’re rolling it out.” No exact timeline was provided. The current phase 1A includes nurses, doctors and school nurses, as well as residents and staff of long-term care facilities. Under the current plan, phase 1B was to include residents age 75 and older, those with significant health issues and essential workers. Changes recommended by the federal government could lead to seniors ages 65 and older being added to phase 1B. Levine described a careful balancing act of ensuring drug delivery to those most at risk while, at the same time, making sure vaccines never go to waste.

Rhode Island

Providence: The number of people who have died of COVID-19 is approaching 2,000, according to state Department of Health statistics released Tuesday. With 23 more fatalities reported, the total number of virus-related deaths during the pandemic has climbed to 1,970. Nationally, almost 378,000 people have died, according to the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering. The health department also reported more than 660 new confirmed cases of the disease from the previous day and a daily positivity rate of 5.7%. The latest seven-day average positivity rate in Rhode Island is now 6.56%. The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in the state has risen over the past two weeks from more than 767 on Dec. 28 to more than 1,128 on Monday, according to the project. There were more than 400 people in the state’s hospitals with the disease as of Sunday, up slightly from the previous day.

South Carolina

Columbia: The General Assembly opened up its 2021 session Tuesday promising not to let COVID-19 stop its work and with the largest Republican Senate majority in modern times changing rules that could limit lengthy debates. It was a much different opening day. There were lawmakers in masks – although not all of them – and elbow taps and fist bumps replaced hugs and handshakes. There was extra security in fatigues and uniforms, supplementing the typical Statehouse security in suits after last week’s mob violence at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. The Senate welcomed six new members to the 46-seat chamber. Three are Republicans who replaced Democrats. They didn’t change leadership, electing Republican Harvey Peeler of Gaffney as the Senate president. He first took the role two years ago when voters approved a constitutional amendment taking the lieutenant governor out of the role of presiding over the body. Peeler is requiring all senators and staff to wear masks in the Legislature, where nearly half the members are over age 60. But in his opening speech, he told senators they would not stop meeting because of the virus.

South Dakota

Sioux Falls: For the second straight day, no new deaths have been reported in the state from COVID-19, according to data released Tuesday morning by the South Dakota Department of Health. A total of 244 more cases were confirmed, although the number of active cases is now 4,751, a drop of more than 350 from Monday. With no new deaths reported, the death toll of COVID-19 in South Dakota remains at 1,585. Hospitalizations statewide fell to 240, with 42% of hospital beds available across the state and 35.7% of adult intensive care beds available. South Dakota has so far avoided the surge in cases being seen around the country, where many states are reporting their highest weekly death tolls of the pandemic thus far. The state health department reported that a total of 46,714 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in the state to 39,245 people.

Tennessee

Memphis: A group of doctors that has been pushing Gov. Bill Lee for a statewide mask mandate turned its attention to the Legislature on Tuesday, the first day of the 2021 legislative session. Speaking to reporters via videoconference, Dr. Diana Sepehri-Harvey, a Franklin primary care physician, addressed Lee’s stance that individual personal responsibility, not a mandate, is the best way for Tennessee to fight the virus. “This is a global pandemic, so it cannot be fought by individuals,” she said. “We need to come together with a cohesive response. We are asking our state representatives to do the job Gov. Lee has not.” Despite the severity of the coronavirus outbreak in Tennessee, where more than 7,800 people have died, it seemed unlikely that lawmakers would act on the call for a mask mandate. In the GOP-dominant General Assembly on Tuesday, few lawmakers were wearing masks themselves. Meanwhile, Tennessee’s largest county resumed COVID-19 vaccinations Tuesday after it ran out of doses provided by the state last week. The Shelby County Health Department said vaccinations resumed by appointment, though all appointments for January are filled.

Texas

Austin: A field hospital in a convention center opened Tuesday as COVID-19 cases continue to soar. For now the facility has 25 beds and can expand if needed. “This Alternate Care Site in central Texas will reduce the burden on local hospitals and help ensure that Texans diagnosed with COVID-19 receive the care they need,” Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement. Dr. Mark Escott, the interim Austin-Travis County health director, said last week that the convention center could be pressed into service as a field hospital as cases surge from gatherings for the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. Other parts of Texas, including the Rio Grande Valley, opened makeshift hospitals last year as COVID-19 bore down. Now Texas is working to rapidly ramp up vaccinations. Cities throughout the state are using new mass hubs for people to get shots, but the effort is still limited by the supply of medicine coming from the federal government. Texas has seen a surge in newly confirmed coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths. More than 13,000 COVID-19 patients were hospitalized statewide Monday, state health officials reported, and nearly 30,000 Texans have died in the pandemic.

Utah

Salt Lake City: A state prison inmate has sued the Utah Department of Corrections to stop the movement of inmates among buildings, an alleged lack of mask and glove use by prison officials, and other measures he claims spread the coronavirus. Damon Christ, who is serving time for theft, alleges the practices contributed to COVID-19 outbreaks at the Draper facility, The Deseret News reports. Since October, more than 1,200 inmates have been infected, and 12 have died. Christ said he tested positive for the coronavirus in November. “I’m not asking for money damages. I’m not asking to be released,” Crist said of his 3rd District Court lawsuit. “I’m just saying, ‘Look, the department is moving people recklessly. It’s causing mass outbreaks, and it’s infecting and killing people.’ ” A department spokeswoman declined comment, citing pending litigation. The department previously has said it consults health officials in moving inmates among buildings and quarantining those who test positive from the general prison population. Judge Keith Kelly has ordered the department to respond to the allegations within 30 days.

Vermont

Montpelier: The state has seen more new coronavirus cases in the past five days than it did from May through September, officials said Tuesday. The increase follows a spike in cases after Christmas, but it’s too soon to say whether there has been a similar spike following the New Year’s holiday. Nevertheless, officials expect the number of new cases to increase from the current average of more than 160 cases a day to nearly 300 by early February, said Mike Pieciak, the Vermont commissioner of financial regulation, who manages COVID-19 statistics for the state. During a regular twice-weekly virus briefing, Gov. Phil Scott and others urged Vermonters to follow long-standing guidance designed to reduce transmission of the virus: wearing masks, maintaining social distance and avoiding crowds. The increase comes as the state continues with its plan to vaccinate health care professionals and older adults living in long-term care facilities – people who are at the greatest risk of death from COVID-19. State officials are expected to outline this week their plans to continue the vaccination program focusing on the oldest, and most vulnerable, Vermonters first.

Virginia

Staunton: A COVID-19 outbreak at Envoy of Staunton is alarming officials. The 170-bed certified skilled nursing facility has 167 active coronavirus cases and has reported 14 deaths, according to the Virginia Department of Health’s dashboard on COVID-19 outbreaks in long-term care facilities. That is an increase of 100 cases in less than one month since the nursing home’s second outbreak was reported Dec. 10. According to the Virginia Department of Health, there were no related deaths at the time. Now 14 people have died. The first outbreak at the facility was reported to the health department on Aug. 10. According to the health department, an outbreak in a long-term care facility is confirmed when there are two or more laboratory-confirmed coronavirus cases in the facility with onset dates within one 14-day incubation period. As of Monday, Virginia had recorded 403,386 coronavirus cases and 5,393 COVID-19-related deaths, according to the Virginia Department of Health.

Washington

Seattle: A respiratory therapist at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center has been sentenced to three months in prison after pleading guilty to stealing a ventilator and other medical equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic and selling it for personal gain. Gene Wamsley, 42, of Bonney Lake, must remain on nine months of home confinement once he’s released from prison under the sentencing ordered Monday by U.S. District Judge James Robart. “This is an extremely serious offense, quite independent of the COVID-19 pandemic; this was exploiting patients,” Robart said during the hearing. U.S. Attorney Brian Moran said the fraud impeded efforts to care for the elderly and veterans. “Stealing money is bad enough, but stealing equipment needed for life-saving therapies shocks the conscience,” he said in a statement. Wamsley admitted stealing three machines and selling them on eBay. Investigators also found that Wamsley stole a $9,950 respirator and sold it on eBay for $6,000. He also stole ventilators. Wamsley was ordered to pay $132,291 in restitution to cover the loss of the thefts, prosecutors said.

West Virginia

Madison: A county health department has been barred from distributing the COVID-19 vaccine until state officials conduct a “clinical monitoring visit,” officials said. The Boone County Health Department hasn’t received any vaccine since Dec. 30, when it mistakenly gave 44 people an antibody treatment instead of vaccinations, news outlets report, citing a statement from the Department of Health and Human Resources. The county agency can resume giving vaccinations after state officials conduct the visit, which will include “a review of agency policies and procedures,” Health and Human Resources spokeswoman Allison Adler said. The visit is expected this week, she said. “The intent of this process is to provide agency leadership and clinical personnel with recommendations for improving patient care practices and outcomes and the utilizations of agency resources,” Adler said. At least one other facility, Madison Medical, is distributing vaccines in the county.

Wisconsin

Madison: The state Senate overwhelmingly passed a scaled-down COVID-19 relief package Tuesday, drawing a pledge from Gov. Tony Evers that he would sign the measure if it can clear the Assembly. The Republican-controlled Legislature passed a COVID-19 relief deal in April but did nothing to address the pandemic all summer and fall. Evers and Republican legislative leaders began talking about a second package late last year but couldn’t come up with an agreement. Assembly Republicans passed their own package last week. Evers, a Democrat, said he opposes it. Senate Republicans pared the proposal back, removing numerous provisions the governor and other Democrats opposed. They passed the package 29-2 on Tuesday afternoon and sent it back to the Assembly. Senate Republicans removed a host of contentious provisions Assembly Republicans tucked into the package, including a prohibition on local health officials closing businesses for more than two weeks at a time and requirements that school boards vote every two weeks on whether to continue all-virtual learning, that the governor submit plans for spending federal COVID-19 aid to the Legislature and that Evers create a plan to reopen the state Capitol building.

Wyoming

Casper: Most rivers in the state will be at below-average levels this spring, according to a report released Monday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The report estimated the North Platte River, which runs through Casper, will be at less than half of its average where it enters the Nebraska Panhandle, KTWO-AM reports. USDA Hydrologist Jim Fahey said spring runoff values will be about 80% for Wyoming, while the Yellowstone and Shoshone rivers are estimated to be closer to 100%. He also said the state started the new year with dry soil conditions, hindering initial runoff projections. “We will just have to see how the rest of the winter goes and, more importantly, how the upcoming spring pans out with precipitation,” Fahey said. The report came after the National Weather Service in Riverton said drought conditions are not expected to improve.

From USA TODAY Network and wire reports