States With Record-Breaking Numbers Are Losing Control Of Their Outbreaks, Health Leaders Warn

The Hill: Florida, Texas, Arizona Face Hurdles In Getting Outbreaks Under Control 
Some states with spiking COVID-19 cases are losing control of their outbreaks, warn public health experts who say the states must take strong actions now to slow the virus’s spread. “It’s going to be difficult now to get this under control,” Scott Gottlieb, the former Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner, said Thursday on CNBC. (Hellmann, 6/25)

AP: Florida Again Reports More Than 5,000 New Coronavirus Cases
For the second consecutive day, Florida has reported more than 5,000 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state. Thursday’s rise in reported cases was lower than Wednesday’s record-setting mark, but it’s only the second time the state has crossed the 5,000-case mark in a day. In total, the state has reported more than 114,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and at least 3,327 coronavirus-related deaths. (Schneider and Lush, 6/25)

The Washington Post: Arizona's Coronavirus Crisis Follows Misleading Data Use And Emphasis On Rapid Reopening
A drive-up testing site equipped for several hundred people in West Phoenix was swarmed on Saturday by about 1,000 people, leaving some baking in their cars for hours. A nearby testing station has already reached capacity for this weekend, appointments vanishing within minutes. Hospitals are filling up. Restaurants are again shutting down, more than a month after Arizona reopened its economy under the mantra “Return Stronger.” (Duda, Stanley-Becker and Janes, 6/25)

Stateline: 'Sin Taxes' Could Help States In Pandemic Budget Slump (At Least A Little Bit)
Gas tax revenue plummeted this spring, income taxes won’t rebound anytime soon and some states are offering a property tax holiday because people can’t pay during the pandemic. But so-called sin taxes are rolling in as liquor stores boom, marijuana sales continue, vapers vape and smokers smoke. While not a huge portion of state tax revenue, sin taxes are a relative bright spot in a dark revenue picture. And some states are considering increasing those levies to make up some of the lost pandemic revenue. (Povich, 6/26)

Reuters: California Governor Declares Budget Emergency Due To COVID-19 Pandemic 
California Governor Gavin Newsom on Thursday declared a budget emergency in the most populous U.S. state, blaming expenses and the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Declaring a budget emergency allows the state to tap into its rainy day fund. California anticipates a $54.3 billion budget deficit due to costs and a drop in revenue linked to the pandemic.(Bernstein, 6/26)

Kaiser Health News: Watch: Fauci, Other Health Officials Weigh California’s COVID Response 
Samantha Young, California Healthline’s California politics correspondent, helped moderate a discussion hosted by the Sacramento Press Club about California’s response to the coronavirus crisis. The discussion touched on the reopening of the economy, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s order requiring Californians to wear face coverings and whether hospitals are ready to handle a surge in cases as infections continue to rise statewide. (6/25)

Politico: New York City Tries To Shift Focus From Lackluster Contact Tracing Results
Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration rolled out its contact tracing program to great fanfare, promising it would help ensure New York City’s re-emergence from the crush of the coronavirus. But things didn’t go as planned and after spending a week on the defensive City Hall is now seeking to shift the perception of a lackluster program cursed by a turf war between the mayor and his health department. (Goldenberg and Durkin, 6/25)

CNN: At Least 3 North Carolina Sheriffs Say They Won't Enforce The State's Mask Mandate 
Three sheriffs in North Carolina have declared that they will not be enforcing Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper's statewide mask mandate despite a growing number of coronavirus cases. Cooper issued an executive order on Wednesday that will require all people in the state to wear a mask in public, where physical distancing of 6 feet from other people isn't possible. (Kim, 6/25)

Burlington Free Press: Coronavirus: Vermont Face Mask Rules Stand Out Among Northeast
As the number of COVID-19 cases continue to rise sharply in states without strict mandates on face coverings, Vermont stands out among its neighbors. The rest of the Northeast requires at least some customers of businesses to wear masks. Several states have what amount to across-the-board requirements. (Danforth, 6/25)

Boston Globe: Mayor Walsh To Form Equity Cabinet Office To Fight Racial Injustice 
Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh said Thursday that he’s creating an equity and inclusion Cabinet-level office to combat racial injustice and support marginalized communities in the city. Speaking during a briefing outside City Hall, Walsh said the office will tackle “barriers to equity” and also work on issues such as health care access, women’s advancement, and supporting immigrants and refugees. (Andersen and McDonald, 6/25)

State House News: Mass. Stepping Up Flu Vaccine Push 
The Baker administration is planning to work with schools and municipalities to get more people to get a flu shot this fall, when cold and flu season is poised to overlap with ongoing efforts to fight COVID-19. Word of the developing strategy was tucked into a memo that Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Jeff Riley sent to school superintendents detailing safety protocols for reopening schools. (Young, 6/25)

Bangor Daily News: Maine’s New Jobless Claims Fall Below Peak Seen During Great Recession 
New jobless claims in Maine have fallen below the peak seen during the Great Recession as more Mainers return to work amid relaxing coronavirus restrictions. Mainers submitted about 5,600 new jobless claims to the state for the week of June 14 to June 20, according to new data released by the Maine Department of Labor on Thursday morning. Of those, about 2,900 were for traditional state benefits, while another 2,700 were for benefits under Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, a new federal program approved by Congress as part of a coronavirus-relief package in late March. (Burns, 6/25)

WBUR: Montana Tribal Communities Offer Free Mass Testing To Contain The Coronavirus 
The coronavirus has exposed disparities in healthcare among people of color, and tribal communities are among the hardest hit. Montana is trying to change that with free mass testing. (Siegler, 6/25)

Billings Gazette: No Restrictions Planned For Yellowstone County After COVID-19 Spike
The spike in COVID-19 across Montana, and in Yellowstone County, has put a strain on health officials in conducting contact tracing, but there will be no further restrictions implemented locally. During a press conference at RiverStone Health Thursday, Yellowstone County Health Officer John Felton asked for more vigilance on the part of residents in preventing any further spread of the virus as the state reported its largest single-day increase in cases to date. (Hamby, 6/25)

New Orleans Times-Picayune: Amid Coronavirus Uptick In Jefferson Parish, Cynthia Lee Sheng Urges Businesses To Heed Guidelines 
With Jefferson Parish coronavirus cases growing at more than double the rate of neighboring New Orleans over the last month, President Cynthia Lee Sheng on Thursday warned parish business and restaurant industry leaders that the uptick could trigger the return of tighter restrictions and urged them to take the lead on safety measures like masks and distancing. (Roberts III and Adelson, 6/25)

WBUR: Georgia Lt. Gov. On COVID-19, The State's Hate Crimes Bill And Voting Access 
The state of Georgia is juggling three crises: a rising number of COVID-19 cases, problems with voting access as the general election approaches, and the killings of two Black men, Ahmaud Arbery and Rayshard Brooks. Georgia hit a record high of new confirmed cases this week. But Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan says he stands by the decision to begin opening up the state at the end of April. (Silva, 6/25)