Apr 30, 2020 - Health

Gavin Newsom to issue order closing all California beaches

Large crowds gather near the Newport Beach Pier in California on Saturday. Photo: Mindy Schauer/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images

California Gov. Gavin Newsom will order all beaches and state parks to close Friday to avoid a repeat of last weekend's "violation" of lockdown measures when the coast became "overcrowded," a police memo leaked to a local Fox station said Wednesday.

The big picture: California Police Chiefs Association president Eric Nuñez told AP the memo was sent for planning purposes ahead of Newsom's announcement Thursday. Newsom said earlier Wednesday he was working with local authorities to take further action after Newport Beach City Council voted to keep its beaches open, per the Los Angeles Times. The novel coronavirus has killed 1,887 people in California and infected 46,500 others, per the latest state health figures.

Go deeper: In photos: Cities take steps toward reopening

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Orion Rummler
Aug 7, 2020 - Health

Massachusetts pauses reopening after uptick in coronavirus cases

Gov. Charlie Baker at Boston MedFlight Headquarters on Aug. 4. Photo: David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker announced Friday that the state's second phase of reopening is "postponed indefinitely" in response to a modest increase in coronavirus cases.

The big picture: The state is reporting more COVID-19 deaths than most others across the U.S. outside of domestic epicenters like California, or previous hotspots including New Jersey and New York, per a New York Times database.

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Orion Rummler
Aug 7, 2020 - Health

Cuomo says all New York schools can reopen for in-person learning

Gov. Cuomo on July 23 in New York City. Photo: Jeenah Moon/Getty Images

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Friday that all school districts across the state can choose to reopen for in-person learning because it has so far maintained low enough coronavirus transmission rates.

Why it matters: It’s another sign that the state, once the global epicenter of the pandemic, has — at least for now — successfully curbed the spread of the virus even as infections have surged elsewhere around the country.

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Axios
Updated Oct 7, 2020 - Health

World coronavirus updates

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Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins; Map: Axios Visuals

New Zealand now has active no coronavirus cases in the community after the final six people linked to the Auckland cluster recovered, the country's Health Ministry confirmed in an email Wednesday.

The big picture: The country's second outbreak won't officially be declared closed until there have been "no new cases for two incubation periods," the ministry said. Auckland will join the rest of NZ in enjoying no domestic restrictions from late Wednesday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said, declaring that NZ had "beat the virus again."

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