Panhandle total: 916, Active: 94, Recovered: 813, Deaths: 9

Recent graphs were shared on the Thursday briefing with two charts showing cumulative confirmed COVID cases by age group and month in the Nebraska Panhandle.

The first chart shows that most age groups have doubled cases when comparing the months of July to September. The second chart shows a gradual stair step increase with the 20-29 age group being the highest followed by the 10-19 and 40-49 age groups.

Lastly, age breakdowns by month (March-September) were shared for Scotts Bluff, Cheyenne, Dawes, Sheridan, and Box Butte counties. Each chart shows the COVID virus trend in the county indicated with specific factors outlined by health officials.

Scotts Bluff County is a gradual stair step increase while Cheyenne County also shows a gradual increase but a more rapid increase from August to September. Dawes County shows very small case counts through July with marked increases in August and September which was a similar trend for Sheridan County. Box Butte County shows very small case counts with a gradual uptick in August leading into a marked increase in September.

Unified Command confirms 47 more cases of COVID in the Panhandle since last reporting on Monday, September 28. The investigations are underway, all close contacts will be quarantined and actively monitored for symptoms by public health officials.

Testing information and access for the Panhandle area: · You can sign up for the following free testing at Testnebraska.com or 402-207-9377:

o Box Butte General Hospital in Alliance: Monday-Friday, 9-10am

§ Ambulance Bay on the east side of the emergency department, watch for the green arrows

o Chadron Community Hospital: Mondays &amp; Fridays, 7-9am

§ Collections are at 821 Morehead Street (Old Hospital ER Entrance next to Wilson Park)

§ Other testing opportunities for symptomatic patients may be available through the hospital as ordered by your Primary Care Practitioner, call the hospital at 747-2466 with questions.

o Gordon Memorial Hospital: Tuesdays &amp; Thursdays, 2-4pm

o Regional West Health Services in Scottsbluff: Mondays &amp; Fridays, Noon-4pm; Wednesdays, 2-6pm

o Sidney Regional Medical Center: Tuesdays &amp; Thursday, 7-9am

· Community Action Health Center in Gering: Mondays, Wednesdays, &amp; Thursdays, 7-8am o Testing is free, sign up at https://tinyurl.com/yydxr5mc

· Morrill County Community Hospital in Bridgeport: Daily

o Call 308-262-1616 for testing, same day results

· Contact your local hospital or clinic for information on testing access.

Panhandle Public Health District, Region 21, 22, and 23 Emergency Management, and Scotts Bluff County Health Department are working as a unified command on this evolving situation. Essential updates will be regularly communicated to the public and community partners.

For the most up to date information from the CDC, visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html.

Panhandle Public Health District is working together to improve the health, safety, and quality of life for all who live, learn, work, and play in the Panhandle. Our vision is that we are a healthier and safer Panhandle Community. Visit our website www.pphd.org.

By PPHDPanhandle total: 916, Active: 94, Recovered: 813, Deaths: 9Recent graphs were shared on the Thursday briefing with two charts showing cumulative confirmed COVID cases by age group and month in the Nebraska Panhandle.The first chart shows that most age groups have doubled cases when comparing the months of July to September. The second chart shows a gradual stair step increase with the 20-29 age group being the highest followed by the 10-19 and 40-49 age groups.Lastly, age breakdowns by month (March-September) were shared for Scotts Bluff, Cheyenne, Dawes, Sheridan, and Box Butte counties. Each chart shows the COVID virus trend in the county indicated with specific factors outlined by health officials.Scotts Bluff County is a gradual stair step increase while Cheyenne County also shows a gradual increase but a more rapid increase from August to September. Dawes County shows very small case counts through July with marked increases in August and September which was a similar trend for Sheridan County. Box Butte County shows very small case counts with a gradual uptick in August leading into a marked increase in September.<figure>
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 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/10/1601658811990.jpeg" alt="" />
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 </figure>Unified Command confirms 47 more cases of COVID in the Panhandle since last reporting on Monday, September 28. The investigations are underway, all close contacts will be quarantined and actively monitored for symptoms by public health officials.<figure>
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 </figure>Testing information and access for the Panhandle area: · You can sign up for the following free testing at Testnebraska.com or 402-207-9377:o Box Butte General Hospital in Alliance: Monday-Friday, 9-10am§ Ambulance Bay on the east side of the emergency department, watch for the green arrowso Chadron Community Hospital: Mondays &amp; Fridays, 7-9am§ Collections are at 821 Morehead Street (Old Hospital ER Entrance next to Wilson Park)§ Other testing opportunities for symptomatic patients may be available through the hospital as ordered by your Primary Care Practitioner, call the hospital at 747-2466 with questions.o Gordon Memorial Hospital: Tuesdays &amp; Thursdays, 2-4pmo Regional West Health Services in Scottsbluff: Mondays &amp; Fridays, Noon-4pm; Wednesdays, 2-6pmo Sidney Regional Medical Center: Tuesdays &amp; Thursday, 7-9am· Community Action Health Center in Gering: Mondays, Wednesdays, &amp; Thursdays, 7-8am o Testing is free, sign up at https://tinyurl.com/yydxr5mc· Morrill County Community Hospital in Bridgeport: Dailyo Call 308-262-1616 for testing, same day results· Contact your local hospital or clinic for information on testing access.March 2-October 1, 2020· Total Tests Conducted: 14,762· Positive: 916· Cumulative Positivity Rate: 6.2%· Recovered: 813· Active Cases: 94· Deaths: 9· Active Hospitalizations: 3· Total Cumulative Hospitalizations: 86Panhandle Public Health District, Region 21, 22, and 23 Emergency Management, and Scotts Bluff County Health Department are working as a unified command on this evolving situation. Essential updates will be regularly communicated to the public and community partners.For the most up to date information from the CDC, visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html.Panhandle Public Health District is working together to improve the health, safety, and quality of life for all who live, learn, work, and play in the Panhandle. Our vision is that we are a healthier and safer Panhandle Community. Visit our website www.pphd.org.

PPHD: Recent virus graphs provide updated trends in the area

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska's online tracking portal says the state is seeing a sharp jump in the number of confirmed coronavirus cases. 

Nebraska officials reported 621 new cases on Thursday evening, up from 520 the previous day. 

The number of daily cases is up from where it was in September and this summer. So far, 493 peopled have died from the virus. 

Nebraska has confirmed 46,185 cases since the pandemic began, out of 464,576 people who have been tested. 

The hardest-hit counties continue to be Douglas, Lancaster and Sarpy, the state’s most populated areas. 

The state portal shows that 29% of Nebraska’s hospital beds are available for virus patients, as are 26% of the intensive care units and 78% of the ventilators.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska's online tracking portal says the state is seeing a sharp jump in the number of confirmed coronavirus cases. Nebraska officials reported 621 new cases on Thursday evening, up from 520 the previous day. The number of daily cases is up from where it was in September and this summer. So far, 493 peopled have died from the virus. Nebraska has confirmed 46,185 cases since the pandemic began, out of 464,576 people who have been tested. The hardest-hit counties continue to be Douglas, Lancaster and Sarpy, the state’s most populated areas. The state portal shows that 29% of Nebraska’s hospital beds are available for virus patients, as are 26% of the intensive care units and 78% of the ventilators.

Nebraska sees sharp jump in new daily coronavirus cases

By Lori Liggett, Gordon-Rushville Public Schools

By Lori Liggett, Gordon-Rushville Public SchoolsNews release from Oct. 1<figure>
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Gordon-Rushville Public Schools student tests positive for virus

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota reported a decrease in the number of active cases to 3,658 on Wednesday as the state marked the end of its deadliest month of the pandemic to date. 

Health officials have recorded 56 death from COVID-19 during September, as well as new highs in cases. 

Over the past two weeks, the state reported the nation’s second-highest number of new cases per capita, with 567 infections per 100,000 people. 

The Department of Health reported 392 new cases. But the state’s test positivity rate has remained among the highest in the country, which is an indicator that many more people have infections than tests are showing.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota reported a decrease in the number of active cases to 3,658 on Wednesday as the state marked the end of its deadliest month of the pandemic to date. Health officials have recorded 56 death from COVID-19 during September, as well as new highs in cases. Over the past two weeks, the state reported the nation’s second-highest number of new cases per capita, with 567 infections per 100,000 people. The Department of Health reported 392 new cases. But the state’s test positivity rate has remained among the highest in the country, which is an indicator that many more people have infections than tests are showing.

South Dakota ends deadliest month for COVID-19 as cases dip

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in the state remains elevated as Nebraska continues to report hundreds of new cases each day, but the number of hospitalizations is still below the peak set in the spring. 

The state’s online virus tracker on Wednesday showed 215 people were hospitalized. 

Nebraska reported 466 new cases and six new deaths to give the state 45,044 cases and 478 deaths linked to the coronavirus. 

The number of people being treated in Nebraska hospitals remains below the peak of 232 set on May 27, but the number got close to that when it hit 231 last Thursday.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in the state remains elevated as Nebraska continues to report hundreds of new cases each day, but the number of hospitalizations is still below the peak set in the spring. The state’s online virus tracker on Wednesday showed 215 people were hospitalized. Nebraska reported 466 new cases and six new deaths to give the state 45,044 cases and 478 deaths linked to the coronavirus. The number of people being treated in Nebraska hospitals remains below the peak of 232 set on May 27, but the number got close to that when it hit 231 last Thursday.

Nebraska virus hospitalizations at high level as cases rise

CRAWFORD, Neb. – Fort Robinson State Park has canceled its annual historical Christmas dinner because of coronavirus concerns.

This would have been the 26th year for the dinner, which usually helps kick off the holiday season in early December. The event treats ticket-holders to the same menu from a selected year of the park’s past as U.S. Cavalry post, with many attendees dressing in period attire.

Also canceled is a Halloween event, “The Haunting of Fort Robinson.”

Park staff is planning for the return of both events in 2021.

Despite those cancellations, the park will proceed with its annual “Light Up the Fort,” in which community groups and volunteers decorate the park’s buildings for the holiday season. For more information about that activity, which will occur in early December, contact the park at 308-665-2900 or ngpc.fortrobinson@nebraska.gov.

CRAWFORD, Neb. – Fort Robinson State Park has canceled its annual historical Christmas dinner because of coronavirus concerns.This would have been the 26th year for the dinner, which usually helps kick off the holiday season in early December. The event treats ticket-holders to the same menu from a selected year of the park’s past as U.S. Cavalry post, with many attendees dressing in period attire.Also canceled is a Halloween event, “The Haunting of Fort Robinson.”Park staff is planning for the return of both events in 2021.Despite those cancellations, the park will proceed with its annual “Light Up the Fort,” in which community groups and volunteers decorate the park’s buildings for the holiday season. For more information about that activity, which will occur in early December, contact the park at 308-665-2900 or ngpc.fortrobinson@nebraska.gov.

Halloween event, Christmas dinner canceled at Fort Robinson

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska officials are defending the state’s $27 million contract with a Utah company to provide coronavirus testing services. 

In early April, state labs were running short on testing supplies at the same time all states were trying to significantly increase testing for the virus. 

Doug Carlson, with the state’s Department of Administrative Services, told Nebraska lawmakers Monday the state was having trouble finding testing supplies until Nomi Health offered to step in. So the state agreed to a no-bid contract to set up Test Nebraska and provide up to 540,000 tests over the next six months. 

Some state lawmakers have questioned the contract.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska officials are defending the state’s $27 million contract with a Utah company to provide coronavirus testing services. In early April, state labs were running short on testing supplies at the same time all states were trying to significantly increase testing for the virus. Doug Carlson, with the state’s Department of Administrative Services, told Nebraska lawmakers Monday the state was having trouble finding testing supplies until Nomi Health offered to step in. So the state agreed to a no-bid contract to set up Test Nebraska and provide up to 540,000 tests over the next six months. Some state lawmakers have questioned the contract.

Nebraska officials defend $27M virus testing contract

HASTINGS, Neb. (AP) — Hastings College is pausing some in-person classes and all of its athletics this week after six members of the college tested positive for the coronavirus and another 54 were self-isolating or in quarantine.

 The Hastings Tribune says the decision will keep students on campus but change the way they attend classes for the rest of the week. 

All athletic practices and contests are suspended through Saturday. The suspensions went into effect at 4 p.m. Monday and are set to expire at 9 a.m. Sunday. 

The situation will be reviewed on Friday, however, so officials can determine if the suspensions need to continue.

HASTINGS, Neb. (AP) — Hastings College is pausing some in-person classes and all of its athletics this week after six members of the college tested positive for the coronavirus and another 54 were self-isolating or in quarantine. The Hastings Tribune says the decision will keep students on campus but change the way they attend classes for the rest of the week. All athletic practices and contests are suspended through Saturday. The suspensions went into effect at 4 p.m. Monday and are set to expire at 9 a.m. Sunday. The situation will be reviewed on Friday, however, so officials can determine if the suspensions need to continue.

Hastings College pauses in-person lectures, sports

&nbsp;Active: 80, Recovered: 779, Deaths: 9

School has now been in session for up to six weeks in many Panhandle communities. Several area schools, administration, and boards have worked hard to implement increased precautions during the COVID pandemic to keep children and staff safe. These include things like:

· Spacing students out in the classroom and at lunch to allow for effective distancing.

· Mask wearing in accordance with the Panhandle risk dial.

· Staggered passing times to decrease the number of people in the hallways and staggered recesses.

· Increased handwashing and sanitizing points throughout the school.

· Staying home when a student or staff member is experiencing even minor signs of illness.

“These are all key to slowing the disease spread,” said Kim Engel, Panhandle Public Health District Director. She added, “When these increased precautions are being implemented, it significantly reduces the amount of students that are required to quarantine due to close contact resulting in kids staying in school.”

In some situations, the health district has seen one confirmed COVID positive student or staff member and upwards of 38 others that are then required to quarantine, as required by the Governor’s Directed Health Measure, when contact tracing has been conducted. Factors that are considered in the disease investigation:

· Close contact is considered less than six feet for a total of 15 minutes or more.

· Were masks worn by the positive individual and the close contacts?

o In a classroom where everyone is masked, including the initial positive case, the initial positive case will isolate at home, and the remainder of the school-aged individuals will self-monitor for symptoms.

o In a classroom where the initial positive case is not masked, the initial positive case will be isolated at home, and any school-aged individual who had close contact will quarantine at home.

o In a classroom where the initial positive case is masked but others are not, the initial positive case will isolate at home, those school-aged individuals without

masks and had close contact with initial positive case who are exposed will quarantine at home, and the remainder of the classroom will self-monitor for symptoms.

o In a classroom where no school-aged individual were masked, the initial positive case will be isolated at home, and any school-aged individual who had close contact with initial positive case will quarantine at home.

· Seating charts for the classroom, lunch room, and transportation

o marking where each student sat and if they wore a mask

· If a school-aged individual has close contact during an outdoor extracurricular event or in an indoor space where all individuals are spaced six feet apart, the school-aged individual(s) may self-monitor in lieu of quarantine.

Gordon-Rushville Public Schools Administration and School Board has implemented every recommended increased precaution and it has proven to uphold their goal of continuity. Because they have worked so hard on prevention, they have had no quarantines when a school student or staff tested positive.

“When I walk through the halls and see children in classrooms and in their seats learning, I know this is why we have all worked so hard on these reopening plans. Continuity is the ultimate goal while keeping kids, families, and our community safe,” said Lori Liggett, Gordon-Rushville Public Schools Superintendent.

Sidney and Gering strengthened their policies to include mandatory mask wearing to avoid another situation of a large number of quarantined students missing school. We urge all schools to implement precautions to keep school age students, staff and the community safe. Our goal is to keep kids in school. Local public health departments are obligated to quarantine close contacts according the Governor’s Directed Health Measure. This can be found here: http://dhhs.ne.gov/Documents/PPHD-DHM-September21.pdf.

We also urge that students and parents show kindness and grace to those confirmed positive with COVID and who are in quarantine. We are in a pandemic, to blame an individual for the consequences of quarantine, or missing events, is a form of bullying and only adds to the despair of the situation.

Unified Command confirms 24 more cases of COVID in the Panhandle since last reporting on Thursday, September 24. The investigations are underway, all close contacts will be quarantined and actively monitored for symptoms by public health officials.

By PPHD&nbsp;Active: 80, Recovered: 779, Deaths: 9School has now been in session for up to six weeks in many Panhandle communities. Several area schools, administration, and boards have worked hard to implement increased precautions during the COVID pandemic to keep children and staff safe. These include things like:· Spacing students out in the classroom and at lunch to allow for effective distancing.· Mask wearing in accordance with the Panhandle risk dial.· Staggered passing times to decrease the number of people in the hallways and staggered recesses.· Increased handwashing and sanitizing points throughout the school.· Staying home when a student or staff member is experiencing even minor signs of illness.“These are all key to slowing the disease spread,” said Kim Engel, Panhandle Public Health District Director. She added, “When these increased precautions are being implemented, it significantly reduces the amount of students that are required to quarantine due to close contact resulting in kids staying in school.”In some situations, the health district has seen one confirmed COVID positive student or staff member and upwards of 38 others that are then required to quarantine, as required by the Governor’s Directed Health Measure, when contact tracing has been conducted. Factors that are considered in the disease investigation:· Close contact is considered less than six feet for a total of 15 minutes or more.· Were masks worn by the positive individual and the close contacts?o In a classroom where everyone is masked, including the initial positive case, the initial positive case will isolate at home, and the remainder of the school-aged individuals will self-monitor for symptoms.o In a classroom where the initial positive case is not masked, the initial positive case will be isolated at home, and any school-aged individual who had close contact will quarantine at home.o In a classroom where the initial positive case is masked but others are not, the initial positive case will isolate at home, those school-aged individuals withoutmasks and had close contact with initial positive case who are exposed will quarantine at home, and the remainder of the classroom will self-monitor for symptoms.o In a classroom where no school-aged individual were masked, the initial positive case will be isolated at home, and any school-aged individual who had close contact with initial positive case will quarantine at home.· Seating charts for the classroom, lunch room, and transportationo marking where each student sat and if they wore a masko distance between desko attendance for the date(s) in question· If a school-aged individual has close contact during an outdoor extracurricular event or in an indoor space where all individuals are spaced six feet apart, the school-aged individual(s) may self-monitor in lieu of quarantine.Gordon-Rushville Public Schools Administration and School Board has implemented every recommended increased precaution and it has proven to uphold their goal of continuity. Because they have worked so hard on prevention, they have had no quarantines when a school student or staff tested positive.“When I walk through the halls and see children in classrooms and in their seats learning, I know this is why we have all worked so hard on these reopening plans. Continuity is the ultimate goal while keeping kids, families, and our community safe,” said Lori Liggett, Gordon-Rushville Public Schools Superintendent.Sidney and Gering strengthened their policies to include mandatory mask wearing to avoid another situation of a large number of quarantined students missing school. We urge all schools to implement precautions to keep school age students, staff and the community safe. Our goal is to keep kids in school. Local public health departments are obligated to quarantine close contacts according the Governor’s Directed Health Measure. This can be found here: http://dhhs.ne.gov/Documents/PPHD-DHM-September21.pdf.We also urge that students and parents show kindness and grace to those confirmed positive with COVID and who are in quarantine. We are in a pandemic, to blame an individual for the consequences of quarantine, or missing events, is a form of bullying and only adds to the despair of the situation.Unified Command confirms 24 more cases of COVID in the Panhandle since last reporting on Thursday, September 24. The investigations are underway, all close contacts will be quarantined and actively monitored for symptoms by public health officials.<figure>
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 </figure>Testing information and access for the Panhandle area: · You can sign up for the following free testing at Testnebraska.com or 402-207-9377:o Box Butte General Hospital in Alliance: Monday-Friday, 9-10am§ Ambulance Bay on the east side of the emergency department, watch for the green arrowso Chadron Community Hospital: Mondays &amp; Fridays, 7-9am§ Collections are at 821 Morehead Street (Old Hospital ER Entrance next to Wilson Park)§ Other testing opportunities for symptomatic patients may be available through the hospital as ordered by your Primary Care Practitioner, call the hospital at 747-2466 with questions.o Gordon Memorial Hospital: Tuesdays &amp; Thursdays, 2-4pmo Regional West Health Services in Scottsbluff: Mondays &amp; Fridays, Noon-4pm; Wednesdays, 2-6pmo Sidney Regional Medical Center: Tuesdays &amp; Thursday, 7-9am· Community Action Health Center in Gering: Mondays, Wednesdays, &amp; Thursdays, 7-8am o Testing is free, sign up at https://tinyurl.com/yydxr5mc· Morrill County Community Hospital in Bridgeport: Dailyo Call 308-262-1616 for testing, same day results· Contact your local hospital or clinic for information on testing access.March 2-September 28, 2020· Total Tests Conducted: 14,052· Positive: 869· Cumulative Positivity Rate: 6.1%· Recovered: 779· Active Cases: 80· Deaths: 9· Active Hospitalizations: 3· Total Cumulative Hospitalizations: 83Panhandle Public Health District, Region 21, 22, and 23 Emergency Management, and Scotts Bluff County Health Department are working as a unified command on this evolving situation. Essential updates will be regularly communicated to the public and community partners.For the most up to date information from the CDC, visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html.Panhandle Public Health District is working together to improve the health, safety, and quality of life for all who live, learn, work, and play in the Panhandle. Our vision is that we are a healthier and safer Panhandle Community. Visit our website www.pphd.org.

PPHD: Keeping kids in school is the goal, 24 new virus cases, 26 recoveries

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota’s top health official says hospitals have plenty of capacity to care for COVID-19 patients, even as the state has become one of the nation’s coronavirus hotspots. 

Health officials reported Monday that the number of active infections in the state is at 3,828, including more than 200 who are being treated in hospitals. 

Secretary of Health Kim Malsam-Rysdon says 33 hospitals in the state are caring for coronavirus patients and that over 1,000 hospital beds remain available.

 According to the COVID Tracking Project, the state's seven-day positivity average for coronavirus testing is over 25%.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota’s top health official says hospitals have plenty of capacity to care for COVID-19 patients, even as the state has become one of the nation’s coronavirus hotspots. Health officials reported Monday that the number of active infections in the state is at 3,828, including more than 200 who are being treated in hospitals. Secretary of Health Kim Malsam-Rysdon says 33 hospitals in the state are caring for coronavirus patients and that over 1,000 hospital beds remain available. According to the COVID Tracking Project, the state's seven-day positivity average for coronavirus testing is over 25%.

SD Secretary of Health: Hospitals can handle more virus cases

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska reported 901 new coronavirus cases and two new deaths linked to COVID-19 over the weekend. 

The state’s online virus tracker on Monday showed 44,063 in Nebraska have tested positive since the outbreak began, including 467 new cases on Sunday and 434 new cases on Saturday. 

A total of 470 deaths have been linked to the coronavirus in Nebraska. 

Data from Johns Hopkins University shows the seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in Nebraska has risen over the past two weeks from 329 new cases per day on Sept. 13 to 399.86 new cases per day on Sunday.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska reported 901 new coronavirus cases and two new deaths linked to COVID-19 over the weekend. The state’s online virus tracker on Monday showed 44,063 in Nebraska have tested positive since the outbreak began, including 467 new cases on Sunday and 434 new cases on Saturday. A total of 470 deaths have been linked to the coronavirus in Nebraska. Data from Johns Hopkins University shows the seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in Nebraska has risen over the past two weeks from 329 new cases per day on Sept. 13 to 399.86 new cases per day on Sunday.

Nebraska reports 901 new virus cases, 2 deaths over weekend

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota Department of Health officials reported 412 new cases of the coronavirus in the last day, for a total of 2,849 positive tests in seven days and 21,541 cases since the pandemic began. 

The number of active cases increased by 48, to a record 3,790. 

Hospitalizations rose by three to 216 and the death toll remained unchanged at 218, The update showed 70 new cases of COVID-19 in Minnehaha County in the last day, followed by Pennington County with 62, Codington County with 30, Brown County with 29, Lincoln County with 24 and Meade County with 18. 

The COVID Tracking Project list South Dakota second in the country behind North Dakota in the number of new cases per capita in the last two weeks.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota Department of Health officials reported 412 new cases of the coronavirus in the last day, for a total of 2,849 positive tests in seven days and 21,541 cases since the pandemic began. The number of active cases increased by 48, to a record 3,790. Hospitalizations rose by three to 216 and the death toll remained unchanged at 218, The update showed 70 new cases of COVID-19 in Minnehaha County in the last day, followed by Pennington County with 62, Codington County with 30, Brown County with 29, Lincoln County with 24 and Meade County with 18. The COVID Tracking Project list South Dakota second in the country behind North Dakota in the number of new cases per capita in the last two weeks.

South Dakota reports nearly 2,900 COVID-19 cases in 7 days

NEW YORK (AP) — At a University of Maryland lab, people infected with the new coronavirus take turns sitting in a chair and putting their faces into the big end of a large cone. They recite the alphabet and sing or just sit quietly for a half hour. Sometimes they cough.

The cone sucks up everything that comes out of their mouths and noses. It’s part of a device called “Gesundheit II” that is helping scientists study a big question: Just how does the virus that causes COVID-19 spread from one person to another?

It clearly hitchhikes on small liquid particles sprayed out by an infected person. People expel particles while coughing, sneezing, singing, shouting, talking and even breathing. But the drops come in a wide range of sizes, and scientists are trying to pin down how risky the various kinds are.

The answer affects what we should all be doing to avoid getting sick. That’s why it was thrust into headlines a few days ago when a U.S. health agency appeared to have shifted its position on the issue, but&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-archive-public-health-cfb43dd5a28dd449cd1100a067cfd112">later said</a>&nbsp;it had published new language in error.

The recommendation to stay at least 6 feet (2 meters) apart — some authorities cite about half that distance — is based on the idea that larger particles fall to the ground before they can travel very far. They are like the droplets in a spritz of a window cleaner, and they can infect somebody by landing on their nose, mouth or eyes, or maybe being inhaled.

But some scientists are now focusing on tinier particles, the ones that spread more like cigarette smoke. Those are carried by wisps of air and even upward drafts caused by the warmth of our bodies. They can linger in the air for minutes to hours, spreading throughout a room and build up if ventilation is poor.

The potential risk comes from inhaling them. Measles can spread this way, but the new coronavirus is far less contagious than that.

For these particles, called aerosols, “6 feet is not a magic distance,” says Linsey Marr, a leading researcher who is studying them at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. But she says it’s still important to keep one’s distance from others, “the farther the better,” because aerosols are most concentrated near a source and pose a bigger risk at close range.

Public health agencies have generally focused on the larger particles for coronavirus. That prompted more than 200 other scientists to publish a&nbsp;<a href="https://academic.oup.com/cid/advance-article/doi/10.1093/cid/ciaa939/5867798" target="_blank">plea</a>&nbsp;in July to pay attention to the potential risk from aerosols. The World Health Organization, which had long dismissed a danger from aerosols except in the case of certain medical procedures, later&nbsp;<a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a-how-is-covid-19-transmitted" target="_blank">said</a>&nbsp;that aerosol transmission of the coronavirus can’t be ruled out in cases of infection within crowded and poorly ventilated indoor spaces.

The issue drew attention recently when the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted and then deleted statements on its website that highlighted the idea of aerosol spread. The agency said the posting was an error, and that the statements were just a draft of proposed changes to its recommendations.

Dr. Jay Butler, CDC’s deputy director for infectious disease, told The Associated Press that the agency continues to believe larger and heavier droplets that come from coughing or sneezing are the primary means of transmission.

Last month Butler told a scientific meeting that current research suggests aerosol spreading of the coronavirus is possible but it doesn’t seem to be the main way that people get infected. Further research may change that conclusion, he added, and he urged scientists to study how often aerosol spread of the coronavirus occurs, what situations make it more likely and what reasonable steps might prevent it.

Marr said she thinks infection by aerosols is “happening a lot more than people initially were willing to think.”

As a key piece of evidence, Marr and others point to so-called “superspreader” events where one infected person evidently passed the virus to many others in a single setting.

In March, for example, after a choir member with coronavirus symptoms attended a rehearsal in Washington state, 52 others who had been seated throughout the room were&nbsp;<a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.06.15.20132027v2" target="_blank">found</a>&nbsp;to be infected and two died. In a crowded and poorly ventilated restaurant in China in January, the virus evidently&nbsp;<a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.16.20067728v1" target="_blank">spread&nbsp;</a>from a lunchtime patron to five people at two adjoining tables in a pattern suggesting aerosols were spread by the air conditioner. Also in January, a passenger on a Chinese bus apparently&nbsp;<a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2770172" target="_blank">infected</a>&nbsp;23 others, many of whom were scattered around the vehicle.

Butler said such events raise concern about aerosol spread but don’t prove it happens.

There could be another way for tiny particles to spread. They may not necessarily come directly from somebody’s mouth or nose, says William Ristenpart of the University of California, Davis. His&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-17888-w" target="_blank">research&nbsp;</a>found that if paper tissues are seeded with influenza virus and then crumpled, they give off particles that bear the virus. So people emptying a wastebasket with tissues discarded by somebody with COVID-19 should be sure to wear a mask, he said.

Scientists who warn about aerosols say current recommendations still make sense.

Wearing a mask is still important, and make sure it fits snugly. Keep washing those hands diligently. And again, staying farther apart is better than being closer together. Avoid crowds, especially indoors.

Their main addition to recommendations is ventilation to avoid a buildup of aerosol concentration. So, the researchers say, stay out of poorly ventilated rooms. Open windows and doors. One can also use air-purifying devices or virus-inactivating ultraviolet light.

Best of all: Just do as much as you can outdoors, where dilution and the sun’s ultraviolet light work in your favor.

“We know outdoors is the most spectacularly effective measure, by far,” says Jose-Luis Jimenez of the University of Colorado-Boulder. “Outdoors it is not impossible to get infected, but it is difficult.”

The various precautions should be used in combination rather than just one at a time, researchers say. In a well ventilated environment, “6 feet (of separation) is pretty good if everybody’s got a mask on” and nobody stays directly downwind of an infected person for very long, says Dr. Donald Milton of the University of Maryland School of Public Health, whose lab houses the Gesundheit II machine.

Duration of exposure is important, so there’s probably not much risk from a short elevator ride while masked or being passed by a jogger on the sidewalk, experts say.

Scientists have&nbsp;<a href="https://nicholas.duke.edu/news/online-tool-calculates-risk-classroom-transmission-airborne-covid-19" target="_blank">published</a>&nbsp;online&nbsp;<a href="https://cires.colorado.edu/news/covid-19-airborne-transmission-tool-available" target="_blank">tools</a>&nbsp;for calculating risk of airborne spread in various settings.

At a recent meeting on aerosols, however, Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, noted that preventive steps can be a challenge in the real world. Keeping apart from other people can be difficult in homes that house multiple generations. Some old buildings have windows that were “nailed shut years ago,” he said. And “we have far too many communities where they simply don’t have access to clean water to wash their hands.”

It might seem strange that for all the scientific frenzy to study the new coronavirus, the details of how it spreads can still be in doubt nine months later. But history suggests patience.

“We’ve been studying influenza for 102 years,” says Milton, referring to the 1918 flu epidemic. “We still don’t know how it’s transmitted and what the role of aerosols is.”

NEW YORK (AP) — At a University of Maryland lab, people infected with the new coronavirus take turns sitting in a chair and putting their faces into the big end of a large cone. They recite the alphabet and sing or just sit quietly for a half hour. Sometimes they cough.The cone sucks up everything that comes out of their mouths and noses. It’s part of a device called “Gesundheit II” that is helping scientists study a big question: Just how does the virus that causes COVID-19 spread from one person to another?It clearly hitchhikes on small liquid particles sprayed out by an infected person. People expel particles while coughing, sneezing, singing, shouting, talking and even breathing. But the drops come in a wide range of sizes, and scientists are trying to pin down how risky the various kinds are.The answer affects what we should all be doing to avoid getting sick. That’s why it was thrust into headlines a few days ago when a U.S. health agency appeared to have shifted its position on the issue, but&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-archive-public-health-cfb43dd5a28dd449cd1100a067cfd112">later said</a>&nbsp;it had published new language in error.The recommendation to stay at least 6 feet (2 meters) apart — some authorities cite about half that distance — is based on the idea that larger particles fall to the ground before they can travel very far. They are like the droplets in a spritz of a window cleaner, and they can infect somebody by landing on their nose, mouth or eyes, or maybe being inhaled.But some scientists are now focusing on tinier particles, the ones that spread more like cigarette smoke. Those are carried by wisps of air and even upward drafts caused by the warmth of our bodies. They can linger in the air for minutes to hours, spreading throughout a room and build up if ventilation is poor.The potential risk comes from inhaling them. Measles can spread this way, but the new coronavirus is far less contagious than that.For these particles, called aerosols, “6 feet is not a magic distance,” says Linsey Marr, a leading researcher who is studying them at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. But she says it’s still important to keep one’s distance from others, “the farther the better,” because aerosols are most concentrated near a source and pose a bigger risk at close range.Public health agencies have generally focused on the larger particles for coronavirus. That prompted more than 200 other scientists to publish a&nbsp;<a href="https://academic.oup.com/cid/advance-article/doi/10.1093/cid/ciaa939/5867798" target="_blank">plea</a>&nbsp;in July to pay attention to the potential risk from aerosols. The World Health Organization, which had long dismissed a danger from aerosols except in the case of certain medical procedures, later&nbsp;<a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a-how-is-covid-19-transmitted" target="_blank">said</a>&nbsp;that aerosol transmission of the coronavirus can’t be ruled out in cases of infection within crowded and poorly ventilated indoor spaces.The issue drew attention recently when the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted and then deleted statements on its website that highlighted the idea of aerosol spread. The agency said the posting was an error, and that the statements were just a draft of proposed changes to its recommendations.Dr. Jay Butler, CDC’s deputy director for infectious disease, told The Associated Press that the agency continues to believe larger and heavier droplets that come from coughing or sneezing are the primary means of transmission.Last month Butler told a scientific meeting that current research suggests aerosol spreading of the coronavirus is possible but it doesn’t seem to be the main way that people get infected. Further research may change that conclusion, he added, and he urged scientists to study how often aerosol spread of the coronavirus occurs, what situations make it more likely and what reasonable steps might prevent it.Marr said she thinks infection by aerosols is “happening a lot more than people initially were willing to think.”As a key piece of evidence, Marr and others point to so-called “superspreader” events where one infected person evidently passed the virus to many others in a single setting.In March, for example, after a choir member with coronavirus symptoms attended a rehearsal in Washington state, 52 others who had been seated throughout the room were&nbsp;<a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.06.15.20132027v2" target="_blank">found</a>&nbsp;to be infected and two died. In a crowded and poorly ventilated restaurant in China in January, the virus evidently&nbsp;<a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.16.20067728v1" target="_blank">spread&nbsp;</a>from a lunchtime patron to five people at two adjoining tables in a pattern suggesting aerosols were spread by the air conditioner. Also in January, a passenger on a Chinese bus apparently&nbsp;<a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2770172" target="_blank">infected</a>&nbsp;23 others, many of whom were scattered around the vehicle.Butler said such events raise concern about aerosol spread but don’t prove it happens.There could be another way for tiny particles to spread. They may not necessarily come directly from somebody’s mouth or nose, says William Ristenpart of the University of California, Davis. His&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-17888-w" target="_blank">research&nbsp;</a>found that if paper tissues are seeded with influenza virus and then crumpled, they give off particles that bear the virus. So people emptying a wastebasket with tissues discarded by somebody with COVID-19 should be sure to wear a mask, he said.Scientists who warn about aerosols say current recommendations still make sense.Wearing a mask is still important, and make sure it fits snugly. Keep washing those hands diligently. And again, staying farther apart is better than being closer together. Avoid crowds, especially indoors.Their main addition to recommendations is ventilation to avoid a buildup of aerosol concentration. So, the researchers say, stay out of poorly ventilated rooms. Open windows and doors. One can also use air-purifying devices or virus-inactivating ultraviolet light.Best of all: Just do as much as you can outdoors, where dilution and the sun’s ultraviolet light work in your favor.“We know outdoors is the most spectacularly effective measure, by far,” says Jose-Luis Jimenez of the University of Colorado-Boulder. “Outdoors it is not impossible to get infected, but it is difficult.”The various precautions should be used in combination rather than just one at a time, researchers say. In a well ventilated environment, “6 feet (of separation) is pretty good if everybody’s got a mask on” and nobody stays directly downwind of an infected person for very long, says Dr. Donald Milton of the University of Maryland School of Public Health, whose lab houses the Gesundheit II machine.Duration of exposure is important, so there’s probably not much risk from a short elevator ride while masked or being passed by a jogger on the sidewalk, experts say.Scientists have&nbsp;<a href="https://nicholas.duke.edu/news/online-tool-calculates-risk-classroom-transmission-airborne-covid-19" target="_blank">published</a>&nbsp;online&nbsp;<a href="https://cires.colorado.edu/news/covid-19-airborne-transmission-tool-available" target="_blank">tools</a>&nbsp;for calculating risk of airborne spread in various settings.At a recent meeting on aerosols, however, Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, noted that preventive steps can be a challenge in the real world. Keeping apart from other people can be difficult in homes that house multiple generations. Some old buildings have windows that were “nailed shut years ago,” he said. And “we have far too many communities where they simply don’t have access to clean water to wash their hands.”It might seem strange that for all the scientific frenzy to study the new coronavirus, the details of how it spreads can still be in doubt nine months later. But history suggests patience.“We’ve been studying influenza for 102 years,” says Milton, referring to the 1918 flu epidemic. “We still don’t know how it’s transmitted and what the role of aerosols is.”___

Tiny airborne particles may pose a big coronavirus problem

MISSION, Kan. (AP) — It began with devastation in the New York City area, followed by a summertime crisis in the Sun Belt. Now the coronavirus outbreak is heating up fast in smaller cities in the heartland, often in conservative corners of America where anti-mask sentiment runs high.

Elsewhere around the country, Florida’s Republican governor lifted all restrictions on restaurants and other businesses Friday and all but set aside local mask ordinances in the political battleground state, in a move attacked by Democrats as hasty.

Meanwhile, confirmed cases of the virus in the U.S. hit another milestone — 7 million — according to the count kept by Johns Hopkins University, though the real number of infections is believed to be much higher.

The spike across the Midwest as well as parts of the West has set off alarms at hospitals, schools and colleges.

Wisconsin is averaging more than 2,000 new cases a day over the last week, compared with 675 three weeks earlier. Hospitalizations in the state are at their highest level since the outbreak took hold in the U.S. in March.

Utah has seen its average daily case count more than double from three weeks earlier. Oklahoma and Missouri are regularly recording 1,000 new cases a day, and Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, a staunch opponent of mask rules, tested positive this week. Kansas and Iowa are also witnessing a spike in cases. And South Dakota and Idaho are seeing sky-high rates of tests coming back positive.

“What we’re seeing is the newer hot spots rise over the course of the last several weeks, predominantly in the Upper Midwest,” said Thomas Tsai, a professor at Harvard’s Chan School of Public Health.

The U.S. is averaging more than 40,000 new confirmed cases a day. While that number is dramatically lower than the peak of nearly 70,000 over the summer, the numbers are worrisome nonetheless. The nation’s death toll eclipsed 200,000 this week, the highest in the world.

In the Midwest, the virus is now landing squarely in places where there is strong resistance to masks and governors have been reluctant to require face coverings.

In Springfield, Missouri, hospitals are starting to fill up with COVID-19 patients and the city has seen a big spike in deaths over the past month.

Amelia Montgomery, a nurse working in the COVID unit at Cox South Hospital in Springfield, describes a maddening routine where family members of sick patients call up medical staff on the phone on a daily basis and question whether their loved ones truly have the virus and and the veracity of positive test results.

“We know what COVID looks like now after six months of dealing with it,” Montgomery said. “It is like beating your head against a brick wall when you are constantly having patients, family members of these patients and the community argue so intensely that it is not real or we are treating it in the wrong way.”

The skepticism about the virus coincides with deep frustration over mask requirements in the Midwestern cities that actually have them.

Mike Cooper, a 59-year-old and sign shop owner from the Branson, Missouri, area, is among those who have grown weary of virus restrictions that he sees as out-of-control government overreach. He has no doubts about the seriousness of the virus, but says the financial toll of business and school shutdowns creates its own set of health problems, such as alcoholism, suicide and depression. “Financial ruin kills people too,” he said.

“To me, flatten the curve means extend the plague. Flatten the curve means you are just going to kill the same number of people over a longer period of time, so they are going to extend the plague,” Cooper said.

In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis, a major ally of President Donald Trump, gave businesses the OK to reopen, declaring, “We’re not closing anything going forward.”

The governor, who has resisted making mask-wearing mandatory statewide, also said he will stop cities and counties from collecting fines from people who don’t cover their faces, virtually nullifying local mask ordinances.

Florida was a major hot spot over the summer, and the death toll there stands at nearly 14,000. Deaths are running at over 100 a day, and newly confirmed infections at about 2,700 a day.

Like Trump, DeSantis has questioned the effectiveness of closing down businesses, arguing that states that more aggressively shut down, including California, have fared no better.

“The state of Florida is probably the most open big state in the country,” he boasted Friday.

Florida Democrats have bemoaned the governor’s push to reopen.

“No one is advocating for a full-scale lockdown in Florida. But we have been and continue to ask for common-sense prevention measures such as face masks, which are essential to preventing further spread,” state Sen. Audrey Gibson said Thursday.

— Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced he and his wife have tested positive, though he said he has no symptoms. Northam, a Democrat who is also a doctor and usually wears a mask in public, has been criticized by Republicans who say his restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of the virus are too stringent.

— Two former administrators of a Massachusetts veterans home where nearly 80 people died were charged with neglect over their handling of the outbreak. They could go to prison if convicted. It is believed to be the nation’s first criminal case brought against nursing home officials for actions during the crisis.

— In New York City, which beat back the virus after a disastrous spring, four Orthodox Jewish schools were closed for violating social-distancing rules. Health officials said if virus cases in these neighborhoods continue to build, the city might roll back the reopening in some places and require businesses to close back down.

Mask and social distancing rules are starting to cause fatigue in some areas of the Midwest and West.

In Joplin, Missouri, a mask ordinance was allowed to expire in mid-August as virus fatigue grew. Since then, the number of positive cases there and in surrounding Jasper County — a deeply conservative county that Trump won by more than 50 percentage points over Hillary Clinton in 2016 — has risen about 80%.

“I am getting sick and tired of telling people to wear their masks, and I know they are sick and tired of me saying it,” said Tony Moehr, chief of the Jasper County Health Department. “And it just seems like people have heard it so many times, I’m not sure if they really even hear it anymore when we say it.”

At the home of the University of Oklahoma, the Norman City Council voted 5-3 this week to require that masks be worn indoors at house parties if more than 25 people are present. The ordinance passed over objections from members of the public.

“You can make any law that you want to. You come into my house telling me that I got to wear this stupid thing and you’re going to have a firefight on your hands,” said Josh Danforth, holding a mask, who identified himself as an Iraq war veteran.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1599689971178.png" alt="Kansas Department of Health Secretary Dr. Lee Norman listens to questions during his press conference Wednesday" />
 <figcaption>Kansas Department of Health Secretary Dr. Lee Norman listens to questions during his press conference Wednesday</figcaption>
 </figure>MISSION, Kan. (AP) — It began with devastation in the New York City area, followed by a summertime crisis in the Sun Belt. Now the coronavirus outbreak is heating up fast in smaller cities in the heartland, often in conservative corners of America where anti-mask sentiment runs high.Elsewhere around the country, Florida’s Republican governor lifted all restrictions on restaurants and other businesses Friday and all but set aside local mask ordinances in the political battleground state, in a move attacked by Democrats as hasty.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1601054548620.png" alt="Friday Sept. 25, 2020 KDHE image" />
 <figcaption>Friday Sept. 25, 2020 KDHE image</figcaption>
 </figure>Meanwhile, confirmed cases of the virus in the U.S. hit another milestone — 7 million — according to the count kept by Johns Hopkins University, though the real number of infections is believed to be much higher.The spike across the Midwest as well as parts of the West has set off alarms at hospitals, schools and colleges.Wisconsin is averaging more than 2,000 new cases a day over the last week, compared with 675 three weeks earlier. Hospitalizations in the state are at their highest level since the outbreak took hold in the U.S. in March.Utah has seen its average daily case count more than double from three weeks earlier. Oklahoma and Missouri are regularly recording 1,000 new cases a day, and Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, a staunch opponent of mask rules, tested positive this week. Kansas and Iowa are also witnessing a spike in cases. And South Dakota and Idaho are seeing sky-high rates of tests coming back positive.“What we’re seeing is the newer hot spots rise over the course of the last several weeks, predominantly in the Upper Midwest,” said Thomas Tsai, a professor at Harvard’s Chan School of Public Health.The U.S. is averaging more than 40,000 new confirmed cases a day. While that number is dramatically lower than the peak of nearly 70,000 over the summer, the numbers are worrisome nonetheless. The nation’s death toll eclipsed 200,000 this week, the highest in the world.In the Midwest, the virus is now landing squarely in places where there is strong resistance to masks and governors have been reluctant to require face coverings.In Springfield, Missouri, hospitals are starting to fill up with COVID-19 patients and the city has seen a big spike in deaths over the past month.Amelia Montgomery, a nurse working in the COVID unit at Cox South Hospital in Springfield, describes a maddening routine where family members of sick patients call up medical staff on the phone on a daily basis and question whether their loved ones truly have the virus and and the veracity of positive test results.“We know what COVID looks like now after six months of dealing with it,” Montgomery said. “It is like beating your head against a brick wall when you are constantly having patients, family members of these patients and the community argue so intensely that it is not real or we are treating it in the wrong way.”The skepticism about the virus coincides with deep frustration over mask requirements in the Midwestern cities that actually have them.Mike Cooper, a 59-year-old and sign shop owner from the Branson, Missouri, area, is among those who have grown weary of virus restrictions that he sees as out-of-control government overreach. He has no doubts about the seriousness of the virus, but says the financial toll of business and school shutdowns creates its own set of health problems, such as alcoholism, suicide and depression. “Financial ruin kills people too,” he said.“To me, flatten the curve means extend the plague. Flatten the curve means you are just going to kill the same number of people over a longer period of time, so they are going to extend the plague,” Cooper said.In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis, a major ally of President Donald Trump, gave businesses the OK to reopen, declaring, “We’re not closing anything going forward.”The governor, who has resisted making mask-wearing mandatory statewide, also said he will stop cities and counties from collecting fines from people who don’t cover their faces, virtually nullifying local mask ordinances.Florida was a major hot spot over the summer, and the death toll there stands at nearly 14,000. Deaths are running at over 100 a day, and newly confirmed infections at about 2,700 a day.Like Trump, DeSantis has questioned the effectiveness of closing down businesses, arguing that states that more aggressively shut down, including California, have fared no better.“The state of Florida is probably the most open big state in the country,” he boasted Friday.Florida Democrats have bemoaned the governor’s push to reopen.“No one is advocating for a full-scale lockdown in Florida. But we have been and continue to ask for common-sense prevention measures such as face masks, which are essential to preventing further spread,” state Sen. Audrey Gibson said Thursday.In other developments:— Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced he and his wife have tested positive, though he said he has no symptoms. Northam, a Democrat who is also a doctor and usually wears a mask in public, has been criticized by Republicans who say his restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of the virus are too stringent.— Two former administrators of a Massachusetts veterans home where nearly 80 people died were charged with neglect over their handling of the outbreak. They could go to prison if convicted. It is believed to be the nation’s first criminal case brought against nursing home officials for actions during the crisis.— In New York City, which beat back the virus after a disastrous spring, four Orthodox Jewish schools were closed for violating social-distancing rules. Health officials said if virus cases in these neighborhoods continue to build, the city might roll back the reopening in some places and require businesses to close back down.Mask and social distancing rules are starting to cause fatigue in some areas of the Midwest and West.In Joplin, Missouri, a mask ordinance was allowed to expire in mid-August as virus fatigue grew. Since then, the number of positive cases there and in surrounding Jasper County — a deeply conservative county that Trump won by more than 50 percentage points over Hillary Clinton in 2016 — has risen about 80%.“I am getting sick and tired of telling people to wear their masks, and I know they are sick and tired of me saying it,” said Tony Moehr, chief of the Jasper County Health Department. “And it just seems like people have heard it so many times, I’m not sure if they really even hear it anymore when we say it.”At the home of the University of Oklahoma, the Norman City Council voted 5-3 this week to require that masks be worn indoors at house parties if more than 25 people are present. The ordinance passed over objections from members of the public.“You can make any law that you want to. You come into my house telling me that I got to wear this stupid thing and you’re going to have a firefight on your hands,” said Josh Danforth, holding a mask, who identified himself as an Iraq war veteran.

Virus cases rise in US heartland, home to anti-mask feelings

GERING, Neb. (AP) — Several western Nebraska schools are scrambling to deal with outbreaks of new coronavirus cases. 

The Scottsbluff Star-Herald reports that about 70 students and staff at Gering High School are under quarantine after an outbreak. 

The confirmation last week of at least four cases in the school has led school officials to end a policy allowing people to opt-out of wearing masks inside its high school and on school buses. 

The homecoming dance also has been postponed until Oct. 17. 

Neighboring Scottsbluff Public Schools has had nine confirmed cases and 113 quarantines across its buildings. 

And in Alliance, the high school football game last week was canceled after a student tested positive and several team members were quarantined.

GERING, Neb. (AP) — Several western Nebraska schools are scrambling to deal with outbreaks of new coronavirus cases. The Scottsbluff Star-Herald reports that about 70 students and staff at Gering High School are under quarantine after an outbreak. The confirmation last week of at least four cases in the school has led school officials to end a policy allowing people to opt-out of wearing masks inside its high school and on school buses. The homecoming dance also has been postponed until Oct. 17. Neighboring Scottsbluff Public Schools has had nine confirmed cases and 113 quarantines across its buildings. And in Alliance, the high school football game last week was canceled after a student tested positive and several team members were quarantined.

AP: Western Nebraska schools plagued by virus outbreaks

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota has reported the highest number of new COVID-19 cases in a single day since the pandemic started, tallying 445 people who tested positive. 

The state has seen the nation’s second-highest number of new cases per capita over the last two weeks. But Gov. Kristi Noem has continued to say that the state is “in good shape” when it comes to hospital capacity. 

The Department of Health also reported a record number of people hospitalized by COVID-19 on Wednesday with 192 needing hospital care. 

Meanwhile, South Dakota public universities reported fall enrollment has declined by 2.8% from last year.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota has reported the highest number of new COVID-19 cases in a single day since the pandemic started, tallying 445 people who tested positive. The state has seen the nation’s second-highest number of new cases per capita over the last two weeks. But Gov. Kristi Noem has continued to say that the state is “in good shape” when it comes to hospital capacity. The Department of Health also reported a record number of people hospitalized by COVID-19 on Wednesday with 192 needing hospital care. Meanwhile, South Dakota public universities reported fall enrollment has declined by 2.8% from last year.

South Dakota reports single-day high for COVID-19 infections

Johnson &amp; Johnson is beginning a huge final study to try to prove if a single-dose COVID-19 vaccine can protect against the virus.

The study starting Wednesday will be one of the world's largest coronavirus vaccine studies so far, testing the shot in 60,000 volunteers in the U.S., South Africa, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru.

A handful of other vaccines in the U.S. — including shots made by Moderna Inc. and Pfizer Inc. — and others in other countries are already in final-stage testing. Hopes are high that answers about at least one candidate being tested in the U.S. could come by year's end, maybe sooner.

U.S. health officials insist the race for a vaccine isn't cutting corners.

“We want to do everything we can without sacrificing safety or efficacy — we’re not going to do that — to make sure that we end up with vaccines that are going to save lives,” Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, told reporters.

But many vaccine specialists question whether the Food and Drug Administration will stick to that goal under intense pressure from the Trump administration. President Donald Trump has consistently presented a faster timeline for a new vaccine than experts say is adequate to fully test the candidates.

Meanwhile, testing of still another experimental vaccine, made by AstraZeneca, remains on hold in the U.S. as officials examine a safety question, even though studies have resumed in other countries.

Earlier this week, Vice President Mike Pence urged state governors to "do your part to build public confidence that it will be a safe and effective vaccine.”

And Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease expert, added in the call to governors that he is confident in “a tried and true process” that has checks and balances built in, including an independent board evaluating the progress of each vaccine trial, as well as “the integrity of the FDA.”

A recording of the call was provided to The Associated Press.

Senators were scheduled to question FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn, Fauci and other administration officials later Wednesday about the pandemic response.

Even if the FDA were to allow emergency use of a vaccine by year's end, supplies would be limited and given first to vulnerable groups such as health workers. Most Americans aren't likely to receive a vaccine until sometime next year.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wants states to get ready now to roll out vaccinations, which will present enormous logistical challenges. On Wednesday the CDC was set to announce distribution of $200 million in congressionally approved funds to help begin setting up operations.

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said the COVID-19 vaccine campaign will build on longstanding cooperation between the federal government and the states on immunizations.

J&amp;J's vaccine is made with slightly different technology than others in late-stage testing, modeled on an Ebola vaccine the company created. Unlike the other three vaccines that started late-stage testing in the U.S., it requires only one shot, not two. Despite a later start to testing than some of its competitors, Dr. Paul Stoffels, J&amp;J's chief scientific officer, told reporters that the study was large enough to yield answers possibly by early next year.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1600861747887.png" alt="Vaccine photo courtesy Johnson &amp; Johnson" />
 <figcaption>Vaccine photo courtesy Johnson &amp; Johnson</figcaption>
 </figure>By LINDA A. JOHNSON, Associated PressJohnson &amp; Johnson is beginning a huge final study to try to prove if a single-dose COVID-19 vaccine can protect against the virus.The study starting Wednesday will be one of the world's largest coronavirus vaccine studies so far, testing the shot in 60,000 volunteers in the U.S., South Africa, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru.A handful of other vaccines in the U.S. — including shots made by Moderna Inc. and Pfizer Inc. — and others in other countries are already in final-stage testing. Hopes are high that answers about at least one candidate being tested in the U.S. could come by year's end, maybe sooner.U.S. health officials insist the race for a vaccine isn't cutting corners.“We want to do everything we can without sacrificing safety or efficacy — we’re not going to do that — to make sure that we end up with vaccines that are going to save lives,” Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, told reporters.But many vaccine specialists question whether the Food and Drug Administration will stick to that goal under intense pressure from the Trump administration. President Donald Trump has consistently presented a faster timeline for a new vaccine than experts say is adequate to fully test the candidates.Meanwhile, testing of still another experimental vaccine, made by AstraZeneca, remains on hold in the U.S. as officials examine a safety question, even though studies have resumed in other countries.Earlier this week, Vice President Mike Pence urged state governors to "do your part to build public confidence that it will be a safe and effective vaccine.”And Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease expert, added in the call to governors that he is confident in “a tried and true process” that has checks and balances built in, including an independent board evaluating the progress of each vaccine trial, as well as “the integrity of the FDA.”A recording of the call was provided to The Associated Press.Senators were scheduled to question FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn, Fauci and other administration officials later Wednesday about the pandemic response.Even if the FDA were to allow emergency use of a vaccine by year's end, supplies would be limited and given first to vulnerable groups such as health workers. Most Americans aren't likely to receive a vaccine until sometime next year.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wants states to get ready now to roll out vaccinations, which will present enormous logistical challenges. On Wednesday the CDC was set to announce distribution of $200 million in congressionally approved funds to help begin setting up operations.Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said the COVID-19 vaccine campaign will build on longstanding cooperation between the federal government and the states on immunizations.J&amp;J's vaccine is made with slightly different technology than others in late-stage testing, modeled on an Ebola vaccine the company created. Unlike the other three vaccines that started late-stage testing in the U.S., it requires only one shot, not two. Despite a later start to testing than some of its competitors, Dr. Paul Stoffels, J&amp;J's chief scientific officer, told reporters that the study was large enough to yield answers possibly by early next year.___

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