0:00
News Story
CA: California will impose ‘limited’ curfew due to COVID-19 surge
Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a mandatory overnight stay-at-home order that will be instituted throughout most of California to combat a surge in new coronavirus cases, a measure that comes just days after the governor enacted a dramatic rollback of reopening in much of the state.
GA: Georgia manual recount confirms Biden victory
A hand recount of 5 million ballots cast in Georgia showed that Joe Biden won the presidential election, validating initial results. The recount found that Biden received 12,284 more votes than President Donald Trump.
NH: New Hampshire governor issues statewide mask mandate
New Hampshire residents are now required to wear masks indoors and outdoors when social distancing is not possible, Republican Gov. Chris Sununu announced. Until now, masks have only been required by the state at gatherings with more than 100 people.
RI: Rhode Island governor says state will enter 2-week ‘pause’
Rhode Island Democratic Gov. Gina Raimondo said the state would enter a “two-week pause” beginning Nov. 30. During the pause, the governor is closing in-person colleges and universities, bar areas, recreational venues such as bowling alleys, indoor sport facilities and gyms. Organized sports will also be paused.
PA: Pennsylvania lawmakers to use remaining .3B in coronavirus aid to prop up state budget
Despite pleas from restaurant owners and other industries, Republican leaders in the statehouse have put forth a plan to use all $1.3 billion in remaining coronavirus relief aid to pay for the state budget.
AZ: Judge rejects GOP bid to delay vote certification in Arizona
A judge has rejected the Arizona Republican Party’s bid to postpone the certification of election results in Maricopa County and dismissed the party’s legal challenge that sought a new audit of a sampling of ballots.
AR: Arkansas limits hours at restaurants, bars to slow virus
Arkansas GOP Gov. Asa Hutchinson ordered restaurants, bars and other businesses licensed to sell alcoholic beverages to close by 11 p.m. to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The directive, which continues through Jan. 3, comes amid a surge in new cases and hospitalizations.
WY: Wyoming imposes new restrictions as hospitalizations soar
Under Wyoming’s new orders, indoor and outdoor gatherings without social distancing are limited to 25 people of fewer. If social distancing measures are implemented, indoor gatherings have a limit of 100 people.
MO: Governor extends Missouri’s state of emergency, but forgoes mask mandate
Republican Gov. Mike Parson has extended Missouri’s state of emergency until March 31, 2021, saying hospital capacity and staffing are becoming problems. He also said he would not impose a mask mandate.
MD: Maryland governor orders early release for prisoners to slow virus spread
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, signed an executive order that makes about 1,200 prisoners eligible for early release, another action designed to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. The order assesses eligibility based on the age of an inmate and whether the prisoner is nearing the end of their sentence.
CO: COVID-19 outbreaks growing again in Colorado nursing homes
Colorado is experiencing a surge in COVID-19 outbreaks, with nursing homes and assisted living facilities once again seeing growing clusters of infection among residents—raising the odds that high death tolls await this winter. New data showed 57 nursing homes were experiencing outbreaks, as were 58 assisted living facilities.
UT: Utah governor won’t limit Thanksgiving gatherings
A new public health order next week will no longer require Utahns to limit social gatherings to only people in their households, Republican Gov. Gary Herbert said. While the governor said that “what you do in the confines of your own home is going to be up to you,” he and other state leaders are still urging caution ahead of Thanksgiving next week.
IA: Another 20 long-term care facilities in Iowa have COVID-19 outbreaks
Iowa reported another 20 coronavirus outbreaks at long-term care facilities, bringing the state’s total number of active outbreaks in the vulnerable settings to 114. The added outbreaks come as the state has reported thousands of new cases per day and mounting deaths, particularly among the older population that includes most nursing home residents.
NY: New York state seeks to avoid full shutdown
Unlike many other cities and states, New York state is banking on less disruptive, targeted actions to combat the coronavirus, such as a 10 p.m. curfew for bars, restaurants and gyms statewide and a ban on gatherings of more than 10 people in private residences.
MN: FEMA ambulances deployed to help transfer patients in Minnesota
Minnesota is receiving 25 staffed ambulances from the federal government to help hospitals transfer patients so medical centers are better prepared for a surge of critical COVID-19 cases. The state submitted the request to the Federal Emergency Management Agency after ambulance operators said the rising cases could soon exhaust their ability to transfer patients between healthcare facilities, according to the Minnesota Department of Health.
ND: Winter sports practices, extracurriculars allowed to resume in North Dakota
North Dakotans appear to have largely accepted the state’s new mask mandate, but they successfully cried foul when it came to limiting high school sports and activities to help control the spread of the coronavirus.
MT: Montana businesses sue state over COVID-19 violation claims
Five businesses in Montana have filed counterclaims against the state after being accused of violating public health orders intended to the limit the spread of COVID-19.
MI: Michigan GOP to meet with Trump
Republican leaders of the Michigan House and Senate are expected to meet with President Donald Trump as Trump continues his longshot bid to retain the presidency by overturning election results.
OR: Oregon lawmakers call on governor to boost state’s low testing rate
A large contingent of Oregon lawmakers urged Gov. Kate Brown, a Democrat, to “immediately increase testing” in the face of the state’s huge spike in coronavirus cases. The 32 current and soon-to-be members of the Oregon House and Senate, including more than two dozen Democrats and the Republican House leader, spelled out in stark terms how far Oregon’s rate of testing lags nearly all U.S. states.
HI: Hawaii visitors with pending test results can no longer bypass quarantine
The state is expected to announce that visitors to Hawaii who can’t present a negative pre-arrivals test upon arrival won’t be able to bypass the 14-day quarantine once their tests arrive. Travelers who came in with a pending test result have been allowed to get out of the quarantine once it could be verified, but the state quickly found itself with a backlog of as many as 3,700 pending tests.
NM, TX: University of New Mexico basketball teams flee to Texas
Facing restrictive policies prohibiting team sports, the University of New Mexico’s basketball teams have fled to Texas, seeking refuge in two of the hardest-hit coronavirus hot spots in Texas.
ME: Maine home sales, driven by out-of-state buyers, break records
Maine’s housing market has rebounded from a pandemic-induced spring slump and home sales are now running ahead of a record-setting 2019, driven by out-of-state buyers working from home. Typically, about three-quarters of Maine homes are sold to other Mainers, but the percentage of homes sold to out-of-staters has swelled to about one-third.
NC: North Carolina requires virtual students to take in-person exams
North Carolina high school students who are taking classes from home because of the coronavirus pandemic soon must come on campus to take state-mandated exams. The state is requiring all students to take the tests in person, including families who signed up for virtual programs to avoid having in-person instruction.
Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our website. AP and Getty images may not be republished. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of any other photos and graphics.
Related News
