Convention fight, Great White, isolation island: News from around our 50 states

Alabama

Montgomery: The Republican leader of the state Senate said he used a poor choice of words when he suggested he wanted more people to get infected with the new coronavirus. “It was a poor choice of words on my end,” Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh told the Associated Press, saying he didn’t wish for anyone to become ill. Last week Marsh drew criticism after he suggested more infections meant the state was closer to herd immunity. “I’m not as concerned so much as the number of cases; in fact, quite honestly, I want to see more people because we start reaching an immunity as more people have it and get through it,” Marsh told news outlets. Herd immunity is when enough people have contracted a disease and developed immunity that the virus cannot spread easily. But doctors have cautioned that they don’t yet know if COVID-19 survivors have long-term immunity.

Alaska

Anchorage: There were 116 new COVID-19 cases reported across the state Sunday – its highest daily increase so far. There was one new hospitalization and no new deaths reported in Alaska, The Anchorage Daily News reports. The state Department of Health and Social Services said 93 of the new cases involved Alaska residents, and 23 involved nonresidents. The new cases reported Sunday break a previous record set the day before, when the state reported 77 cases. The reason for Sunday’s increase was not immediately clear. It was not known if patients were showing symptoms or how sick they were at the time of testing. Alaska has reported 1,774 cases of COVID-19 statewide, with 847 active cases. There have been 86 people hospitalized as a result of the virus since March, and 17 residents have died.

Arizona

Phoenix: More than 60 firefighters with the Phoenix Fire Department have tested positive for the coronavirus. “We have had multiple positive cases in the past week, a truly alarming amount,” P.J. Dean, a spokesman for United Phoenix Firefighters Association, told Phoenix radio station KTAR FM. Phoenix Fire is the nation’s fifth-largest fire department with 60 fire stations serving Arizona’s largest city. As of Tuesday, the department had reported 62 positive COVID-19 cases among firefighters. Another 100 members out of 1,585 are currently quarantined during the testing process, awaiting their results, and seven civilian members have also tested positive. “It’s challenging. In my 25 years of experience, I’ve never seen anything like this,” Dean said. Every third day, city firefighters report to duty for at least 24 hours and share a fire station with a variety of people while sleeping, eating and living together.

Arkansas

Little Rock: The state reported 503 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday and eight additional deaths related to the new coronavirus. State health officials said the total number of confirmed cases climbed to 28,367. The death toll for the outbreak, which officials began tracking in early March, was 321 on Sunday. The true number of cases in Arkansas is likely higher because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected and not feel sick. Arkansas’ virus cases have dramatically risen since May, when the state began allowing businesses to reopen. As of Sunday, there were more than 6,400 active cases in the state, and nearly 21,600 people who had contracted COVID-19 have recovered, according to health officials.

California

Los Angeles: A heat wave brought crowds to the state’s beaches, where people mostly heeded warnings to keep a safe distance from each other as the state grappled with a spike in coronavirus infections and hospitalizations. “It’s a busy day at the beach, but people are spread out, for the most part,” said Chief Jason Young with Orange County Lifeguards. Temperatures soared into the 90s over the weekend in many areas from San Diego north to the San Francisco Bay Area. The rural community of Paicines inland from Monterey recorded a high of 102, the National Weather Service said. Young said lifeguards were educating the public on guidelines to stay about 6 feet apart to help curb the spread of the virus. In Santa Monica, Mercedes Benns said she was relieved to see the majority of people wearing masks in the beachside city. “People are keeping away from each other as best they can,” Benns said. “Everyone’s being respectful.”

Colorado

Denver: UCHealth expects to begin recruiting 1,000 patients at high risk of contracting COVID-19 to participate in a vaccine trial in the next few weeks. Researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and UCHealth on the Anschutz Medical Campus in Denver will be testing the Moderna mRNA-1273 vaccine to establish its efficacy and safety. It is the first COVID-19 trial launched in Colorado and the first for UCHealth, spokeswoman Kelly Tracer said. Unlike traditional vaccines that expose participants to a small amount of virus, this vaccine focuses on the genetic code of the coronavirus and its spike protein, said Dr. Thomas Campbell, an infectious disease doctor at the CU School of Medicine and University of Colorado Hospital. The recruitment period will last about two months, and the call will go out through UCHealth’s My Health Connection patient portal.

Connecticut

Westport: Several state parks closed their gates before noon Sunday after quickly reaching their visitor limits. The state has reduced by half the number of people allowed in the parks during the coronavirus pandemic to allow for social distancing. By Sunday morning, at least eight parks, including Rocky Neck State Park in East Lyme and Sherwood Island State Park in Westport, were already at capacity, NBC Connecticut reports. The state’s coronavirus transmission rate is among the lowest in the country, and the state has reported few virus deaths in recent days. At its peak April 20, Connecticut recorded 204 coronavirus-related deaths.

Delaware

Rehoboth: A popular Rehoboth Beach deli has temporarily closed after two employees were possibly exposed to individuals who may have the coronavirus. Owner Warren S. Rosenfeld announced on Facebook on Monday afternoon that he would be closing Rosenfeld’s Jewish Deli for at least 10 days. He did not say in the post if the coronavirus exposure came from other employees, customers or friends or family of the staffers. “Two staff members may have been exposed to others exhibiting signs of COVID,” the post said. “The staff no longer feels comfortable there until COVID testing of all staff members is completed, and results received.” Rosenfeld said the restaurant was closing “even though those others have yet to receive definitive word on their condition.”

District of Columbia

Washington: The nation’s capital has declared beekeepers to be essential workers during the coronavirus outbreak, WUSA-TV reports. Spring and summer is when beehives will “swarm,” meaning a queen will take half the hive to make a new hive. If the swarm isn’t collected by a beekeeper, the new hive can come to settle in residential backyards, attics, crawlspaces or other potentially ruinous areas. And that can create a stinging, scary nuisance. Beekeepers respond to swarms and carefully transplant them to designated areas such as community gardens, rooftops and even embassies in Washington. American honeybee colonies have bounced back after a bad year, an annual beekeeping survey finds. Beekeepers only lost 22.2% of their colonies this past winter, lower than the average of 28.6%, according to the Bee Informed Partnership’s annual survey of thousands of beekeepers. It was the second-smallest winter loss in 14 years of surveying.

Florida

Orlando: Officials shut down two strip clubs as part of a statewide crackdown on violators of an emergency order that forced bars to close in the face of rising coronavirus cases. The Department of Business and Professional Regulation suspended the licenses of Le Palace Otown in Orlando and Show N Tail The Legend in Panama City Beach, saying patrons didn’t observe social distancing guidelines. In both cases, the orders said DBPR had the authority to suspend a license if there is an “immediate health to the public health, safety or welfare.” In the case of Le Palace Otown, state regulators said, the bar was in violation of the terms of both the governor’s executive order for Phase 2 as well as the DBPR emergency order two weeks ago shutting bars back down. The business failed to observe social distancing guidelines, the order said. Show N Tail required customers to pay a cover charge, which entitled them to a “free” alcoholic beverage and to “observe any adult entertainment,” according to its suspension order.

Georgia

Atlanta: The number of people in Georgia who have died after contracting the coronavirus has reached 3,001, according to data released Sunday by the state Department of Public Health. Confirmed cases and hospitalizations have been rising sharply in the state over the past few weeks. Republican Gov. Brian Kemp has been locked in a battle with local officials over whether they have the power to implement virus restrictions that go beyond his orders. Kemp says no, but local governments across the state are doing it anyway, with several cities including Atlanta implementing mask requirements and other restrictions. More than 2,500 new confirmed cases of the virus were reported Sunday, according to the health department. That brings the total number of confirmed cases to nearly 117,000, though experts say official counts likely only capture a fraction of those who have been infected. As of Sunday, 2,512 people with the virus were hospitalized in Georgia.

Hawaii

Honolulu: Officials organizing events to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II say the coronavirus has not derailed the plans. Planners expect to follow through with the schedule of Victory over Japan Day, or V-J Day, events Aug. 29 through Sept. 2 as uncertainty remains about COVID-19 health restrictions, The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports. The theme of the events is “Salute Their Service, Honor Their Hope,” and the schedule includes several warplane flyovers and a ceremony on or next to the battleship Missouri, on which the U.S. accepted Japan’s unconditional surrender Sept. 2, 1945. Tony Vericella, executive director of the 75th World War II Commemoration Committee in Hawaii, said that as of last week, more than 30 World War II veterans from outside Hawaii and their family members had committed to attending the events in Oahu. Vericella said the participation of veterans and others from the continental U.S. relies on the state lifting a 14-day self-quarantine for out-of-state travelers, which would be replaced with a mandate for visitors to undergo COVID-19 screening tests prior to arriving.

Idaho

Boise: Gov. Brad Little said he will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court a ruling rejecting his request to put on hold a court order forcing the state to count online signatures for an initiative backers hope to get on the November ballot. The Republican governor announced the decision not long after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected his request last week. “We will continue our efforts to preserve the integrity of Idaho’s duly enacted laws and to prevent the disruption to our upcoming elections that this decision will cause,” Little said in a statement. Reclaim Idaho, a group that backs initiatives, in the lawsuit filed last month said that Little’s statewide stay-at-home order in late March due to the coronavirus pandemic didn’t include exceptions for ballot initiative signature gathering.

Illinois

Chicago: Health officials have put a mobile COVID-19 testing station outside a suburban Chicago high school as the area sees an uptick in cases among younger residents, a trend that has happened elsewhere in the country. The site, outside Lake Zurich High School’s Performing Arts Center, operated Sunday and will be open next weekend, according to the Chicago Tribune. The Lake County Health Department said there’s been a spike in coronavirus cases of people under age 30 while cases among the general population remained steady. Multiple cases were reported among participants attending the first day of a sports camp at Lake Zurich High School and other recent social gatherings. On Sunday, Illinois public health officials announced 954 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 20 deaths across the state. Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 153,916 cases and 7,187 deaths. The state reported 38,894 tests Sunday with an average seven-day positive rate of 3%.

Indiana

Indianapolis: After announcing plans to reopen as scheduled, Washington Township Schools said Monday that it will not bring students back into classrooms to start the new school year due to an increasing number of coronavirus cases. The school district’s board voted Monday to continue with virtual classes, “while coronavirus indicators increase.” Washington Township serves more than 11,000 students on Indianapolis’ northside. Just last week, the board had approved a plan that would reopen its classrooms for in-person instruction with requirements for masks, social distancing and other safety measures. Then, cases in Indiana started to increase. At the end of last week, the state saw the highest numbers of new coronavirus cases since early May and increases in the percent of COVID-19 tests coming back positive. In a statement released Monday, the board said it had to do what it believed was best for its students and staff members.

Iowa

Des Moines: The state’s gross domestic product fell 3.5% in the first quarter, led by a hurting arts and entertainment sector of the economy, according to a new report by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Iowa City’s Englert Theatre – one of the oldest entertainment venues in the state – estimated a loss of $385,213 between March through May, a figure that represents approximately 20% of the nonprofit’s typical gross annual revenues, as the coronavirus outbreak forced venues and other businesses to shut their doors. In response, the Englert joined the National Independent Venue Association, a collection of roughly 2,000 performance venues across the nation created to urge Congress to give more support to the ailing industry. NIVA representatives say they expect to see as much as 90% of businesses within its membership close permanently by the end of the year.

Kansas

Hutchinson: The Kansas State Fair Board voted Monday to cancel this year’s fair amid the coronavirus pandemic. Its reversal came a week after the board initially voted to continue with the fair, sparking concern from vendors and the community about the COVID-19 pandemic. “We appreciate the thoughtful consideration you gave to open the fair as safely as possible. After that, we heard from a number of vendors who were genuinely concerned,” Kansas State Fair general manager Robin Jennison said. About half the vendors had canceled amid worries about delays with travel quarantines, difficulties in putting crews together and cancellations of other fairs. Jennison said last week that it was beginning to appear the fair would be financially worse off going forward than not having it. The organization cannot operate in the red. The board is still interested in finding a way to safely hold livestock and 4H events.

Kentucky

Leitchfield: Grayson County Sheriff Norman Chaffins has a message for the rest of the Bluegrass State: Wear a mask. You don’t want to go through what he’s going through. Chaffins had been in bed for the past six days, he wrote in a lengthy Facebook post published Sunday, after contracting COVID-19 recently. He’s still fighting to recover, he wrote. “I consider myself a tough guy,” Chaffins wrote. “But I am telling you that It brought me down QUICK and there is nothing I can do about it.” Two of his family members have had mild symptoms, he said, but he was hit harder. The family returned to Leitchfield on July 4 after a vacation out west, where he believes he contracted the virus, and while it started with just a mild fever, Chaffins said his symptoms worsened as the week went on. Chaffins said his sheriff’s department isn’t going to enforce Gov. Andy Beshear’s mask mandate, but those in the community should still wear masks as a courtesy to others.

Louisiana

Monroe: The state’s public school students, teachers and adults in grades three through 12 will be required to wear masks as part of the Department of Education’s minimum safety standards it will present to the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education on Tuesday. The education department and BESE are required to produce the standards by a new law passed by the Legislature on June 30 and signed into law by Gov. John Bel Edwards. Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley said the new law provided BESE with the authority to enact mask mandates and other standards. “I really feel good about our plan,” Brumley said Saturday. “It’s something as a team we’ve spent countless hours to get right and hand in hand with the Louisiana Department of Health (and others). We wanted to give systems a road map, but at the same time we wanted to provide some degree of flexibility.”

Maine

Portland: An island that once served as a quarantine site during the Spanish flu is being marketed as a refuge from the coronavirus for a cool $250,000 a week, plus expenses. Portland entrepreneur Noah Gordon planned to host high-end weddings on the 12 acres he purchased for $4.5 million on House Island. Now he’s marketing it as a coronavirus-free safety zone. House Island sits just offshore, between South Portland and Peaks Island. And it’s a quick helicopter ride from the mainland. Staff at the island will follow health protocols ensuring a “safe haven bubble of privacy, safety and security where guests can socialize, party and play,” according to promotional materials. “It’s not that safety is the new luxury. Safety is luxury,” Gordon said. The island was the site of the city’s inspection and quarantine station between 1907 and 1937.

Maryland

Ocean City: More restaurants and bars are closing their doors as staffers continue to test positive for COVID-19. On Saturday, the Blu Crabhouse and Raw Bar announced it would close for business until further notice after a member of its staff contracted the disease. Buxy’s Salty Dog Saloon and Dry Dock 28 also shut down at 7 p.m. Saturday and will remain closed until Wednesday. The two are the latest Ocean City establishments to close down until further notice citing concerns of the virus spreading. On Friday, Fish Tales, the Longboard Cafe and the Purple Moose Saloon announced they would close with multiple staffers testing positive. The Original Crabcake Factory in Ocean City has also discontinued its bar and indoor dining services until further notice following a violation of social distancing and face mask policy. The Crab Bag and Bull on the Beach announced indoor dining will be discontinued.

Massachusetts

Boston: Gyms are welcoming back members and the iconic duck boat tours are rolling out again as the city enters the third phase of its coronavirus economic restart. Boston began Phase 3 on Monday, a week after most of the rest of Massachusetts, allowing museums, movie theaters, historical sites and gyms to reopen with certain restrictions. The New England Aquarium and Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum are among those expected to reopen this week. Boston Duck Tours were also restarting Monday. The company said it’s limiting the number of people on the duck boats so guests can socially distance and requiring face masks for staff and guests. Pat Smith, co-founder of a South Boston gym that reopens Monday, told The Boston Globe that most of its members have said they feel safe to return to working out in person. “People are ready to roll, and get back to a little bit of normalcy,” said Smith of Lifted Fitness.

Michigan

Detroit: Protesters who said they’re concerned about the coronavirus blocked a driveway used by buses Monday on the first day of summer classes in the city’s school district. Protesters held signs and placed tree branches on the ground to try to prevent buses from picking up children. WWJ-AM quoted two bus drivers as saying they quit on the spot. “I’m not going back until this pandemic is defeated. There is no safe way to return to school while this virus is spreading uncontained,” teacher Benjamin Royal said. It wasn’t immediately clear how many students, if any, couldn’t get to school because of the protest. Detroit Public Schools Community District said it’s offering in-person or online morning classes in 26 schools, through Aug. 6. Students and staff are required to wear masks. The district said classrooms would be limited to 10 to 15 students per teacher.

Minnesota

Minneapolis: People who qualify to be designated as “essential caregivers” will be allowed to visit family members in senior living centers under new guidance Friday from the state health department that loosens restrictions that have kept loved ones under a near-lockdown for four months due to the coronavirus pandemic. Long-term care facilities such as nursing homes will be able to designate family members or others as essential caregivers so they can resume visits with precautions, Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm said. The tight restrictions imposed in mid-March were “difficult but very essential” to protect residents and staff, but they came with their own costs in loneliness, quality of life and health risks resulting from that social isolation, Malcolm told reporters. “People are suffering, and they’re dying from COVID-19, but also from loneliness,” said Cheryl Hennan, the state ombudsman at the Office of Long-Term Care at the Minnesota Department of Health.

Mississippi

Jackson: Students are scheduled to return to school in August amid rising cases of COVID-19 in the state, but campus life will be a lot different from what many are used to. At Mississippi State, temperature check-in kiosks will be scattered around campus. Students who live in dorms will be required to log their temperature every 24 hours and fill out a health questionnaire. Employees and day students will be required to check temperatures at home and take a screening survey before arriving on campus. At Mississippi State and the University of Mississippi, all members of the community will be required to wear masks inside and out of the classroom, where class sizes will be reduced by 50%. “While we remain focused on preserving the on-campus experience, COVID-19 has forced us to rethink everything we do,” University of Mississippi Chancellor Glenn F. Boyce said in a letter to the campus community in late June.

Missouri

Jefferson City: A judge has rejected a motion that would have immediately made it easier for Missourians to vote with a mail-in ballot during the coronavirus pandemic. Cole County Judge Jon Beetem denied the motion Friday for a preliminary injunction sought by the Missouri NAACP and the League of Women Voters, the Jefferson City News-Tribune reports. At issue is how voting will work as public health officials urge people to social distance to avoid spreading COVID-19. The lawsuit seeks to allow all Missourians to cast absentee ballots without notarization in 2020. Under a new law, people considered at risk of the coronavirus – those age 65 and older, living in a long-term care facility or with certain existing health problems – can vote absentee without having their ballot notarized. The Missouri Supreme Court sent the lawsuit back for further review, ruling last month that Beetem was wrong to dismiss it. Beetem said the groups presented no new arguments.

Montana

Great Falls: Cascade County in central Montana has issued a public health order limiting indoor events to 250 people and outdoor events to 500. The Cascade City-County Health Department issued the order Friday that also requires organizers of events with 100 to 500 people to submit an event packet for approval before the event can take place. Officials say the restrictions are reasonable and intended to protect the community from the coronavirus. Two more deaths due to the coronavirus were reported Monday in Montana, bringing the new statewide total to 32 people who have died because of the respiratory illness. The state reported 85 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, bringing its total to 1,843. Officials have attributed the increase to more testing being done statewide but also have said people are not as vigilant about protecting themselves from the respiratory illness as they once were.

Nebraska

Lincoln: The state’s three largest counties plan to send ballot request forms to every voter before this fall’s general election, but it’s not yet clear whether those forms will be sent statewide as they were before the primary. Officials in Douglas, Sarpy and Lancaster counties say they are planning to send out the ballot-request forms because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and because it will help them plan for the election. Nebraska also has 11 rural counties that routinely vote entirely by mail. Heavy use of mail-in ballots during the May primary helped the state set a record for turnout when more than 471,000 people voted. Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen told The Omaha World-Herald he hasn’t decided whether to send out ballot request forms to every registered voter in the state. Gov. Pete Ricketts doesn’t think it is necessary to send out the forms this fall, spokesman Taylor Gage said.

Nevada

Las Vegas: The state’s unemployment benefits call center in Las Vegas has closed for cleaning after officials said an employee tested positive for the new coronavirus. The state Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation announced Sunday that the unidentified person was self-quarantined and that there was no immediate risk to the public because the facility had been closed to outsiders since mid-March. Agency official Kimberly Gaa said claims usually handled by the southern Nevada office will be routed to the unemployment insurance call center in Carson City, and the closure will remain in effect until coronavirus protocols are met. Officials say the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance system and call center aren’t affected. People filing regular jobless claims were advised to use online services as much as possible during non-peak hours such as early mornings, nights or weekends.

New Hampshire

Concord: Nashua’s face-covering ordinance and the governor’s declaration of a state of emergency because of the coronavirus will stand while they’re being challenged in court, a judge ruled Monday. Andrew Cooper, a Nashua resident, had filed a request for a preliminary injunction as part of his lawsuit seeing to end Gov. Chris Sununu’s emergency declaration and the city’s rules requiring members of the public ages 10 and older to wear face masks when entering any business, work site or government building. He argued that Sununu lacked the authority to make the declaration because “there is no ‘emergency’ in New Hampshire,” a claim that Hillsborough County Superior Court Judge Jacalyn Colburn said defied common sense. “As anyone not living in a cave for the past few months would know, the State, the Country, and the entire world are in the midst of a once-in-a-century pandemic event,” she wrote in denying the motion.

New Jersey

Trenton: Gov. Phil Murphy announced Monday that the state would lift the 50% capacity limit that has been enforced on NJ Transit and private carrier buses, trains, light rail and Access Link. That order has been in effect since March to help mitigate the spread of the virus but will be lifted Wednesday at 8 p.m. Murphy also said face coverings will be required at all indoor stations and outdoor stations where social distancing isn’t possible, as well as in the transit vehicles. “We are seeing increases in ridership that are beginning to approach 50% of the stated maximum capacity of these vehicles, and we want to ensure that people can get to their jobs and that the system continues operating as efficiently as possible,” Murphy said. He said that in a “perfect world” there would be more tunnels under the Hudson River so more trains could run and keep the capacity lower.

New Mexico

Santa Fe: State health officials reported an additional 262 COVID-19 cases and two more confirmed deaths Sunday. That increased the statewide death toll to 545 and the confirmed cases total to 15,028. The New Mexico Department of Health said 111 of the additional cases were in Bernalillo County, the state’s largest county that includes the Albuquerque metro area. The number of infections is thought to be far higher because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected with the virus without feeling sick. On Saturday, state authorities ordered a Walmart Supercenter in Las Cruces to close after four employees tested positive for the coronavirus in a three-week span. The store employs more than 400 people. The state Environment Department now is requiring the store to test all of its workers and thoroughly disinfect the building.

New York

Albany: Certain nursing homes can allow visitors – with restrictions – starting Wednesday as the state eases a ban aimed at limiting the spread of COVID-19 among vulnerable elderly residents. Only nursing homes and long-term care facilities without any new coronavirus cases among residents and staffers in the past 28 days can allow limited visits, state Department of Health Commissioner Howard Zucker said. The department said the state’s policy follows federal guidance and is limited to nursing homes without staffing shortages that have tested all residents. Health department spokeswoman Jill Montag said about 150 of the more than 600 nursing homes in the state could qualify to open up to visitors. Roughly 500 nursing homes had reported COVID-19 cases among staffers in June, according to recently released data from the state, which doesn’t release data about the number of cases at individual nursing homes.

North Carolina

Raleigh: The state’s witness requirement for people casting mail-in absentee ballots is unconstitutional during the COVID-19 pandemic, voters said Friday while suing to have it suspended during the emergency. State law says an absentee voter must fill out a traditional absentee ballot in the presence of two adults, who sign the sealed envelope confirming the voter’s identity. The law was amended last month for the rest of 2020 to reduce the number of witnesses to one. It’s based on the idea that older people and those at higher risk to contract the coronavirus are isolated in their homes. But even one witness is too many, according to four individuals who sued in Wake County Superior Court with help from the American Civil Liberties Union and a New York law firm. They said they have preexisting conditions that could otherwise force them to endanger their lives by seeking a witness.

North Dakota

Dickinson: Metal band Great White has apologized for performing at an outdoor concert where the crowd didn’t wear masks despite the ongoing threat of the coronavirus. The band drew criticism on social media after the performance Thursday night as part of the “First on First: Dickinson Summer Nights” concert series in Dickinson, in the southwest of the state. Spin magazine posted video showing the crowd packed in and not wearing face masks. “We have had the luxury of hindsight and we would like to apologize to those who disagreed with our decision to fulfill our contractual agreement. The Promoter and staff were nothing but professional and assured us of the safety precautions,” Great White said in a statement Saturday. Although North Dakota health officials recommend social distancing and wearing masks when possible, there is no legal requirement to do so in the state, and Great White said the band nevertheless was “not in a position to enforce the laws.”

Ohio

Cincinnati: As infections have surged across the region, local public health officials have expanded their pandemic teams of contact tracers, with help from the state, and are running them seven days a week to track the coronavirus. In the city of Springdale, Health Commissioner Matt Clayton recruited Spanish speakers already known in the community to work as contact tracers. The Cincinnati Health Department brought aboard 10 employees of the Ohio Department of Health to supplement the 30 staffers and volunteers already contract tracing. Graduate students at Wright State University’s public health program are helping Warren County’s health department with contact tracing. Most citizens have understood the contact tracers’ task and have cooperated, the public health officials said last week, although about 10% to 15% of people have refused.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma City: Health officials on Monday reported 510 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and noted the state’s first death of a child from the disease. Officials at Fort Sill Army Post in southwest Oklahoma confirmed a 13-year-old dependent of a service member stationed there tested positive for COVID-19 and died Friday at Comanche County Memorial Hospital. “Our entire Lawton Fort Sill community is deeply saddened,” Maj Gen. Ken Kamper, commanding general of Fort Sill, said in a statement. The family members are currently in isolation at their home at Fort Sill, officials said. The Oklahoma State Department of Health reported an additional two deaths Monday, bringing the statewide death toll to 424. The total number of people who have tested positive for the coronavirus in Oklahoma now stands at 20,745, although the actual number of cases is likely much higher since many people haven’t been tested, and some with the disease don’t show symptoms.

Oregon

Woodburn: The city is suing Marion County over a COVID-19 isolation shelter at a Super 8 Hotel. The lawsuit was filed Thursday following a directive by the Woodburn City Council. Attorneys for the city seek a court order against Marion County to cease shelter operations. City officials maintain that the shelter is operating in violation of the Woodburn’s Zoning & Development Ordinance and say it poses a public safety risk to surrounding neighborhoods. The hotel is located across from a large facility with senior-restricted residences, a nursing home and a medical facility. Marion County officials said they would operate the shelter starting July 1 for nine months. As a condition of the county moving into phase 2 of reopening June 19, county health officials were required to find a facility for COVID-19 positive patients with mild symptoms who don’t have anywhere to isolate. The county chose the hotel in Woodburn – a coronavirus hot spot.

Pennsylvania

Harrisburg: A proposal to construct plastic barriers around school bus drivers as a COVID-19 mitigation tactic was shot down by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, a sign of one particular challenge – among many – schools face as they plan for a fall reopening. The state Education Department told districts last month each can restart in-person instruction with a plan that’s approved by the local school board, made public and provided to the state. But Education Secretary Pedro Rivera warned that transportation would be a difficult problem to solve. The great majority of the state’s public school districts contract with private companies to provide bus transportation, and those companies have difficulty finding and keeping enough drivers in the best of times, said Mike Berk with the Pennsylvania School Bus Association, a trade group.

Rhode Island

Providence: Parking lots at every state beach in Rhode Island reached capacity Sunday as the temperature soared to 93 degrees, the state Department of Environmental Management reported. Capacity at the lots has been limited to ensure social distancing on the sand. Meanwhile, the Rhode Island Blood Center has put out a call for donors because even though the need for blood has rebounded to pre-pandemic levels as hospitals resume elective and non-critical surgeries, donor participation has not. About 50% of the region’s blood supply comes from mobile blood drives, but from March through June, most of those were canceled because of the pandemic. And even though blood drives have resumed, they are not being scheduled at pre-pandemic levels, blood center spokesperson Kara LeBlanc said in a statement. In addition, about one-fifth of the people who make appointments to donate blood do not show up.

South Carolina

Columbia: A hospital system is suspending elective surgeries due to increasing numbers of COVID-19 patients that officials say are straining staff and other resources. Effective Tuesday, officials with Roper St. Francis in Charleston said procedures that aren’t time-sensitive would be put on hold across its four facilities to free up staff for an “unrelenting flood” of patients needing treatment for COVID-19. In all, 131 patients who had become ill after contracting the coronavirus were being treated at the hospital’s facilities, representing more than a third of all of Roper’s inpatient care. Emergency surgeries will still be performed as needed, hospital officials said. The decision comes amid a resurgence of confirmed cases across South Carolina, where state officials said there had been 56,485 total confirmed cases of the coronavirus as of Sunday afternoon. At least 950 people in South Carolina who contracted the virus have died.

South Dakota

Sioux Falls: The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the state increased by 25 on Monday, and no new deaths were reported. South Dakota had a total of 7,524 COVID-19 cases as of Monday, according to the state health department. That doesn’t include people who show symptoms or are asymptomatic but are not tested. A total of 770 test results were reported Monday, and the positive rate for coronavirus tests was 3.2%. The death toll remained at 109. The state health department said 742 total people have been hospitalized during the pandemic, and 63 are currently hospitalized. The department has changed the time parameters for the data it provides every day. Data will now reflect information provided through 1 p.m. instead of 5 p.m. the previous day to allow staff to analyze the data during business hours instead of in the evenings, state epidemiologist Josh Clayton said.

Tennessee

Nashville: Nearly 3,000 people have signed up to be poll workers during the coronavirus pandemic for the Aug. 6 primary, and many of the state’s counties still need more, officials said Monday. Secretary of State Tre Hargett’s office said it’s not too late to apply, with signups available online. Early voting starts Friday and runs Mondays through Saturdays until Aug. 1. Hargett’s office began a poll worker recruitment campaign last month. Poll workers must be at least 16 or a registered voter if 18 or older. They cannot be a candidate or close relative of one and must be able to read and write in English. Poll workers must wear face coverings and will be trained on COVID-19 precautions, including social distancing. They will be provided personal protective equipment, including masks. Poll workers are paid for training, early voting and Election Day work. Additionally, they help count absentee votes.

Texas

Houston: The Texas Supreme Court on Monday upheld Houston’s refusal to allow the state Republican convention to hold in-person events in the city due to the coronavirus pandemic. The court dismissed an appeal of a state district judge’s denial of a temporary restraining order sought by the state Republican Party. Shortly after the ruling, GOP leaders said they would call a meeting of the party’s executive committee to “finalize our path forward.” A separate court hearing was ongoing Monday in Harris County, where Houston is located, in which a different judge was hearing the party’s arguments to allow the convention to go forward. The state GOP convention had been scheduled to begin Thursday at Houston’s downtown convention center and was expected to draw thousands of participants. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, a Democrat, said last week that he had directed city lawyers to terminate the contract because he believed the event could not be held safely.

Utah

St. George: Prisons and jails have seen some of the worst outbreaks of COVID-19 in the U.S., and Washington County’s Purgatory Correctional Facility saw one of the nation’s fastest outbreaks in recent weeks when nearly a third of all inmates tested positive. At the peak of the outbreak, there were 96 inmate cases. Officials at the jail say they had a thorough plan in place, attributing the rapid spread to many inmates being asymptomatic and tough to diagnose before they spread it to others. Friends and family of the inmates haven’t been convinced. A large crowd gathered to share them during a vigil at the facility July 3 at which inmates’ family members spoke about how they feel the jail has not done enough to protect those on the inside from the virus. Then, on Friday, another group gathered in front of the Washington County Attorney’s office in protest of conditions at the jail.

Vermont

Burlington: The state is suing the Department of Homeland Security to block a rule that would require foreign students to leave the country if their school only provides classes online this fall, the Attorney General’s Office said Monday. Vermont is one of 17 states and the District of Columbia that filed suit Monday, arguing the rule is cruel and unlawful. Last week, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement notified colleges that international students would have to leave the U.S. or transfer to another college if their schools operate entirely online this fall. Vermont Attorney General T.J. Donovan said the rule would be a huge loss to Vermont and its students. As of Friday, the University of Vermont had 566 active students from 67 countries who could be affected. UVM is currently planning to bring students back to campus for the fall semester with a combination of in-person and remote classes.

Virginia

Staunton: With 90 cases of COVID-19 reported in the area since June 30, July is trending to be the worst month for new cases in Staunton, Waynesboro and Augusta County. Last month 131 new COVID cases were reported, not counting case numbers suppressed in ZIP codes where there were fewer than five total cases. July could hit 200 new cases before the month is out. Even if the trend slows down by half, July will still be the worst month so far for new cases. The good news: No new area deaths were reported during this time, according to data from the Virginia Department of Health. The bad news: multiple outbreaks in congregate settings in the Central Shenandoah Health District, which has now reported 11 outbreaks in non-nursing facility congregate settings. Also, the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association’s statewide numbers show a sharp increase in hospitalizations in July after a slow but steady decrease for more than a month.

Washington

Bellingham: An economic research study indicated border restrictions resulting from the coronavirus could reduce future cross-border shopping trips into the state by Canadians. The Border Policy Research Institute at Western Washington University released a report concerning money spent by Canadians in Whatcom County in northwest Washington, The Bellingham Herald reports. The border between Washington state and British Columbia has been restricted to essential travelers and commercial trade since March 21 because of the pandemic. The restrictions are scheduled to expire July 21, but experts believe some controls will be extended through the summer. Easing border restrictions may not prevent a long-term impact on Canadian shopping behavior in Whatcom County, the research report said. “Even after the restrictions are lifted, concerns about public health and safety could continue to inhibit Canadians from shopping in the U.S.,” the report said.

West Virginia

Wheeling: The year 2020 started with a push for vocational education and hands-on learning, but this has been made difficult by COVID-19 threats and students forced into online education at home, The Intelligencer reports. More than 60% of students at Wheeling Park High School are involved in career-based training classes at the school, according to Stephanie Bugaj, director of career and technical education at WPHS. She said the district is looking to step up at-home opportunities for vocational students as their return to classrooms and school workshops may be further delayed this fall. “Teachers are communicating with students and trying to keep them engaged,” Bugaj said. “They can do a lot of skills at home. We’re trying to come up with things for them to do this fall.” There are online instructional classes for students in most vocational areas, and they can replicate what they see by working on projects at home, she said.

Wisconsin

Madison: Dane County’s new mask mandate went into effect at 8 a.m. Monday, requiring all over the age of 5 to wear a face covering indoors in public settings. However, Madison and Dane County’s public health department asked residents not to call the police if someone is violating the new requirement, as health conditions or disabilities can make the task difficult. In a tweet, they asked the county not to judge others – and not to call 911. “You have a role too,” the department said in a Sunday blog post. “Your job is to wear your mask and stay six feet away from others. It’s not to ask someone why they aren’t wearing a mask or to intervene if they aren’t. Some people have disabilities or health conditions where wearing a mask is difficult or dangerous, and sometimes their disabilities and health conditions may not always be visible.”

Wyoming

Cheyenne: State corrections officials plan to test all inmates and employees for the coronavirus. Wyoming and Hawaii are the only states that haven’t reported cases of COVID-19 among their inmate populations. Corrections Department Director Bob Lampert said last week that he wants to confirm that’s indeed the case in Wyoming. The testing was to begin Monday at the Wyoming Honor Farm in Riverton, followed by the Women’s Center in Lusk, the Honor Camp in Newcastle, and the state maximum- and medium-security prisons in Rawlins and Torrington. Regular surveillance testing will continue after every inmate is tested by the end of August. Corrections officials say the tests aren’t optional, and inmates who refuse to be tested will need to quarantine for two weeks.

From USA TODAY Network and wire reports

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Convention fight, Great White: News from around our 50 states