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Coronavirus

Masks ordered for most Florida students, defying DeSantis

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Just over half of Florida’s 2.8 million public school students now face mandates to wear masks in classrooms as a courtroom battle continues over efforts by Gov. Ron DeSantis to leave such decisions up to parents. A majority of school board members in Orange County told the superintendent on Tuesday to require most students to wear masks, and agreed with her recommendation to keep the mandate through Oct. 30. The district began its school year this month with a parental opt-out, but a surge in students across the Orlando area testing positive for ...

Ohio House Republicans debate anti-vaccination bill again

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Hundreds of supporters of a Republican-backed bill that would prohibit employers from requiring workers to receive vaccinations descended on the Ohio Statehouse on Tuesday as lawmakers heard a single additional day of testimony on the closely watched proposal. While ...

Case of 76 in veterans home who died of COVID lands in court

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) — Two former top officials at a Massachusetts veterans home where nearly 80 residents died in one of the country’s deadliest COVID-19 outbreaks in a long-term care facility appeared in court Tuesday in an effort to have their criminal charges dismissed. Lawyers ...

Third coronavirus doses available in local area

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Third doses of COVID-19 vaccines are being made available for people with compromised immune systems as the number of cases slowly increases. Belmont County Deputy Health Commissioner Robert Sproul confirmed via text Tuesday that there have been 6,976 total cases in the county since the pandemic began, with 6,425 recoveries. He said there are 420 active cases with 10 residents hospitalized. A total of 121 Belmont Countians have died after contracting the virus. Statistics for the county recorded by the state continue to differ from those reported by local ...

Greece announces new restrictions for those not vaccinated

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s health minister announced plans on Tuesday to impose new testing requirements and attendance restrictions on people who aren’t vaccinated against COVID-19. The measures include requiring weekly or twice-weekly testing for unvaccinated workers, and allowing access to certain indoor venues only to those who are vaccinated or have a certificate verifying they have recovered from COVID-19 in the last six months. Health Minister Vassilis Kikilias said the new measures weren’t punitive, but “what we must do as a responsible state.” “It is our ...

Hochul to become NY’s first female governor

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Kathy Hochul was set to become the first female governor of New York at the stroke of midnight, taking control of a state government desperate to get back to business after months of distractions over sexual harassment allegations against Andrew Cuomo. The Democrat from western New York was to be sworn in as governor in the first minutes of Tuesday in a brief, private ceremony overseen by the state’s chief judge, Janet DiFiore. Her ascent to the top job will be a history-making moment in a capital where women have only recently begun chipping away at what was ...