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Law360 (September 22, 2020, 5:50 PM EDT ) As the stalemate over a new COVID-19 pandemic relief bill continues in the federal government, state lawmakers and leaders made progress over the past week with new measures to battle the health and financial fallout of the coronavirus.
New Jersey and New York added more states to their travel advisories, while Delaware is keeping its residents informed with a coronavirus exposure app. Delaware, along with Florida, also expanded access to mental health resources since the pandemic has compounded existing troubles.
In other health and well-being strides, California expanded paid sick leave and Pennsylvania and New Jersey issued updated safety guidelines for long-term care facilities.
Moratoriums were extended for utility shut-offs in Illinois and for evictions and foreclosures in New York. The Empire State also kept busy cracking down on bars that violated coronavirus precautions.
Here's a breakdown of some COVID-19-related state measures from the past week.
Click for state-by-state data on COVID-19 legislation and executive orders, powered by LexisNexis.
Multistate
The governors of New Jersey and New York on Tuesday added Arizona, Minnesota, Nevada, Rhode Island and Wyoming to the list of states from which travelers must enter a 14-day quarantine, bringing the total to 35 states and territories. States and territories included in the travel advisory have a positive coronavirus test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents, or have a 10% or higher positivity rate over a seven-day rolling average.
California
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday signed into law a measure that extends paid leave benefits from six to eight weeks for parents of newborns, people who need to care for ill family members and those managing their own illnesses.
Delaware
Delaware residents can now get alerts if they've been exposed to someone with coronavirus thanks to a free mobile app called COVID Alert DE, per a Sept. 15 announcement by Gov. John Carney and other officials.
On Thursday, the Department of Health and Social Services unveiled a new website to connect residents with help for substance use disorder and mental health issues. Officials cited a 32% increase in deaths from suspected overdoses from January through August compared to the same period in 2019.
Florida
The Florida Department of Education is issuing $2 million in grant funding to 18 rural school districts to increase students' access to mental health and student support services, first lady Casey DeSantis announced Monday. The funding comes from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act.
Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday said the state is poised to release the second round of CARES Act funding, totaling about $255 million, for counties with populations below 500,000.
Illinois
The Illinois Commerce Commission announced Tuesday that several state-regulated utilities have agreed to extend the moratorium on disconnections for an additional month. The moratorium was previously extended until Sept. 30.
On Monday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Human Services announced that more than $156 million in state Business Interruption Grant funding was approved for 4,686 child care providers struggling financially due to the coronavirus.
The Illinois Department of Public Health said Friday that the number of counties considered to be at warning level has reached 24. A region enters warning level when two or more coronavirus risk factors increase. The counties are Bond, Bureau, Cass, Clinton, Coles, Crawford, Cumberland, DeWitt, Edwards, Effingham, Greene, Jasper, Jo Daviess, Lawrence, Madison, Marion, Rock Island, St. Clair, Shelby, Washington, Wayne, Williamson, Wabash and Union.
New Jersey
Gov. Phil Murphy on Sept. 16 signed a package of laws governing what long-term care facilities must do to operate safely during the pandemic. The bipartisan legislation requires wage enhancements for frontline staff, improved response coordination and robust data reporting procedures.
New York
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Monday signed an executive order extending the state's moratorium on coronavirus-related commercial evictions and foreclosures an additional month to Oct. 20.
On Friday, Cuomo announced that 33 more bars and restaurants had their liquor licenses yanked for "egregious violations" of pandemic-related executive orders, bringing the total number of suspensions during the pandemic to 201.
Pennsylvania
The Department of Human Services on Tuesday issued updated guidance for residential health care facilities to operate safely during the pandemic. The guidance covers screening and surveillance testing for residents and staff, visitation and the safe relaxation of mitigation tactics.
Secretary of Health Rachel Levine announced Friday that new testing clinics would begin operating in Centre and Columbia counties starting Sept. 25 as part of a contract with AMI Expeditionary Healthcare.
Texas
Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday enacted a measure to expand hospital capacity to treat coronavirus patients by ordering the postponement of elective surgical procedures. The order also requires that hospitals reserve at least 10% of their capacity for coronavirus patients.
Also on Thursday, Abbott lifted the 50% occupancy restriction for churches, childcare facilities, drive-in movie theaters, hair salons, massage salons, youth camps and tattoo salons.
Abbott also established a 75% occupancy limit for certain office buildings and manufacturers, gyms, libraries, museums, restaurants and retailers.
--Editing by Kelly Duncan.
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