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COVID-19: The Latest

Jefferson County JVS planning for Aug. 20 start date

BLOOMINGDALE — The Jefferson County Joint Vocational School is among area districts looking to re-open amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and is taking precautions to keep students and staff safe. During the regular session on Monday, school board members approved the purchase of thermal scanners, face shields, plexiglass and other items which will be placed around the building to ensure safety of all. Superintendent Todd Phillipson said the JVS is eyeing an Aug. 20 start date and the items plus hybrid learning and other protocols to maintain the students’ education. Among ...

July 27: Events canceled/postponed due to coronavirus

Due to the precautions being taken surrounding the coronavirus, the following changes have been made regarding events and meetings in the local area: ¯ The 2020 Ohio River Sweep has been postponed to 2021, and the date will be determined. ¯ The annual Teddy Bear Tea held in July at Mary H. Weir Public Library has been canceled. It will resume in July 2021. ¯ Mingo Community Days, normally held each July, has been canceled. ¯ The 203rd annual on-site Hollow Rock Campmeeting for July has been canceled. ¯ The 50th-annual Covered Bridge Festival that had been scheduled for ...

Extra unemployment benefits expire as pandemic continues

LOS ANGELES — As public health officials warned Friday that the coronavirus posed new risks to parts of the Midwest and South, enhanced federal payments that helped avert financial ruin for millions of unemployed Americans were set to expire — leaving threadbare safety nets offered by individual states to catch them. Since early in the pandemic, the federal government has added $600 to the weekly unemployment checks that states send. That increase ends this week, and with Congress still haggling over next steps, most states will not be able to offer nearly as much. The extra ...

July 25: Events canceled/postponed due to coronavirus

Due to the precautions being taken surrounding the coronavirus, the following changes have been made regarding events and meetings in the local area: ¯ The 2020 Ohio River Sweep has been postponed to 2021, and the date will be determined. ¯ The annual Teddy Bear Tea held in July at Mary H. Weir Public Library has been canceled. It will resume in July 2021. ¯ Mingo Community Days, normally held each July, has been canceled. ¯ The 203rd annual on-site Hollow Rock Campmeeting for July has been canceled. ¯ The 50th-annual Covered Bridge Festival that had been scheduled for ...

Ohio’s statewide mask order in effect at 6 p.m. today

COLUMBUS — A mandatory mask order will be expanded statewide across Ohio to slow the spread of the coronavirus, Gov. Mike DeWine announced Wednesday. The mask mandate takes effect Thursday evening for everyone age 10 and older when they’re out in public or in places where they can’t ...

U.S. signs agreement for COVID-19 vaccine doses

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration will pay Pfizer nearly $2 billion for a December delivery of 100 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine the pharmaceutical company is developing, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar announced Wednesday. The U.S. could buy another 500 million doses under the agreement, Azar said. “Now those would, of course, have to be safe and effective” and approved by the Food and Drug Administration, Azar said during an appearance on Fox News. Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE announced separately that the agreement is with HHS and the Defense ...