Government

The New York Times reports: Coronavirus testing sites in Arizona, Florida and Texas have become a source of tension and risk, with numerous residents waiting in long lines and others turned away as sites reached capacity, and crowding raising the risk of infection as people rushed to the front of the line at some centers. Residents of these and other …

Tampa’s NBC News affiliate reports: Florida broke its single-day coronavirus case record Saturday morning when the health dept. reported nearly 10,000 new cases of COVID-19. A total of 132,545 people have tested positive for the new virus in the state of Florida, which is 9,585 more than Friday. The state said a total of 78,345 people got tested Friday — …

Re Miami Beach reports: As COVID-19 cases surge in Florida, Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez [photo] said he will sign an emergency order on Saturday closing all beaches for the Fourth of July weekend beginning beginning Friday, July 3 and ending on Tuesday, July 7. “The closure may be extended if conditions do not improve and people do not follow …

Austin’s ABC News affiliate reports: Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday expressed regret for the first known time about the reopening process he spearheaded during the coronavirus pandemic, saying he should not have allowed bars to open as quickly. “If I could go back and redo anything, it probably would have been to slow down the opening of bars, now seeing …

Orlando’s NBC News affiliate reports: Effective immediately, the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation is suspending the on-premises consumption of alcohol at bars statewide. Bars and nightclubs in Florida were first ordered to close on March 18. They just started reopening earlier this month. The announcement comes Friday as Florida coronavirus cases continue to climb. Florida reported nearly 9,000 …

Tampa’s CBS News affiliate reports: The state of Florida has reported record high spikes in the number of new COVID-19 cases for the last couple of weeks, and on Friday it added another 8,942 cases. That number is now the highest single-day jump in new coronavirus cases in Florida since tracking began in March, eclipsing Wednesday’s previous record of 5,508 …

Houston’s ABC News affiliate reports: Just one day after temporarily pausing the state’s reopening plans, Texas is now increasing restrictions on some businesses in an effort to fight the spread of the coronavirus. Friday’s new order from Texas Governor Greg Abbott includes closing bars effective at noon today (except for to-go service) and reducing capacity at restaurants starting on Monday. …

The Washington Post reports: The Trump administration is weighing a new testing strategy as coronavirus cases mount: testing groups of people together. Anthony Fauci said  that health officials are having “intense discussions” about what’s known as “pool testing.” The idea is that by testing samples from many people all together, officials could test more people with fewer resources. And those …

Montgomery’s ABC News affiliate reports: Over the last 24 hours, the state of Alabama’s seen a record increase in COVID-19 cases with more than 1,100 cases added in a single day. UAB’s Dr. Jeanne Marazzo attributes the surge to the relaxation in people’s efforts to social distance and wear masks. “We are giving the virus more of an opportunity to …

The BBC reports: The United States recorded an all-time daily high of 40,000 coronavirus infections on Thursday, figures from Johns Hopkins University (JHU) show. A recent surge in infections and hospitalisations has prompted some states and cities to pause reopening plans. JHU’s previous high of 36,400 was on 24 April when less testing took place. The US has 2.4 million …

Tallahassee’s NBC News affiliate reports: Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday that he has no plans of moving to the third and final phase of reopening the Florida economy as the state continues to see a surge in new COVID-19 cases. “We are where we are,” DeSantis said during a press conference in Tampa. “I didn’t say we’re going to go …

ABC News reports: Nearly 25 million Americans may have contracted the coronavirus, a figure ten times higher than the number of confirmed cases, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday. In a briefing with reporters Thursday, CDC Director Robert Redfield said surveys of blood samples taken from around the country suggest that millions of Americans may have contracted …

NBC News York reports: New York’s COVID hospitalizations fell below 1,000 for the first time since mid-March, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Thursday, a day after he and the governors of New Jersey and Connecticut implemented a mandatory 14-day quarantine order for people traveling to the tri-state area from viral U.S. hotspots. At the same time, the former epicenter of the …

The Texas Tribune reports: Gov. Greg Abbott announced Thursday morning he is once again putting a stop to elective surgeries to preserve bed space for coronavirus patients — but this time the prohibition only applies to Bexar, Dallas, Harris and Travis counties, four areas where the number of patients hospitalized with virus is quickly progressing. Just Tuesday, Abbott stressed that …

Axios reports: The National Institutes of Health may own intellectual property that undergirds a leading coronavirus vaccine being developed by Moderna, according to documents obtained by Axios and an analysis from Public Citizen. Because the federal government has an actual stake in this vaccine, it could try to make the vaccine a free or low-cost public good with wide distribution, …

The Washington Post reports: Across the United States, more than 36,000 new infections were reported by state health departments on Wednesday — surpassing the previous single-day record of 34,203 set on April 25. Texas, Florida and California led the way, with all three states reporting more than 5,000 new cases apiece. Even as case numbers climb, reports circulated that the …

The Charlotte Observer reports: A concerned North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper announced Wednesday the state will remain in Phase Two for another three weeks while making face coverings mandatory in public. The order that moved the state into Phase 2 on May 22 was scheduled to expire on Friday. It has been extended until July 17. The mask requirement takes …

Sacramento’s NBC News affiliate reports: Gov. Gavin Newsom is holding a news conference Wednesday with the latest on California’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. On Monday, California saw the highest jump in new COVID-19 cases in a day since the state starting tracking case numbers in mid-March. The California Department of Public Health said 5,019 new lab-confirmed novel coronavirus cases …

Arizona Central reports: The state reached a new high for hospitalizations Tuesday, according to the update provided by the Arizona Department of Health Services Wednesday morning. Inpatient beds and ventilators in use for suspected and confirmed COVID-19 patients both hit their highest-ever numbers Tuesday, according to the report. Emergency department visits and ICU beds in use hovered around their highest …

The Dallas News reports: Gov. Greg Abbott sternly warned Texans of “rampant” spread of coronavirus that took the state to a new high Tuesday of more than 5,000 new cases in a single day. Saying Texans should stay home unless they have a good reason to venture out, Abbott late Tuesday afternoon gave local officials more powers to limit public …