Social-distance skating, kid governor, virtual toy drive: News from around our 50 states

Alabama

Mobile: Despite a surge in COVID-19 cases, state Superintendent Eric Mackey said he wants schools to return to in-person class after Thanksgiving holidays. “We will do everything we can to avoid widespread closures of physical schools,” Mackey told WALA-TV. The state’s COVID-19 school dashboard was updated Friday to show nearly 2,300 cases last week in public schools compared to about 1,600 the prior week. Cases have more than doubled in two weeks. While a statewide switch to virtual learning is off the table, the state superintendent said individual schools could switch to all virtual learning as a last resort. Two school systems – in Hoover and Huntsville – announced Friday that at least some of their classes would be going to hybrid schedules after Thanksgiving because of rising virus numbers. Mackey said schools that close often have to shut down because too many teachers are exposed and told to quarantine.

Alaska

Anchorage: The acting mayor has left the door open for new orders if coronavirus cases continue to rise. “I am not planning to take any action this week, but we are monitoring the situation closely,” Acting Mayor Austin Quinn-Davidson said in a statement Wednesday. “We will not allow our hospitals to become overrun.” The announcement comes as the city and state have experienced a substantial increase in coronavirus cases in recent weeks. Dr. Anne Zink, the state’s chief medical officer, told reporters Thursday that it is has become difficult for hospitals to provide adequate care to everyone who needs it due to an increasing amount of coronavirus patients. The state reported its highest number of current COVID-19 hospitalizations with 129 patients Wednesday, according to the state Department of Health and Social Services. Quinn-Davidson urged residents to stay home, wear a mask and celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday responsibly.

Arizona

Phoenix: Health officials reported 4,331 new COVID-19 cases Sunday with seven additional deaths, pushing the state’s totals to 299,665 cases and 6,464 deaths since the pandemic started. It was the third time in four days Arizona reported more than 4,000 new coronavirus cases. Previously, the state last topped 4,000 new cases in July during a summer surge that made the state a national hot spot after Gov. Doug Ducey relaxed business closings and stay-home restrictions. Arizona’s outbreak lessened in August and September after local governments implemented masking mandates and Ducey instituted restrictions on some businesses. The virus surged again last month and into this month. State and public health officials cite school and business reopenings and public weariness with anti-virus precautions. The Arizona Department of Health Services has recommended holding Thanksgiving celebrations outside along with masks and social distancing.

Arkansas

Little Rock: The state’s COVID-19 hospitalizations climbed to a new high Friday as the Arkansas Supreme Court suspended jury trials in response to the latest spike in coronavirus cases. The Department of Health reported 36 more people were hospitalized with the respiratory illness, bringing the state’s total hospitalizations to 935. The state’s probable and confirmed virus cases rose by 2,061 to 141,916. By Sunday, hospitalizations had declined slightly to 922. The state’s high court suspended jury trials that have not yet begun because of the surge in cases until Jan. 15. Justices said courts can move forward with other proceedings, including arraignments and hearings, either in person or over videoconference. On Thursday, Gov. Asa Hutchinson ordered bars, restaurants and clubs that serve alcohol to close by 11 p.m. That earlier closing time began Friday and is in effect through Jan. 3.

California

Los Angeles: A majority of Californians are under a nighttime curfew as surging coronavirus cases threaten to swamp health care systems, and the state’s largest county warned that an even more drastic lockdown could be imminent. The newest restrictions require people to stay home from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. unless they are responding to an emergency, shopping for groceries, picking up takeout or walking their dogs. The monthlong curfew could be extended if rapidly worsening trends don’t improve. Authorities say the focus is on keeping people from social mixing and drinking – the kinds of activities that are blamed for causing coronavirus infections to soar after dipping only a few months ago. The curfew applies to 41 of the state’s 58 counties that are in the “purple” tier, the most restrictive of four state tiers allowing various stages of economic reopening. Those counties encompass 94% of the nearly 40 million people living in the most populous U.S. state. California as a whole has seen more than 1 million infections, with a record of almost 15,500 new cases reported Friday.

Colorado

Denver: State lawmakers will convene Nov. 30 in a special session to craft a relief package for businesses, restaurants, bars, child care providers, landlords, tenants, public school students and others suffering under the coronavirus pandemic. Gov. Jared Polis set the date in an executive order issued late Thursday. He also told The Washington Post on Thursday that he is seeking relief totaling between $300 million and $400 million. On Tuesday, he had proposed a $220 million package for a special session. Polis wants lawmakers to adopt sales tax relief for restaurants, bars, other businesses and cultural venues affected by capacity limits; allocate funds for child care providers and rental assistance for tenants and landlords; and expand broadband and Wi-Fi internet access for students and teachers displaced from the classroom. Meanwhile, many Colorado counties adopted more restrictions on business and individual gatherings Friday.

Connecticut

Hartford: The state is reopening health care centers dedicated solely to treating COVID-19 patients amid a resurgence of the coronavirus across the state, including in nursing homes and assisted living facilities, a state Department of Public Health spokesperson said Friday. A coronavirus “recovery center” in Meriden reopened last week to serve up to 30 patients, and there are now plans to reopen one in Torrington with another 30 beds in the near future, department spokesperson Av Harris said. The two facilities were among several around the state that opened earlier in the pandemic but later closed as virus rates dropped over the summer. The reopenings come as Connecticut on Friday surpassed 100,000 positive coronavirus tests since the pandemic began and as public and private schools saw a 70% increase in positive student tests compared with the week before.

Delaware

Wilmington: The seven-day average daily coronavirus case count in the state has topped 400 for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Delaware on Saturday reported 504 new positive cases, one day after reporting a record-high 649 cases, later amended to 651. The 504 cases reported Saturday, through data recorded at 6 p.m. Friday, marked the second-highest daily case count of the pandemic. The rolling seven-day average of daily cases is up to 417.4. Hospitalizations due to complications from COVID-19 increased by two to 172, with 29 of those patients listed in critical condition. The increase in daily cases comes as more tests than ever are being conducted in Delaware. There is a two-day lag on full testing data from the state, but the state reported that it performed a pandemic-high 9,939 tests Wednesday. The average number of tests being performed per day is over 6,000, also the highest since the pandemic began.

District of Columbia

Washington: The National Cherry Blossom Festival is scheduled to take place March 20-April 11 with a new format that organizers say is meant to honor the tradition of the festival while prioritizing health and safety during the pandemic, WUSA-TV reports. “Designed to incorporate both virtual and personal experiences, the festival will present a series of entertaining hybrid events and community outreach programs,” the festival’s organizers said in a press release Wednesday. The festival’s organizers announced last month that the 2021 parade, scheduled for next spring, was officially canceled. Organizers say most of next year’s events will be free and open to the public, including a one-hour nationally syndicated television show; 20 large, vibrant cherry blossom sculptures displayed in dozens of locations throughout the city; and locally curated community experiences that focus on music, cuisine and visual arts presentations.

Florida

St. Petersburg: One of the state’s U.S. senators announced Friday that he has tested positive for the coronavirus, one of more than 9,000 people newly diagnosed in the state. It was the second straight day Florida logged more than 9,000 new cases of the virus, according to figures provided by the state Department of Health. Over the past week, Florida averaged more than 7,390 newly reported cases per day, an increase from about 2,250 at the start of October. U.S. Sen. Rick Scott announced he had tested positive for the coronavirus and was isolating at home with “very mild symptoms.” Scott, 67, had been quarantining at home all week after coming into contact with someone who subsequently tested positive. His office said he had “multiple negative rapid tests earlier in the week,” but a test he took Tuesday came back positive Friday morning. Scott, a Republican, said he was “feeling good” despite the mild symptoms and would be working at his home.

Georgia

Atlanta: U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler is quarantining after receiving mixed results from recent coronavirus tests, a day after she campaigned with Vice President Mike Pence and U.S. Sen. David Perdue in the state’s hotly contested twin Senate races. The Georgia Republican took two rapid COVID-10 tests Friday morning that came back negative, a spokesperson for her campaign said in a statement Saturday night. She received another test Friday evening, and the results came back positive, the statement said. Loeffler tested again Saturday morning, and the results were inconclusive. Her campaign said she doesn’t have symptoms. Loeffler is following CDC guidelines and informing those with whom she was in direct contact, the statement said. Loeffler appeared at a campaign event with Pence and Perdue in Georgia on Friday. She has held several rallies in recent weeks with crowds packed into close quarters and many audience members not wearing masks.

Hawaii

Honolulu: The Honolulu Police Department said it would cancel special coronavirus enforcement units after allegations of overtime abuse from its officers. Department leaders were told that 59 officers on the coronavirus enforcement team had been flagged in an audit for overtime violations, according to an internal memo. The Nov. 10 memo said officers worked a substantial amount of hours “in excess of explicit instructions,” Hawaii News Now reports. The enforcement of coronavirus violations will now be made by on-duty patrol officers. At least 10 officers logged 200 or more hours of overtime over a five-week period. Records show two officers recorded more than 300 hours of overtime from Sept. 27 to Oct. 31 – or about 60 hours of overtime each week. The unit’s responsibilities included checking in on quarantine violators and citing people for not wearing masks. The officers also responded to 911 complaints for potential violations.

Idaho

Boise: The state’s unemployment rate has dropped to 5.5% as about 5,400 nonfarm workers regained jobs in October, officials said Friday. The Idaho Department of Labor said that about 864,000 Idaho residents are employed and that about 50,000 are looking for work as the surging coronavirus pandemic continues hampering the economy. The unemployment rate for October fell from September’s 6.1%. Officials said seven industry sectors saw some job gains, led by leisure and hospitality with an increase of 4.9%. Nonfarm jobs are at about 763,000. Officials said that’s the first time since last spring’s pandemic-related job losses that nonfarm jobs equaled or exceeded levels from the previous year. Meanwhile, Idaho is quickly approaching 90,000 coronavirus infections, Johns Hopkins University reported. Through Thursday, the virus had killed 835 residents.

Illinois

Springfield: Deaths from COVID-19 in the state topped 100 Friday for the third day in a row. The Illinois Department of Public Health reported 126 fatalities related to COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, along with 13,012 newly confirmed infections. The recent weeks’ soaring numbers prompted Gov. J.B. Pritzker to reimpose harsher restrictions on social interaction. So-called Tier 3 mitigations took effect statewide Friday. Illinois turned around a record 116,000 tests in a 24-hour period ending Friday, but officials have said that more testing alone cannot account for the swelling numbers. They can be seen in an overworked health care system that sees no impending relief. There were 6,111 people hospitalized with about 1,200 in intensive care and 604 on ventilators, which represents a 24% increase from just a week earlier.

Indiana

Indianapolis: The number of COVID-19 patients being treated at the state’s hospitals remained above 3,000 for the fourth straight day Friday, health officials reported Saturday. Indiana hospitals were treating 3,168 COVID-19 patients as of Friday, the Indiana State Department of Health said in its daily statistics update. That’s the largest number of COVID-19 patients since the state began releasing public reports on coronavirus hospitalizations last spring. The state agency also added 40 more coronavirus-related deaths to Indiana’s pandemic toll, raising those deaths to 5,246, including confirmed and presumed coronavirus infections. Another 6,983 Hoosiers have been diagnosed with COVID-19, the department also reported, boosting the number of Hoosiers with known coronavirus infections to 289,183. Gov. Eric Holcomb reinstated crowd limits this month and has appealed for people to abide by the statewide mask mandate.

Iowa

Des Moines: Demonstrators are demanding that Gov. Kim Reynolds do more to stem the spread of the coronavirus as cases surge. More than a dozen of them gathered Friday in front of the governor’s Terrace Hill mansion to deliver 800 report cards that gave her an “F” grade in COVID-19 mitigation and protecting Iowans. Reynolds didn’t accept the cards directly, but an Iowa State Patrol officer said he would pass them along to her. The demonstration was organized by Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement. “She’s been a total failure in her inability to show leadership and to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in the state of Iowa,” said Cherie Mortice, Iowa CCI Action Fund Board President. “She needs to stand up, and she needs to represent the everyday needs of Iowans today.” The state reported a total of 2,159 COVID-19-related deaths as of Saturday, an increase of 32 deaths in 24 hours. The number of confirmed cases also rose by 3,627 to 206,660.

Kansas

Mission: Hospitals across the state are buckling as coronavirus cases swell, leading many schools to scale back in-person learning and one county to intensify plans for a possible field hospital. The state’s seven-day average of new cases stands at 2,718, nearly four times higher than it was a month ago. “Case increases are the worst we have seen since the pandemic began,” Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly told local officials and legislators during a call Friday as the state’s seven-day averages for new hospitalizations and deaths jumped to record highs. “Our hospitals are overwhelmed with coronavirus patients. Health care workers are burned out.” In Topeka, high hospitalization figures have area officials looking more intensely into turning an events center into a potential location for a field hospital that could house overflow COVID-19 patients, said Errin Mahan, acting director of Shawnee County Emergency Management.

Kentucky

Louisville: State Attorney General Daniel Cameron has joined a private school in a lawsuit against Gov. Andy Beshear, arguing that a school closure order violated not only state law but also the First Amendment. Last week, the Democratic governor announced that most public and private K-12 schools must stop in-person classes starting Monday. Middle and high schools will be required to remain in remote instruction until January. Elementary schools may reopen Dec. 7 if the county in which they are located is not in the “red zone.” The order was issued to help curb the spread of COVID-19. According to news reports, Cameron and Danville Christian Academy on Friday asked a federal court to issue a temporary restraining order that would block Beshear’s order from being implemented. In response, Beshear’s office said Cameron “should stop playing politics and instead help Kentuckians understand what it takes to defeat this virus.”

Louisiana

Baton Rouge: The state will run out of federal coronavirus money before it pays out grants to all eligible small businesses and local government agencies seeking dollars from COVID-19 aid programs created by Gov. John Bel Edwards and lawmakers. Officials running the programs told the joint House and Senate budget committee Friday that they received more applications than the dollars available. The funding comes from $1.8 billion in direct coronavirus aid that Louisiana received from Congress. The Democratic governor and majority-Republican Legislature spent more than half the money to fill gaps in the state budget. About $855 million remaining was split by lawmakers among several assistance programs. Nearly $525 million was earmarked to reimburse local government agencies’ virus-related expenses. Another $260 million was steered to small-business grants. And $50 million was set aside for one-time payments to front-line workers who stayed on the job in the pandemic’s early days. The remaining $20 million was set aside to pay for administrative expenses to run those programs.

Maine

Portland: The state will dedicate more than $6 million to help residents who can’t pay their rent because of the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Janet Mills said Friday. The use of federal coronavirus relief funds will extend Maine Housing’s COVID-19 Rental Relief Program through December, said Mills, a Democrat. States around the country, including Maine, need Congress to approve more relief soon, Mills said. “In the meantime, I will do all I can to keep people secure in their homes this holiday season,” she said. The state has dedicated more than $28 million in federal relief funds to the rental aid program since April. The announcement came as the recovery of jobs in the state appeared to slow. Unemployment in Maine fell to 5.4% in October, the Maine Department of Labor said Friday. That was a decline of less than a percentage point from September’s rate.

Maryland

Annapolis: Lawmakers renewed criticism Friday of Gov. Larry Hogan’s April procurement of 500,000 COVID-19 tests from South Korea after The Washington Post reported the first batch was flawed and never used, but the governor defended the tests. Hogan told the Associated Press the first batch of tests he purchased with great fanfare from South Korea had to be replaced. “We brought the tests in,” Hogan said. “When they first got back, the FDA changed the emergency use authorization at the last minute, so we had to switch out and upgrade to a different set of tests, which we then brought in. There’ve been no problems with these tests whatsoever.” It was unclear to what Food and Drug Administration change Hogan was referring. The Post reports Hogan spent about $9.5 million in state funding on the initial tests. The Republican governor then quietly paid a South Korean company $2.5 million for 500,000 replacement tests, the newspaper reports. Lawmakers say they still don’t have the answers they have been looking for, after months of asking the administration.

Massachusetts

Boston: State health officials added New Hampshire and Maine on Saturday to the list of states where travelers must quarantine or provide a negative coronavirus test if entering or returning to Massachusetts. The two join 46 other states to be designated high-risk by Massachusetts’ Department of Health. The agency says states are included on the list if they average more than 10 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents. Hawaii and Vermont are the only states still considered low-risk that are exempt from the travel rules, which authorities have said can result in a $500-a-day fine for noncompliance. Massachusetts’ seven-day rolling average of daily new cases has risen over the past two weeks from about 1,447 on Nov. 6 to 2,550 on Friday, according to Johns Hopkins University. The state’s seven-day rolling average of the positivity rate has also risen over the past two weeks from 1.88% on Nov. 6 to 3.18% on Friday.

Michigan

Detroit: A judge on Friday declined to halt a three-week ban on indoor dining in the state that is one of the most recent coronavirus restrictions imposed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration. The state health department, meanwhile, reported a new daily high of confirmed COVID-19 cases, 9,779, and 53 additional deaths as the virus continued to spike. In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Paul Maloney in Kalamazoo said a restraining order halting the indoor dining ban wouldn’t be appropriate, especially when the state hasn’t had a chance to respond to the lawsuit. The Michigan Restaurant & Lodging Association, which has thousands of members, is suing to try to stop the indoor dining ban that began Wednesday. The group said that restaurants can take further steps to reduce coronavirus risk without cutting off customers and that its members were being unfairly treated compared to other businesses. But the judge wasn’t swayed.

Minnesota

Minneapolis: State health officials on Sunday reported 7,219 new coronavirus cases, lifting the total number of positive tests to more than 270,000 since the start of the pandemic. Officials confirmed 40 deaths due to complications from COVID-19 in the last day, for a total of 3,241 fatalities. Minnesota’s death count is the 24th-highest in the country overall and the 29th-highest per capita at 58 deaths per 100,000 people, according to statistics filed Saturday by Johns Hopkins University researchers. There were about 1,568 new cases per 100,000 people in Minnesota over the past two weeks, which ranks seventh in the country for new cases per capita. One in every 120 people in the state tested positive in the past week. Numbers released Saturday show health care workers have accounted for 20,018 positive cases.

Mississippi

Jackson: An annual holiday toy drive at the state’s only children’s hospital is going virtual this year to limit the spread of coronavirus. Children’s of Mississippi is asking that donors purchase from online wish lists of toys from Amazon and Walmart instead of the usual policy of dropping off toys in person at the hospital in Jackson. “This will keep our community safer and will ensure contactless delivery of toys that will brighten the holidays for our patients and their families,” said Jen Hospodor, director of community partnerships at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Children’s of Mississippi, the pediatric arm of UMMC, provides a gift bag to every child 18 or younger during the holidays. Gifts have been selected based on age and interests. Toys are needed all year long, for patients hospitalized on their birthday and for incentives acknowledging healthy behavior or completing a treatment, said child life specialist Tiffany Key.

Missouri

St. Louis: The recent exponential growth of coronavirus cases in the state and the threat of overwhelmed hospitals on Thursday finally pushed a suburban and rural county near St. Louis to require face masks. Franklin County’s mask order took effect Friday and expires Dec. 20, Presiding Commissioner Tim Brinker announced in an email. The mandate is notable because local officials had resisted requiring masks in what Brinker described as “freedom-preserving” Franklin County. But that resistance changed after Republican Gov. Mike Parson’s administration issued a public health warning Thursday and extended the state of emergency in Missouri through March. Parson said more new cases were reported in October than during the first eight months of the pandemic in Missouri, and new cases in November have already surpassed October. Hospitals have warned that they’re struggling to maintain adequate staffing.

Montana

Helena: Faith leaders across the state have signed a pledge to encourage people to stay home and safe and to prioritize remote worship services during the upcoming holidays amid a spike in COVID-19 cases. “The lesson of this pandemic is that we are all interconnected and dependent on each other,” wrote Rabbi Francine Roston of Glacier Jewish Community/B’nai Shalom in Flathead Valley. “We can remain connected and worship without risking illness and death this winter, protecting each other and protecting our dedicated healthcare workers.” Roston said people of faith must trust medical experts and caregivers along with a higher power and should reduce contacts with anyone beyond their household to remain safe. The pledge is based on one promoted by the Wisconsin Council of Churches. More than 35 religious leaders had signed the pledge by midday Friday, as Montana health officials announced 1,475 new coronavirus cases.

Nebraska

Omaha: Gov. Pete Ricketts acknowledged Friday that state officials should have moved more quickly to interview people who contracted the coronavirus in recent weeks so they could warn others who may have been exposed. Ricketts said the recent surge in virus cases created a backlog of people who needed to be called, and officials in his administration didn’t add workers to help with the extra workload. “The simple answer is we didn’t do our job,” Ricketts said. The state now has a backlog of 2,600 people who still need to be contacted. Some people who tested positive recently have waited more than a week for one of the state’s “contact tracers” to ask where they’ve been and whom they might have infected, part of a broader effort to slow the virus’s spread. Ashley Newmyer, chief data strategist for the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, said agency officials hope to work their way through the backlog by the end of this week.

Nevada

Las Vegas: About 1,500 employees in the state’s largest school district could lose their jobs if students do not return to in-person instruction this school year, according to a staffing report. The Clark County School District Board of Trustees requested the report to determine the potential effects of remaining in a distance learning model throughout the 2020-2021 academic year. No decision on that has been made. Chief Financial Officer Jason Goudie said the cuts would apply to about 1,480 positions “directly connected to the physical presence of students in the school buildings,” including 700 custodians, 650 bus drivers, 100 transportation support employees and 30 school police officers. The district could save about $13.5 million in the reduction of custodial staff, about $12.5 million in the transportation staff cuts, and about $1.5 million in law enforcement and safety cuts.

New Hampshire

Auburn: The state’s schoolchildren have elected a new “Kid Governor” whose platform was inspired by depression he experienced during the coronavirus pandemic. Charlie Olsen, a fifth grader at the Auburn Village School, said in a campaign video that he wants to address the issue of children’s mental health by organizing fundraisers to pay for treatment, create a social network that promotes positivity and develop a mentoring system called C.A.S.T., which stands for Children’s Awareness Support Team. “I became depressed during the COVID lockdowns, and so did a lot of my friends,” he said. “We all felt so alone, but you don’t have to do this alone.” Kid Governor is a statewide civics program for fifth graders. The nominees run on platforms addressing community issues and work with classmates to create campaign videos explaining how they would approach their issue.

New Jersey

Trenton: The mayor said in a radio interview that he’ll ask residents to stay home for 10 days starting next week, right before Thanksgiving, in response to a rising number of COVID-19 cases. Mayor Ras Baraka made the announcement during an interview on WBGO-FM. He said beginning Wednesday, city residents should shelter in place and only go outside if absolutely necessary. “We are going to lock the city down. We want people to shelter in place for 10 days. Don’t go outside if you don’t have to. Don’t mingle with other people if you don’t have to,” Baraka said in the radio interview Thursday. “Stay with your family in your immediate household. This thing has been hitting families, so a lot of these families should be isolating themselves with their family anyway.” It wasn’t immediately clear how the city of 280,000 would enforce the new restrictions, particularly for the Thanksgiving holiday.

New Mexico

Albuquerque: With hospitals facing a capacity crunch because of the coronavirus outbreak, the state on Friday opened an alternate care facility for COVID-19 patients in a renovated former hospital. The state Department of Health said the Gibson Medical Center will only serve recovering coronavirus-positive adults who don’t require acute care. The facility won’t have an emergency hospital, intensive care unit or surgical suite, the department said in a statement. “It is strictly a step-down care facility for patients referred from other providers,” department spokeswoman Marisa Maez said in an email. Initially, the facility will use two floors to provide 25 beds for patients needing nursing care and an additional 25 beds for isolation or quarantine. Another two floors are available to reach a maximum capacity of 180 beds, the department said.

New York

New York: The Rockefeller Center ice-skating rink is open in a limited way but on time for the holidays. The iconic, sunken rink in midtown Manhattan welcomed skaters Saturday afternoon as part of a tradition dating to the 1930s, according to the Rockefeller Center website. The rink is operating at reduced capacity, with skate time limited to 50 minutes. Masks are required as a further pandemic safety measure. The website says there’s legend that the rink was inspired by “a Depression-era skate salesman who demonstrated his product by skating on the frozen water of the Rockefeller Center fountain.” It officially opened as a “skating pond” on Christmas Day 1936. It was supposed to be temporary but grew so popular that it became a permanent fixture for the holiday season. Another seasonal fixture, the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, went up the previous weekend and will be lighted Dec. 2.

North Carolina

Asheville: The state continues to add coronavirus cases at heightened rates, identifying 3,688 new cases Friday. The figure from the Department of Health and Human Services chalks up as the third-highest number ever and the sixth time new daily cases have topped 3,000 since numbers first hit that mark Nov. 11, continuing a steep upward trend that started in September. Thursday’s 4,296 cases were the most daily new cases for North Carolina, surpassing the previous record set Nov. 14 by more than 400 and marking the third time that record has been broken since Veteran’s Day. According to the latest data from the state, North Carolina has logged a total 328,846 cases since the start of the pandemic and 4,979 deaths. Hospitalizations also continue to rise, up more than 400 so far this month to a total 1,571 reported Thursday by the state.

North Dakota

Bismarck: With November on track to become the state’s deadliest month from COVID-19, Gov. Doug Burgum on Friday asked North Dakotans to stay home on Thanksgiving and not to celebrate the holiday with people outside their households to help slow the rampant spread of the coronavirus and preserve the state’s hospital capacity. “These gathering can be dangerous, if not deadly, for those who are vulnerable,” Burgum said during his weekly COVID-19 update at the state Capitol. State health officials on Sunday reported 19 new hospitalizations due to the coronavirus, putting the number of patients requiring treatment in medical facilities back over the 300 mark. The update showed 1,150 positive coronavirus tests in the last day. There were about 2,412 new cases per 100,000 people in North Dakota over the past two weeks, which ranks first in the country for new cases per capita, according to the COVID Tracking Project.

Ohio

Columbus: The state’s unemployment rate fell in October from the previous month but remains above levels from the same time a year ago before the coronavirus pandemic, the state said Friday. The number of workers unemployed in Ohio in October was 324,000, down from 469,000 in September, according to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. The agency said Ohio’s unemployment rate for October was 5.6%. That’s down from 8.3% in September but still higher than October 2019, when the unemployment rate was 4.1%. The economy continues to show signs of weakness. On Thursday the state said initial unemployment compensation filings for the week ending Nov. 14 were 14% higher than the previous week. Ohio’s economy is largely open, although a 10 p.m.-to-5 a.m. curfew that went into effect Thursday restricts some businesses from staying open late. Major cities under stay-at-home advisories include Akron, Cleveland, Dayton, Columbus and Toledo.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma City: Efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus are “too little, too late,” and hospitalizations in the state are likely to continue rising, a University of Oklahoma medical center doctor said Friday. OU Health Dr. Dale Bratzler said anything to mitigate the virus’s spread helps, but it will take two to three weeks for restrictions to reduce infections, and hospitalizations will likely reach 2,000 to 3,000 during that time. On Thursday, Gov. Kevin Stitt implemented measures including mask mandates in state buildings and closing bars and in-person restaurant service at 11 p.m. The number of reported cases increased by 3,406 on Sunday, and the number of deaths from the virus increased by 10, the Oklahoma State Department of Health reported. The department reported 1,446 people were hospitalized. That was down from the one-day high of 1,505 hospitalizations reported Saturday.

Oregon

Portland: The Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association is seeking a court order from a federal judge to block Gov. Kate Brown’s “two-week freeze” that bans dining in restaurants in response to a spike in COVID-19 cases. The association, which represents 10,000 food service and 2,000 lodging businesses across the state, argues the new restrictions will cause devastating effects for its members and their employees, The Oregonian/OregonLive reports. The association and the public policy group Restaurant Law Center filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Portland on Friday, two days after the governor’s new executive order took effect. The order expected to last at least through Dec. 2 limits social get-togethers to no more than six people from no more than two households and limits restaurants to takeout and delivery only.

Pennsylvania

Harrisburg: A divided state House on Friday passed a Republican-backed proposal to make it harder to sue schools, health care providers and others over COVID-19 claims. The 104-to-98 vote sent the bill to the desk of Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf. All House Democrats were opposed, joined by five moderate Republicans. It would make it more difficult to establish liability when someone is exposed to the coronavirus during a governor-declared disaster emergency. Supporters said entities providing services to the public during the pandemic should not also face the prospect of expensive or even ruinous litigation, while opponents said the bill would remove a valuable protection for the public. The Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry welcomed the vote, calling the legislation’s provisions targeted, temporary and narrow in scope.

Rhode Island

Providence: Rhode Islanders who lost their jobs or had their wages significantly reduced during the pandemic will be able to qualify for $1.83 million in federal rental assistance designated to the state, U.S. Sen. Jack Reed announced Friday. Reed said the aid comes via the federal Housing Choice Voucher program, which helps low-income seniors, families and people with disabilities find safe and stable rental housing. Program participants pay 30% of their income toward rent, and the voucher helps make up the difference, Reed said. The aid comes on top of a $2.5 million Housing Choice Voucher program allocation the state received in August as part of the federal coronavirus aid package. Rhode Island’s seven-day rolling average of daily new cases has risen over the past two weeks from 500 on Nov. 6 to about 925 on Nov. 20, according to Johns Hopkins University.

South Carolina

North Charleston: As Thanksgiving week begins, the state’s chief medical school is joining with the Charleston airport to give free coronavirus tests. The testing site will be open Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the fourth floor of the daily parking garage at the Charleston International Airport, according to the Medical University of South Carolina. Officials said they aren’t giving rapid-result tests, so people shouldn’t get tested the day they plan to fly out of the airport. The results will take a day or two. Airport employees, people who don’t plan to fly over the Thanksgiving holiday and anyone else seeking a COVID-19 test are also welcome to get tested, officials said. On Friday, Gov. Henry McMaster introduced a new recommendation for the holiday week, continuing his emphasis on personal responsibility by wearing masks and washing hands. “Get tested before turkey,” he said Thursday.

South Dakota

Sioux Falls: The head of one of the largest regional health systems in the Midwest has told his employees he has recovered from COVID-19 and is back in the office – without a mask. Sanford Health’s president and chief executive, Kelby Krabbenhoft, said in an email Wednesday that he believes he’s now immune to the disease for “at least seven months and perhaps years to come” and that he isn’t a threat to transmit it to anyone, so wearing a mask would be merely for show. The email from Krabbenhoft, who is not a physician, comes as hospitals throughout the region, including in his own network, are struggling to keep up with some of the country’s worst surges of coronavirus patients. And it comes at a time when mask-wearing remains a politicized issue in many states. Sanford Health, based in Sioux Falls, has 46 hospitals and more than 200 clinics concentrated in South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa. It employs nearly 48,000 people.

Tennessee

Nashville: The state would no longer prohibit parents from refusing vaccinations of their children under a proposal that’s been filed as COVID-19 cases continue to rise ahead of the GOP-dominant Statehouse’s upcoming legislative session. Tennessee law currently allows parents to refuse to immunize their children as long as the state is “in the absence of an epidemic or immediate threat of an epidemic.” Other sections of Tennessee statute allow parents to deny immunizations of their kids “except where the medical examination, immunization or treatment is necessary for the protection of the health or safety of others.” These exceptions would be removed according to the legislation, allowing parents to opt out of school-required vaccinations during the coronavirus pandemic. The bill also would give parents the option to cite “right of conscience” as a reason not to immunize their children.

Texas

Austin: The state surpassed 8,000 hospitalized coronavirus patients Friday for the first time since a deadly summer surge as doctors amplified pleas to keep Thanksgiving gatherings small. Texas reported more than 11,700 new cases Friday, the second-highest daily total of the pandemic. More than 8,100 virus patients were hospitalized, the most since early August. The Texas Hospital Association, the industry group representing more than 500 hospitals, issued a new appeal for families to keep holiday gatherings “very small” as doctors and nurses struggle to keep up with rising caseloads. “They are tired and emotionally drained. They are worried about their own families,” the organization said in a statement. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has ruled out another shutdown and accused local leaders of not enforcing restrictions already in place.

Utah

Salt Lake City: The state’s prisons on Friday reported two more inmates who have died after testing positive for the coronavirus, as hospitals reach a breaking point with rising hospitalizations ahead of Thanksgiving weekend. Six inmates have died throughout the pandemic, and there are 780 active cases in the Utah prison system, said Jim Hudspeth, deputy director of the Department of Corrections. Across the state, 1 in 141 people was diagnosed with COVID-19 in the past week, and the state is ranked ninth in the country for new cases per capita, according to data from Johns Hopkins. Gov. Gary Herbert said Thursday that there are only 45 open intensive care unit beds throughout the entire state. There were 533 people hospitalized for COVID-19 in Utah on Friday, and referral center ICU beds reached 93.8% occupancy statewide, according to state data.

Vermont

Montpelier: Gov. Phil Scott and the state health commissioner reiterated calls Friday for Vermonters to follow new COVID-19 restrictions, including not gathering with other households and avoiding travel. They said they have seen very concerning growth in coronavirus cases in the state, as well as four deaths in the past two weeks, after months without a fatality. “I cannot stress this enough. We need people to limit their contacts with others,” Scott said during his virus briefing. He urged Vermonters to take a look at the state’s case numbers, rising hospitalizations and deaths and at states around the country that are exceeding their hospital capacity. “Also think about the Vermonters we’ve lost,” he said. “They were grandmothers, grandfathers, moms, dads, husbands wives and friends.” Such deaths are increasing because the amount of virus in the community is rising and getting into facilities that care for seniors, he said.

Virginia

Chesapeake: Ninety inmates have tested positive for the coronavirus at a jail in the city. The Virginian-Pilot reports the city’s sheriff’s office reported the outbreak at the Chesapeake Correctional Center after widespread tests. Three inmates, six deputies and two contractors had initially tested positive Nov. 12. In response, Sheriff Jim O’Sullivan ordered all inmates in the known affected areas to be tested. People who have tested positive are being quarantined and monitored. The jail’s daily population averages 985 inmates. At the jail in the neighboring city of Virginia Beach, about 100 inmates and five staff members were reported to be positive the week before last.

Washington

Olympia: Gov. Jay Inslee on Friday announced $135 million in grants, loans and other assistance to help businesses and workers hurt by new restrictions he imposed through mid-December in response to a rising number of coronavirus cases across the state. At a news conference, Inslee said businesses would be able to apply for $70 million in grants, as well as $30 million in loans, to help offset the business restrictions that took effect last week, including the closure of fitness facilities and gyms, bowling centers, and movie theaters, as well as the requirement that restaurants and bars be limited to takeout and outdoor dining. Those restrictions come after businesses had started to regain activity as restrictions from the initial stay-at-home order issued in March were loosened in May. The economic package also includes $20 million in rental assistance and $15 million in utility payment assistance for those with low income.

West Virginia

Charleston: A man has been charged with threatening Gov. Jim Justice and his staff over restrictions meant to keep people from getting infected and dying during the coronavirus pandemic. Steven Long, 49, was arrested Thursday night and charged with terroristic threatening, news outlets report, citing a statement from West Virginia State Police. Troopers received a complaint Wednesday about a tweet that was deemed a possible threat, according to a criminal complaint filed in Kanawha County Magistrate Court. The tweet complains about policies implemented by Justice, West Virginia State Medical Director Anye Amjad and West Virginia COVID-19 Czar Clay Marsh, and in retaliation, it “calls for ‘LynchMob Justice’ and the public execution of all three government officials,” Cpl. Benjamin Wood wrote in the criminal complaint. Long told troopers he was exercising his First Amendment right to free speech with the tweet, the complaint said.

Wisconsin

Milwaukee: The state has surpassed 3,000 COVID-19 deaths, adding about a third of that tally in November. The state Department of Health Services reported 51 deaths Saturday, bringing the state’s death toll to 3,005 since the pandemic began. It took Wisconsin about five months from the beginning of the pandemic in March to hit 1,000 deaths Aug. 11. By Halloween, the state had reached its second 1,000 deaths. There were 6,224 new cases reported by the state Department of Health Services on Saturday. Health officials reported 380 people had died since the previous Sunday, making it the deadliest week of the pandemic. Gov. Tony Evers has cited a model from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation that projects Wisconsin could reach nearly 8,000 deaths by March 1 if the state continues on this path. The model predicted the state would pass 3,000 deaths Friday. It was only a day off.

Wyoming

Casper: Gov. Mark Gordon has announced new limits on indoor and outdoor public gatherings but has not implemented a statewide mask mandate as coronavirus cases continue to surge across the state. The Republican governor and state health officer Dr. Alexia Harrist said Thursday that public gatherings will be limited to 25 people or fewer without restrictions. Indoor gatherings will be limited to 25% capacity with social distancing, and outdoor gatherings will be limited to 50% capacity with social distancing. The new order goes into effect Tuesday, the Casper Star-Tribune reports. Nearly all of the county health officers in the state have called for a mask mandate as virus cases, hospitalizations and deaths have substantially increased in recent weeks. Gordon also decided not to implement any curfews or temporarily close down any businesses, as some governors in other states have done.

From USA TODAY Network and wire reports