Ramped-up testing, mermaids back on job, golfing again: News from around our 50 states

Alabama

Greenville: A mayor who said he didn’t pay much attention to the new coronavirus has been diagnosed with COVID-19 along with his wife. Greenville Mayor Dexter McLendon told WSFA-TV he and wife Janice both tested positive, though neither has been hospitalized. Both are quarantined at home waiting for their temperatures to go down, followed by additional testing. McClendon said he was among the people who didn’t take the threat of the virus too seriously and, through work, got around someone who had been infected. “I let my guard down one day,” he said. While some are advocating for a wider reopening of the economy, which was largely shut down to guard against spreading the virus, McClendon said he is for moving slower after his illness. “We don’t need to open up all the way,” he said.

Alaska

Juneau: The state-run ferry system is not requiring that passengers and crew wear face coverings in response to COVID-19 concerns, with a spokesperson saying rider numbers are low, and social distancing on board is “easily attainable.” CoastAlaska reports the Alaska Marine Highway System said it puts the health and safety of employees and passengers first. Cloth masks are available for crew members but not mandated, the system said. State transportation department spokesperson Meadow Bailey said rider numbers are “very low, and social distancing is easily attainable for employees and passengers.” Two ferries currently are operating. The system said it’s taken steps aimed at preventing the spread of COVID-19, including turning away passengers with flu-like symptoms.

Arizona

Phoenix: Arizona State University will continue to provide COVID-19 models to the public despite instructions from the Arizona Department of Health Services to “pause” the work, the university confirmed. A tweet from U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema on Wednesday afternoon said she was grateful the work would continue. She said the decision to “disregard the science that should be the basis of Arizona public health policies – and the White House’s guidelines for re-opening – is concerning and disappointing.” An email from S. Robert Bailey, DHS bureau chief of public health statistics, said health department leadership had asked the team to “pause” all work on projections and modeling. The department also would end access to special data sets the modeling team had been using for its efforts, Bailey said. The state is instead relying on a model from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. This model has not been released to the public.

Arkansas

Little Rock: The Buffalo National River is reopening for some uses next week after the national park was closed because of the coronavirus pandemic. The National Park Service on Tuesday announced the park will begin to reopen May 15 for recreational day use of trails and the Buffalo River. The park has been closed since early April because of the virus. The park service said day access will resume for private and commercial floating on the river, all trails within park boundaries except for the Lost Valley Trail, and limited restroom facilities. The park’s campgrounds remain closed. The park is reopening as Arkansas lifts some of its restrictions because of the virus. Barbershops and hair salons were allowed to reopen Wednesday, two days after restrictions on gyms were lifted.

California

Sacramento: Millions of protective masks that were to arrive in California this week as part of the state’s nearly $1 billion deal with a Chinese company have been delayed, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday. The governor said the N95 masks made by BYD, an electric vehicle manufacturer with a California manufacturing plant, were stalled in the federal certification process. Last month Newsom announced the deal to great fanfare, calling it a “bold and big” effort in the state’s fight against the coronavirus. He said the deal would result in 500 million masks that were a mixture of traditional surgical masks and the more protective N95 models to the state over the next 2.5 months. The state took the unusual step of paying about half the contract up front to cover about 300 million N95 masks at $3.30 per mask. The price per mask was first reported Wednesday by the Los Angeles Times.

Colorado

Denver: The state got a flyover to salute health care workers and others responding to the coronavirus outbreak and to boost morale. The Colorado Air National Guard launched F-16 Fighting Falcons from Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora on Wednesday afternoon. Their first destination was the Sterling Correctional Facility, home of one of the state’s largest COVID-19 outbreaks, before flying over Greeley, Fort Collins, Vail, Aspen, Estes Park and surrounding areas. From there, they flew over the Denver, Colorado Springs and Pueblo areas. Their route took them over many hospitals and rehabilitation centers but also distribution centers for Walmart and Amazon. “So many of our community members, Coloradans and fellow Americans have experienced overwhelming hardship as a result of this invisible enemy, and we hope that the sound of freedom will inspire a sense of community and optimism,” said Air Force Col. Micah Fesler, commander of the 140th Wing of the Colorado Air National Guard.

Connecticut

Hartford: The state’s colleges and universities may open at their discretion, in a phased-in way between May 20 and Sept. 1, with mass COVID-19 testing of students living on residential campuses, under a package of recommendations submitted Wednesday to Gov. Ned Lamont. The plan, however, depends on certain benchmarks being met, such as a steady decline in hospitalizations in Connecticut and colleges and universities having adequate supplies of tests, face masks and personal protective equipment. Approximately 190,000 students are enrolled in higher education institutions across Connecticut. They employ about 45,000 people. “For residential institutions, we are recommending that a screening of everyone, testing of everyone, when they come in the fall, and isolating those who test positive and depending on what the public health thinking is at that time,” said Rick Levin, former president of Yale University and co-chairman of the higher education subcommittee of Lamont’s reopening advisory committee.

Delaware

Wilmington: More people have tried to buy guns in the state during the coronavirus pandemic than any time before on record, largely to quell fears that a stunted economy and mass unemployment will lead to increased crime and home invasions. The pandemic so far has proved the contrary. Police in Delaware are arresting and ticketing far fewer people since Gov. John Carney issued the stay-at-home order to limit the spread of the virus. There’s no evidence of increased home invasions, though experts worry the orders will cause a spike in domestic violence and child abuse. Days after Carney declared a state of emergency in mid-March, gun store owners in the state were reporting their busiest days on record. Shelves were cleared of guns and ammunition. As a result, Delaware saw a record number of background checks for firearm purchases in March, according to data collected by the FBI.

District of Columbia

Washington: Registered nurses protested at Lafayette Park on Thursday morning, during National Nurses Appreciation Week, to honor the lives of medical professionals who’ve lost their lives to COVID-19, WUSA-TV reports. Protesters read the names of 88 nurses who died of coronavirus after saving the lives of many people who were diagnosed with the illness. They also placed 88 nurse shoes on the lawn at Lafayette Park to honor their colleagues. Nurses with National Nurses United, the largest nurses union in the nation, is demanding the White House do more to protect front-line health care workers. According to the NNU, the union petitioned the Trump administration’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration on March 4 to create a temporary emergency standard so health care workers are provided with the necessary personal protective equipment. They said they did not receive a response to their request.

Florida

Tallahassee: The state will look to new ways to expand coronavirus testing, including allowing tests at pharmacies and randomly checking blood donations for antibodies that indicate whether people have recovered from the disease, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday. DeSantis held a news conference in Miami to show the state’s new mobile testing lab, which will travel to nursing homes and assisted living facilities to conduct rapid testing. It will conduct up to 500 tests a day. He also said that the state is giving approval for CVS, Walgreens and Walmart to conduct tests and that he’s looking into the possibility of home testing. Testing at those businesses will start with a handful of locations and then expand. The mobile testing unit will be staffed by 10 members of the National Guard and 10 nurses, DeSantis said. Test results will be available within 45 minutes.

Georgia

Atlanta: State tax revenues swooned by $1 billion in April thanks to coronavirus-related disruptions. Agencies have been mandated to propose 14% reductions to their budgets, which would cut more than $3.5 billion from the planned $28 billion in state revenue. The news came as the state’s largest school district dialed back reopening plans and as the COVID-19 toll at long-term care facilities continued to rise. April is normally the largest revenue month in Georgia, thanks to income tax payments. But with the state delaying its income tax deadline to July 15 along with the federal government, much of that money didn’t arrive. Individual and corporate income tax payments fell by about $700 million over last year, after accounting for refunds that also weren’t paid because people delayed filing returns.

Hawaii

Honolulu: Oahu’s lifeguards have returned to their towers dotting the island’s public beaches with new rules and strategies for preventing the spread of the coronavirus. The familiar lifeguard uniforms of yellow shirts and red shorts now also include red face masks, The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports. Cones have also been placed in the sand to establish 10-foot buffer zones around lifeguard towers since they returned without fanfare nearly two weeks ago. “We came back to the beaches the day the mayor reopened the parks, April 25,” said Paul Merino, captain of South Shore operations for Honolulu City and County Ocean Safety. The ocean safety officers never stopped working but only stepped down from the beach towers, Merino said. Lifeguards have developed techniques to maintain safe distancing while conducting water interventions. They plan to extend their 12-foot surfboards end to end for those in trouble to hold at a safe distance while awaiting an officer on a personal watercraft to take them to shore.

Idaho

Boise: A group of inmates at Idaho’s largest prison is suing the state for overcrowding, saying cell blocks are so packed that the prison department can’t maintain sanitary toilets, putting prisoners at risk during the coronavirus outbreak. In the lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Boise, the inmates say lawmakers have failed to adequately fund the Idaho Department of Correction despite a growing inmate population. They say that means cells built at Idaho State Correctional Center to hold two people are now holding four or more. Some offenders are sleeping on cots in cubicles, and all the inmates are getting less recreation time because of the overcrowding and understaffing, the inmates say. Idaho Department of Correction spokesman Jeff Ray declined to comment on the case because the lawsuit is ongoing.

Illinois

Chicago: Staff at dozens of nursing homes in the state called off a strike set to begin Friday after their union reached a tentative deal with nursing home owners that will increase workers’ pay to at least $15 and guarantee additional bonus pay during the coronavirus pandemic. Certified nursing assistants and food service and housekeeping employees were among those planning to walk out at 44 facilities starting Friday morning, according to officials with the Service Employees International Union Healthcare Illinois Indiana unit. Staff at 20 more facilities planned to follow Tuesday. Nearly all of the nursing homes are in Chicago or surrounding suburbs. Union and industry officials said the two-year contract announced early Thursday includes $15 minimum hourly pay for 10,000 employees along with $2-per-hour bonus pay while Illinois’ stay-at-home order is in effect. The bonus pay would be extended at homes with active COVID-19 cases.

Indiana

Indianapolis: The state’s top health official said Wednesday that the poor health conditions for many residents have likely added to the coronavirus death toll. Dr. Kristina Box, the state health commissioner, cited Indiana’s high rates for smoking, diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity as contributing factors because those put people contracting COVID-19 infections at greater risk of severe illnesses. Gov. Eric Holcomb and other state officials have faced questions over his order easing business and travel restrictions across most of the state while Indiana has the country’s 11th-highest per-capita coronavirus death rate. Box said the state reopening plan was taking into consideration the higher number of cases such as in Indianapolis and northwestern Indiana’s Lake County, which remain under tighter restrictions. “That is why we are taking a measured, phased-in approach as we continue to review the data for each county every day,” Box said.

Iowa

Des Moines: Residents will be allowed to resume dental appointments after Gov. Kim Reynolds made more moves Wednesday to ease restrictions imposed to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Besides allowing dental procedures statewide, Reynolds also allowed public and private campgrounds to reopen, ended closure orders for tanning facilities and made clear that drive-in movie theaters were allowed to operate. The changes will be effective Friday morning. In her proclamation, Reynolds also reopened fitness centers, malls and other retail establishments effective Friday in 77 counties while maintaining restrictions in 22 counties, including most of the state’s urban areas. Businesses allowed to open must take measures to ensure social distancing, and retail establishments must ensure the number of customers doesn’t top 50% of the legal occupancy capacity.

Kansas

Topeka: The Legislature will focus on the fallout from the coronavirus when it reconvenes for a single day later this month to wrap up the 2020 session, a leading lawmaker said. A panel of legislative leaders on Wednesday decided lawmakers will return May 21. The truncated session is aimed at limiting exposure to COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. House Speaker Ron Ryckman, a Republican from Olathe, said it appears no vote will take place on a proposed constitutional amendment on abortion. Ryckman said expansion of Medicaid will likely be discussed, but “we really need to work on what’s a want versus a need.” Many issues had to be put aside when lawmakers were forced to vacate in mid-March as the pandemic began to worsen. “There’s really nothing off the table, but we do want to focus on things that are in response to COVID-19,” Ryckman said of the upcoming session.

Kentucky

Louisville: Gov. Andy Beshear issued a new travel ban Wednesday to combat COVID-19 in response to a federal judge’s ruling this week that knocked down the previous prohibition. The Democratic governor said officials made a “few small tweaks” to the executive order blocking travel outside the state. “What we have to make sure right now with this virus not being gone is somebody can’t travel from one of the hotspots, Philadelphia or Boston or others right now, coming to an area and continue to spread infection,” Beshear said. The order is similar to the March 30 order in that it says a person must quarantine for 14 days upon entering Kentucky unless they are traveling for work; visiting a doctor; providing care for another person; ordered by a court; or obtaining groceries, medicine or needed supplies. But the new ban allows for an exception “when as part of their normal life living in one state and working in another.”

Louisiana

New Orleans: The number of people hospitalized for COVID-19 in the state continued to trend downward Wednesday, along with the number of patients requiring ventilators, according to figures released by the state health department. There were 1,465 people in the hospital with the disease caused by the new coronavirus, down from more than 1,500 on Tuesday; 187 of those patients were on ventilators, down from 194. The death toll related to the disease reached 2,094 Wednesday, an increase of 52. Gov. John Bel Edwards lamented the increase in deaths but noted positive trends in the figures, such as the decrease in hospitalization rates and ventilator usage. However, he wasn’t ready to speculate on whether the state will be able to begin a phased reopening of businesses when his current emergency stay-at-home order expires May 15.

Maine

Augusta: The state has partnered with a Westbrook, Maine-based company to buy enough of its coronavirus testing kits to more than triple the state’s testing capacity, meaning anyone in Maine suspected of having the virus will be able to get a test, Gov. Janet Mills said Thursday. The state is buying enough test kits from IDEXX Laboratories Inc. to run at least 5,000 tests per week for the foreseeable future, Mills said. “This changes everything,” Mills said in a news release. “Acquiring this testing capacity is a major breakthrough for all the people of Maine.” She didn’t specify how much the kits will cost the state. The tests will add to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s current capacity of 2,000 tests per week. The tests will be run at Maine CDC’s Health and Environmental Testing Laboratory in Augusta. Additional staff will be hired to support the expansion.

Maryland

Silver Spring: The state has opened a temporary morgue at an ice skating and hockey facility to store bodies during the COVID-19 pandemic, state officials said. A spokesman for the state health department wouldn’t disclose the location of the “temporary mortuary affairs center,” but a state lawmaker said Wednesday that it opened last month at the Gardens Ice House in Laurel, about midway between Baltimore and Washington, D.C. About 55 bodies have been taken to the ice rink facility since it opened April 17, and roughly 30 bodies were there Wednesday, said Del. Mary Lehman, a Democrat whose district includes Laurel. Lehman said she was given the information by a liaison from the state health department. Gov. Larry Hogan said at a news conference Wednesday that he didn’t know how long the temporary morgue would be needed.

Massachusetts

Boston: Limited use of golf courses will be allowed, Gov. Charlie Baker announced Thursday as the state looks ahead to a gradual reopening of the economy starting May 18. Baker said private owners of golf courses can now permit individuals access to the property as long as there are no gatherings of any kind and as long as appropriate social distancing of 6 feet between individuals is strictly followed. The decision also allows cities and towns to open municipal courses under the same guidelines if they choose. Despite the limited opening, golf courses are still not considered essential businesses and can’t have employees working at the courses.

Michigan

Clinton Township: A Macomb County man who barely survived COVID-19 repaid a hospital by delivering pasta and garlic bread – by helicopter. “I just thought it’d be something very unique, to fly it in and give them something to see and basically salute them for all the great work they’re doing,” Jim Santilli said. He arranged for 400 meals from a restaurant, Villa Penna, for staff at Henry Ford Macomb Hospital, MLive.com reports. All meals didn’t fit in the helicopter Wednesday, so some pasta arrived by truck. The county sheriff’s aviation unit donated use of the helicopter, pilot and fuel. Santilli said doctors were running out of options for him in March before giving him hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin. He returned home to Bruce Township in a few days. “They’re seeing a lot of suffering in there,” said Santilli, 38. “They’re true heroes.”

Minnesota

Minneapolis: Minnesotans should fish close to home to help curb the coronavirus pandemic when the walleye season opens this weekend, avoiding overnight stays and driving no farther than they can go on one tank of gas, Department of Natural Resources officials said Wednesday. A surge in fishing license sales indicates many Minnesotans are getting antsy under the state’s stay-at-home order and really want to hit the lakes. DNR fisheries chief Brad Parsons said license sales are up 40% from this point last year, with roughly 362,000 sold so far. Meanwhile, though Gov. Tim Walz extended a statewide stay-at-home order until May 18 to reduce the spread of the coronavirus, he has been slowly exempting more businesses. His administration is being sued in federal court by churches, a mini-golf owner, a greeting card store owner and a salon owner who say they are shut own while other businesses are allowed to be open.

Mississippi

Jackson: Gov. Tate Reeves said Wednesday that the state will not consider early release for prisoners during the coronavirus pandemic, even with inmates living in conditions that make social distancing difficult. “Unlike many other states, I do not believe we ought to use the excuse of a pandemic to change our sentencing structure in our criminal justice system,” the Republican governor said in response to questions during a news conference. Mississippi has one of the highest incarceration rates in the United States. An advocacy group for inmate safety, the Mississippi Prison Reform Coalition, issued an open letter to Reeves this week demanding that the state release all juveniles, elderly and medically fragile people from custody. It also demanded release of all inmates who have been granted parole and are awaiting release and all inmates with less than two years left to serve.

Missouri

St. Joseph: An employee of a pork plant where hundreds of workers tested positive for the coronavirus has died from the virus. The name of the man, a Buchanan County resident in his 40s, was not released, but a news release from the city said he had underlying health conditions. The man worked at Triumph Foods in St. Joseph, a city spokeswoman told the Kansas City Star. After nearly three dozen workers at the plant became infected last month, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services tested all asymptomatic workers at the plant, finding 412 of 2,367 workers were positive despite showing no symptoms. The plant remains open. President Donald Trump issued an executive order last week requiring meatpacking plants to stay open. The order was widely seen as giving processors protection from liability for workers who become sick on the job, and it came after a lawsuit filed on behalf of Missouri employees against Smithfield Foods.

Montana

Great Falls: For patrons at a tiki bar that has a back wall of a window into a motel swimming pool, it’s typical to see mermaids in the water five nights a week. So as the owner of the O’Haire Motor Inn and the Sip ’n Dip Lounge in Great Falls began preparing to reopen the bar after eights weeks of coronavirus-related restrictions, she wanted things to be as close to normal as possible – including the underwater entertainment. Sandra Thares said she emailed regulators for guidance on whether mermaid shows could resume. Gov. Steve Bullock’s office said yes. The Cascade County health department said no, believing pools couldn’t reopen until the third phase of the gradual reopening of the state’s economy. After some back-and-forth, the county OK’d the mermaid entertainment as long as only one mermaid was in the pool at a time, Thares said. There are usually two. “We were not trying to step on anyone’s toes; we were just trying to put people back to work,” Thares said.

Nebraska

Lincoln: The state has officially dispatched more National Guard members to respond to the coronavirus pandemic than it did during last year’s record-setting floods, state officials said Wednesday. Gov. Pete Ricketts said 393 Nebraska National Guard soldiers and airmen have been working on the state’s pandemic response, more than the 329 mobilized to help with the historic 2019 floods. The Guard has established six mobile testing teams that have worked in 29 different cities, including the hard-hit areas of the state, where they’ve helped public health officials administer coronavirus tests. Guard members have collected 11,162 coronavirus test samples so far, about 30% of the total gathered in Nebraska. “We’ve not ordered anyone into duty,” said Major General Dayrl Bohac, the state’s adjutant general. “They’re raising their hands and want to be there.”

Nevada

Las Vegas: A group has formed to try to recall the mayor, who drew condemnation from elected officials and others with her push to reopen casinos and suggestion that her city could serve as a test case to measure the impact of reopening during the coronavirus pandemic. The city released a letter Wednesday confirming it received a notice of intent from The Committee to Recall Carolyn G. Goodman to circulate a petition and try to have the politically independent mayor removed from office. Goodman has issued public pleas for Gov. Steve Sisolak to end the statewide shutdown of casinos and nonessential businesses, which she called “total insanity” that was “killing Las Vegas.” In an interview on CNN last month, she said she suggested Las Vegas residents become “a control group” to see how lifting closures and some restrictions would affect the city. State and local officials called the remarks “reckless” and “an embarrassment.”

New Hampshire

Concord: Members of the Executive Council are protesting Gov. Chris Sununu’s authority to spend state money to combat the coronavirus. The council voted 4-1 Wednesday to table what usually is a routine request from the state treasurer to spend money for all functions of state government for the next month. The request included $500 million in state funding and $450 million from the federal coronavirus relief aid package. Councilor Andru Volinsky, a Democratic candidate for governor, objected, saying the council and the public deserve more details, including information about which health care providers applied for no-interest loans from a $50 million fund. Republican Councilor Russell Prescott joined Volinsky and the other two Democrats in voting to table the request. Sununu said he assumes the council will approve the request May 20; otherwise, all of state government would shut down.

New Jersey

Trenton: More than 1 million residents have filed for jobless benefits, and the state has paid out about $2 billion since the coronavirus outbreak hit in March, state labor officials announced Thursday. The state Labor and Workforce Development Department said the number of claims is “by far the most ever recorded” over a similar time frame. The week ending May 2 saw 88,000 new claims, up from 72,000 the week before. Labor Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo said in a statement that the 1 million claim milestone was “staggering” and that officials never thought they’d reach such a figure in so short a time. New Jersey is among the worst-hit states by COVID-19. There have been more than 131,000 confirmed cases and about 8,500 deaths.

New Mexico

Gallup: Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced Thursday that she will extend the lockdown on this western New Mexico city to help stop the spread of COVID-19 on the Navajo Nation. Her office said she will lengthen the lockdown on Gallup – a gateway to the Navajo Nation – until Sunday at noon. Under the order, businesses will stay closed from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m., and only two people may travel together in a car. Gallup residents are ordered to remain at home except for emergency outings. Emergency powers under the state Riot Control Act originally were scheduled to expire at noon Thursday. Health officials fear Gallup, a popular supply stop for rural residents of the Navajo Nation, became a vector for transmission of COVID-19 at stores, restaurants and water fill-up stations for people without full household plumbing. Health officials say per-capita infections in Gallup and surrounding McKinley County are twelve times the rate for Albuquerque.

New York

New York: The city will test 140,000 people for coronavirus antibodies between next week and early June, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Thursday. The antibody tests, which indicate whether a person has been infected with the virus at some point, will be offered for free by appointment at five locations, he said. Results will be available in one to two days and will also be used for research, he said. Researchers say it is unclear whether coronavirus antibodies provide immunity from further exposure to the germ. The human body produces antibodies days or weeks after fighting an infection. Most tests use a finger prick of blood on a strip. “We are not promising people a rose garden here,” de Blasio said. “We’re not saying the antibody test is the last word. It’s not. But it tells you something.” The city will use tests made by BioReference Laboratories for the free program. The state has already performed antibody tests on about 27,000 workers at health care centers.

North Carolina

Winston-Salem: Three counties on the tourist-reliant Outer Banks announced plans Wednesday to lift coronavirus-related visitor restrictions, although they warned of the need to continue to practice social distancing amid the ongoing pandemic. In a joint statement, officials in Currituck, Dare and Hyde counties said restrictions on entry for visitors will be lifted at noon Saturday, May 16. The announcement comes a day after Gov. Roy Cooper announced the easing of his statewide stay-at-home order starting this Friday. Entry for visitors includes the towns of Duck, Southern Shores, Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills, Nags Head and Manteo; Hatteras Island; Roanoke Island; the Dare mainland; the Currituck County Outer Banks; and Ocracoke Island, the statement said. Specifically, Ocracoke non-resident property owners will be allowed entry starting Monday, according to Hyde County officials.

North Dakota

Bismarck: A group attempting to get a wide-ranging measure on the November ballot filed a lawsuit in federal court Wednesday asking that the state’s ban on electronic signature gathering be waived amid the coronavirus pandemic. The lawsuit by North Dakota Voters First also asks the state to temporarily waive its requirement for “in-person petition circulators” and allow for online signature gathering. The group faces a July 6 deadline to submit at least 26,904 signatures to qualify for the November ballot. The group argues the COVID-19 outbreak “creates an environment that is impossible to comply” with the laws. The group’s constitutional amendment would transfer the responsibility of drawing political districts from the Legislature to the voter-approved state Ethics Commission. It also would create a paper record for every vote cast in an election; create open primaries and instant runoff elections; and extend the time to cast a ballot for military and overseas voters.

Ohio

Columbus: Bars and restaurants can fully reopen in two weeks, on May 21, with outside dining allowed a few days earlier, on May 15, Gov. Mike DeWine announced Thursday. Barbershops, hair salons, nail salons and day spas will also reopen May 15, the Republican governor said. Barbers and stylists will wear masks, and customers will be asked to wear masks, said Debbie Penzone, president and CEO of Charles Penzone Salons and the chair of the salon and barbershop working group commissioned by the governor. The reopening of eating establishments comes with limits, including parties of 10 or fewer and spacing between tables either by a barrier or 6 feet of distance. Gatherings such as dances won’t be allowed in bars’ and restaurants’ open areas, with that space to be used for now to put extra distance between tables and customers, said Treva Weaver, a restaurant owner who worked on the reopening plan.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma City: Revenue collections in the state fell by half a billion dollars in April from a year ago amid an economic slowdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Treasurer Randy McDaniel said Thursday. Gross receipts fell $502.5 million to just under $1.1 billion, down 31.8% from April 2019, McDaniel said. Income tax collections fell by 50.5% to $405.8 million. McDaniel noted that the filing deadline for income taxes was postponed from April 15 until July 15 because of the pandemic. Meanwhile, some businesses are reopening under plans announced by Gov. Kevin Stitt, who said Wednesday that those plans are moving forward. “We are on track to continue with our safely reopening plan … we are on track to begin Phase II starting May 15,” Stitt said. Phase II includes the reopening of bars, funerals and weddings, and church nurseries under a plan Stitt announced in late April.

Oregon

Portland: Gov. Kate Brown on Thursday outlined a plan to reopen salons, gyms, barbershops and restaurants in the least-affected – and mostly rural – parts of Oregon after more than a month of a statewide stay-at-home order, but she also cautioned that any loosening of restrictions could be rolled back if COVID-19 infection rates surge. Brown, who has come under increasing pressure from rural counties to reopen, said that on May 15 she will loosen restrictions statewide on day cares and on retail shops that were previously closed, including furniture stores, boutiques, jewelry stores and art galleries. Counties that have very small numbers of coronavirus cases and have seen declining infection numbers can also apply to reopen beauty salons, gyms, and bars and restaurants for sit-down dining May 15 with a number of rules and limitations, she said.

Pennsylvania

Harrisburg: Gov. Tom Wolf on Thursday extended a moratorium on foreclosures and evictions by another two months, saying residents should not have to worry about losing their homes during the pandemic. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court first suspended evictions in March, but its order is set to expire Monday. Wolf signed an executive order Thursday extending the moratorium to July 10. “No one should have to worry about losing their home during this health emergency,” Wolf said at a video news conference. “This executive order takes one more burden off people who are struggling and gives them more time to get back on their feet.” Wolf noted that renters and homeowners are still required to make monthly payments. The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, meanwhile, has stopped foreclosures and evictions and is allowing homeowners with a PHFA mortgage to pause payments if they are having financial trouble because of the virus outbreak.

Rhode Island

Providence: The state has met several benchmarks that Gov. Gina Raimondo said Thursday will allow her to lift the state’s stay-at-home order Friday and initiate a phased-in restart of the economy this weekend. Those benchmarks include a two-week downward or stable trend in the number of new coronavirus cases or hospitalizations; sufficient and quick testing of people with symptoms of the disease; an effective and quick contact tracing system; and a sufficient supply of personal protective equipment, the Democrat said at her daily news conference. “My goal is to get as many people back to work as quickly as possible without ever jeopardizing our public health and without ever having to go backwards to where we’ve just come from, which is shutting down our economy,” she said. Life in the first phase of the restart won’t look much different than it does now, she said, noting that people will still be required to wear face coverings in public, social distancing must be maintained, and social gatherings will be limited to five at most until at least May 22.

South Carolina

Columbia: Health officials vow over the next two months to more than triple the number of coronavirus tests performed in the state. The promise comes as state officials lift restrictions on businesses and as experts say a further return to normal for schools and larger gatherings can only happen with large amounts of testing and the ability to trace back anyone with whom an infected person had significant contact in the past two weeks. “The virus was chasing us. But now we are turning the table and chasing the virus,” Gov. Henry McMaster said Thursday as the Department of Health and Environmental Control announced the ramp-up in testing. DHEC wants to test 2% of the population – or about 110,000 people – in both May and June, said the agency’s new Public Health Director Dr. Joan Duwve. The state has been at the bottom of rates of testing compared to the population. But health officials said that was because the federal government was sending testing supplies to the hardest-hit areas.

South Dakota

Sioux Falls: A dormitory and hotel are being used to house COVID-19 patients and the first responders and medical care workers who are worried about exposure. Officials with the Sioux Falls Health Department and Mayor Paul TenHaken’s office last month called on Gov. Kristi Noem to establish an isolation center in Sioux Falls where people could safely quarantine without risk of spreading the virus in the community. But when Noem didn’t oblige, the city did it on its own, and today there are two facilities up and running. And this week, councilors are approving the first of a series of contracts related to those operations. Sioux Falls Public Health Manager Sandy Frentz said Wednesday that the city is using a 63-room hotel in the community to isolate people infected with coronavirus who can’t safely do so at home. That might be people with at-risk and vulnerable household members or those without a permanent living arrangement.

Tennessee

Nashville: The city will slowly begin reopening its economy Monday amid the coronavirus pandemic, officials said Thursday. Nashville’s first of four reopening phases will allow 50% capacity at dine-in restaurants, bars serving food, retail stores and commercial businesses. Workers will be required to undergo daily screenings and wear face masks. Bar areas will stay closed, and live music will remain banned. The first phase also continues to restrict gatherings to 10 or fewer people and calls for wearing masks in public. Officials acknowledged Nashville’s trend in new cases is still increasing, noting clusters at homeless shelters and a meatpacking facility. To advance to the next phase, Nashville officials want to see two weeks of appropriate health metrics. Nashville-Davidson County and five other counties were allowed to reopen more slowly than the rest of the state, which started by allowing dine-in restaurants April 27.

Texas

Austin: Republican Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday removed jail as a punishment for violating his coronavirus restrictions following outcry by conservatives over a Dallas salon owner who was locked up for refusing to keep her business closed. In a swift relaxing of his own rules, Abbott said his new order should free Shelley Luther, who was booked in the Dallas County jail this week for keeping her salon open in defiance of the governor’s restrictions. Luther refused to apologize for repeatedly flouting the order, leading a judge to find her in contempt of court and sentence her to a week behind bars. Her punishment quickly became a rallying cry for Republican lawmakers and conservative activists, and one online fundraising campaign had raised more the $500,000 for Luther as of Thursday morning. The reversal reflects the increasing pressure Abbott is under to reboot the state’s economy at a much faster pace.

Utah

Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said Thursday that it will reopen 17 of its sacred temples for wedding ceremonies. Church officials said in a news release that 17 temples in Utah, Idaho, Germany and Sweden will reopen Monday for marriage ceremonies only with a limited number of guests. The faith plans a four-phase reopening of its 167 temples worldwide that were closed after the COVID-19 pandemic spread. Eleven of the temples being reopened Monday are in Utah, including ones in Bountiful, Cedar City, Provo and Logan. The announcement comes one day after Utah state officials said churches can begin holding services again as long as they adhere to social distancing guidelines. Despite that, Latter-day Saint worship services held Sundays at churches will remain shuttered, church officials said. Temples are used only for sacred ordinances.

Vermont

Montpelier: The state is recovering some of the milk farmers are having to dispose of and donating it to the Vermont Foodbank, with help from a $60,000 grant from the Vermont Community Foundation. A big chunk of dairy farmers’ business has been wiped out as schools, restaurants, institutions and universities closed to help slow the spread of the coronavirus. Plants set up to make food service products – like large packages of mozzarella cheese – aren’t able to pivot quickly and start churning out gallons of milk. Retail milk sales were up when the virus first hit as consumers bulked up on groceries but have declined since then, officials have said. The Vermont Agency of Agriculture announced Wednesday that the money will be used to buy the milk. Dairy Farmers of America farms will provide the milk to Green Mountain Creamery and HP Hood, which will process it into yogurt and 2% milk.

Virginia

Richmond: More than 86,000 federal loans totaling $12.7 billion have been approved for small businesses in the state for relief amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to data released this week. Under the U.S. Small Business Administration’s first round of Paycheck Protection Program funding, about 40,370 loans totaling $8.72 billion were approved for Virginia businesses, federal data obtained by The Richmond Times-Dispatch showed. During the ongoing second round, about 46,370 additional loans totaling more than $3.97 billion were approved, according to the Small Business Administration numbers cited by the newspaper. The Paycheck Protection Program was created to infuse small businesses, which typically have less access to quick cash and credit, with hundreds of billions of dollars in forgivable emergency loans that could help keep workers on the job and bills paid on time.

Washington

Walla Walla: County officials in southeastern Washington state are retracting their claim that some people held parties in which they intentionally exposed themselves to the coronavirus. Walla Walla County Department of Community Health Director Meghan DeBolt issued a statement late Wednesday saying her earlier remarks were incorrect. “I formally call back my interview today,” DeBolt said. “After receiving further information, we have discovered that there were not intentional covid parties. Just innocent endeavors.” DeBolt had told the Union-Bulletin newspaper this week that contact tracing has revealed some people were attending parties with the idea that it is better to get sick with COVID-19 and recover. She called the parties irresponsible.

West Virginia

Charleston: Gov. Jim Justice on Wednesday mandated coronavirus testing at assisted living facilities and day care centers as he moves forward with his reopening strategy. The Republican governor has made lifting virus restrictions at day cares a priority of his plan to get the state’s economy moving again. He said at least four day care staffers in Kanawha County have tested positive. “We need them to be able to take care of our children as our workers go to work,” he said. “But we absolutely cannot risk anything to our children.” Justice this week slowed his reopening plan so officials could monitor the state’s caseload. He is allowing drive-in movie theaters and physical therapy centers to open next Monday, though his original plan called for offices, gyms, restaurants and other businesses to start opening the same day. The governor has eased the criteria for lifting restrictions without explanation.

Wisconsin

Madison: University of Wisconsin System President Ray Cross directed campuses Thursday to prepare to cut academic programs and brace for layoffs as the coronavirus pandemic deepens the system’s financial losses. Cross said he wants campuses to evaluate their programs by January with an eye toward cost, whether they are duplicated at another campus, and student demand. System officials will decide which courses to eliminate subject to regents’ approval, Cross told reporters during a video conference Wednesday afternoon. Campuses should be ready with scaled-down course catalogs by fall 2021, Cross said. The only guarantee he could offer was that each campus will continue to offer basics such as English and math that undergraduates need to earn a diploma. The program cuts will apply only to the system’s regional universities. UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee, the system’s two largest campuses, would be exempt.

Wyoming

Cheyenne: The number of people in the state who applied for unemployment benefits last week dropped compared to the week before, as the state begins to ease restrictions meant to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Some 2,026 people sought temporary unemployment assistance in Wyoming during the week ending May 2, according to state and federal data. That’s a 42% decrease from the number of claims filed the prior week but a 515% increase in the number of applications filed during the same week last year. Since March 14, the state has processed 32,290 claims for unemployment. That represents 12.0% of the total workforce of eligible for the unemployment insurance program. Several counties have received approval from the state’s top health official to ease the coronavirus-related restrictions on restaurants and other businesses.

From USA TODAY Network and wire reports

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ramped-up testing, mermaids back on job: News from around our 50 states