The Latest: S Korea tops 1,000 cases for 57th straight day

| September 1, 2021 12:03 AM

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea has reported more than 2,000 new coronavirus cases, approaching a daily record set last month just a day after officials cautiously expressed hope that infections may slow.

The 2,025 cases reported Wednesday marked the 57th consecutive day of at least 1,000 cases, and there are concerns transmissions could worsen as the country approaches its biggest holiday of the year.

Officials are wrestling with a slow vaccine rollout and an erosion in public vigilance despite the toughest social distancing rules short of a lockdown in Seoul and other large population centers, where private social gatherings of three or more people are banned after 6 p.m.

There are concerns the virus could spread more quickly during this month’s Chuseok holidays, the Korean version of Thanksgiving where millions of people usually travel across the country to meet relatives.

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MORE ON THE PANDEMIC:

— Pennsylvania to require masks in all K-12 schools, childcare facilities

— Idaho governor calls in help amid surge in COVID-19 patients

— Mormon vaccine push ratchets up, dividing faith’s members

— No stranger to plagues, Venice opens film festival with caution

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— Find more AP coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic and https://apnews.com/hub/coronvirus-vaccine

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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

MELBOURNE, Australia — Australia’s Victoria state is reporting its first COVID-19 deaths this year, and the government concedes that the infection numbers of the delta variant of the coronavirus will continue to rise.

The state reported two deaths Wednesday, the first since last Oct. 18. Neighboring New South Wales reported four deaths, bringing the death toll from a delta variant outbreak that started in June to 102.

Victoria and New South Wales are both locked down and are now counting on getting their residents vaccinated to contain the outbreak.

With 120 new infections reported Wednesday, Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said: “We will not see these case numbers go down. They are going to go up.”

New South Wales reported 1,116 infections in the latest 24-hour period.

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RICHLAND, Wash. — Workers at the Hanford nuclear reservation in eastern Washington state who do not provide proof of a coronavirus vaccination will be required to be tested at least weekly to be allowed on the site.

he Tri-City Herald reports that the policy announced Monday covers about 11,000 Department of Energy, contractor and subcontractor workers. Many workers could be required to comply by mid-September.

Also under the new policy, visitors with business at the site will have to provide proof of vaccination or a negative virus test from within the previous three days.

The Hanford site was used to produce two-thirds of the plutonium for the nation’s nuclear weapons program during World War II and the Cold War. About $2.5 billion is now spent every year on cleanup of the contaminated site.

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ATLANTA — More Georgians are being diagnosed with coronavirus infections than ever before. The rolling seven-day average for positive tests rose to 9,641 per day Tuesday, topping the previous high of 9,635 set back on Jan. 11.

Officials say the rapid spread among children is a new aspect of the pandemic. Public Health Commissioner Kathleen Toomey said Monday that cases have skyrocketed since schools opened in early August.

Toomey says that “we’re seeing a significant number of cases among school-aged children, and the number of cases has nearly quadrupled over the last couple of weeks, with the sharpest increase — the highest number of cases — in children aged 11 to 17.”

She says public health officials tracked more than 170 outbreaks statewide last week, the highest number since the pandemic began. More than half were in schools.

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HILO, Hawaii — The largest hospital on the Big Island of Hawaii is operating at about 120% of capacity amid a surge in COVID-19 cases.

The Hawaii Tribune-Herald reports that Hilo Medical Center has 38 patients being treated for the disease that can be caused by the coronavirus, including 10 in the intensive care unit.

A hospital spokeswoman says that as the largest hospital on the island, it can’t divert patients.

She says it has a plan for everyone who comes for care. Last week, the hospital opened a 16-bed overflow unit in its extended care facility.

The hospital says it’s constantly assessing its campus for locations in which to care for patients.

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ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- An increase in hospitalizations of COVID-19 patients is further straining Alaska’s hospital system. One health official calls it a “very serious crisis” and worries what the next few weeks will bring.

The state health department reported that hospitals had a record 152 COVID-19 patients Tuesday, surpassing previous highs in December.

Jared Kosin of the Alaska State Hospital and Nursing Home Association told the Anchorage Daily News that the latest increase in coronavirus infections has shown little sign of slowing.

As of Tuesday, 771 of the state’s 1,200 hospital beds were filled. Out of 174 intensive care beds, all but 26 were taken.

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MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota officials are reopening four free coronavirus testing sites as circulation of the highly contagious delta variant renews demand for testing.

The reopened locations include sites in St. Paul and Bloomington, augmenting existing metro area sites in Brooklyn Park and at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Outside the metro area, locations in St. Cloud and Mankato are expected to resume testing this week.

The increase in testing locations comes as virus cases continue to grow across the state and hospitals near full capacity, with both intensive care unit beds and overall hospital beds more than 90% occupied.

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SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has activated nine soldiers from the state National Guard to help with coronavirus testing in the western part of the state amid a surge of infections.

Over the past two weeks, the average number of infections has tripled statewide. Johns Hopkins University researchers say that one in every 570 South Dakotans has tested positive in the past week. The western part of the state has been the hardest hit by the virus. Meade County, which hosted the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally earlier this month, leads the state in new cases per capita.

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BOISE, Idaho — Idaho Gov. Brad Little is calling in 220 medical workers available through federal programs and mobilizing 150 Idaho National Guard soldiers to deal with a surge in unvaccinated COVID-19 patients who are overwhelming the state’s hospitals.

The Republican governor said Tuesday the moves are a last-ditch effort to avoid activating for the first time statewide crisis standards of care that could force medical professionals to decide who lives and who dies.

The last week has seen about 1,000 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases per day, most of them unvaccinated. Little says only four intensive care unit beds were available in the entire state on Tuesday.

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LANSING, Mich. — A federal judge has blocked Western Michigan University from enforcing a COVID-19 vaccine requirement on four female soccer players, ruling they are likely to prevail on claims it violates their constitutional religious rights.

District Judge Paul Maloney in Grand Rapids issued the temporary restraining order on the day of the school’s deadline for athletes to get an initial shot or be unable to practice or compete. He said while the university had not had an opportunity to respond to the lawsuit, “WMU’s vaccination requirement for student athletes is not justified by a compelling interest and is not narrowly tailored.”

He scheduled a hearing concerning a temporary injunction on Sept. 9.

Unlike at other Michigan universities, Western’s vaccine requirement does not extend to all students and employees, though the unvaccinated do have to undergo weekly coronavirus testing. The four athletes said they were denied religious exemptions to play without getting a dose.

The Kalamazoo-based school says it does not comment on ongoing litigation.

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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Gov. Spencer Cox cast doubt on the efficacy of mask-wearing Tuesday as health leaders made some of their most impassioned pleas yet for state residents to mask up and get vaccinated.

Cox said his administration is encouraging people to wear masks but said it is unclear whether they are effective against the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus.

“Masks are not as effective as most of the pro-mask crowd are arguing,” Cox said. “We know that they’re just not.”

Cox’s comments contradicted earlier statements at the news conference from the state epidemiologist and state hospital leaders who made emotional pleas for vaccinations and universal masking.

Under a new state law, school mask mandates this school year are now banned, though students can wear face coverings if they or their parents choose.

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HELENA, Mont. — Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte announced on Tuesday a rule encouraging schools to give parents final say on whether children should wear masks in schools, after several large school districts in the state implemented mask requirements for all students.

Gianforte made the announcement after the U.S. Department of Education opened on Monday civil rights investigations into five states that have banned or limited mask requirements in schools, saying the policies could amount to discrimination against students with disabilities or health conditions.

The rule says schools should consider “parental concerns” when adopting mask mandates and should provide parents the ability opt out of health-related mandates for a wide array of reasons including physical and mental health, developmental needs, religious beliefs and moral convictions.

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The Republican governor says the moves are a last-ditch effort to avoid activating for the first time statewide crisis standards of care that could force medical professionals to decide who lives and who dies.

The last week registered about 1,000 new confirmed cases per day, mostly unvaccinated. Little says only four intensive care unit beds were available in the entire state on Tuesday.

The workers include a 20-person U.S. Department of Defense medical response team deployed to northern Idaho, where vaccination rates are among the lowest in the state.

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JACKSON, Miss. — Republican Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi says he has fully recovered from COVID-19.

The 70-year-old Wicker says he’s looking forward to traveling in Mississippi this week. He’s one of three senators who announced Aug. 19 that they had tested positive for the coronavirus. The others were 77-year-old independent Angus King of Maine and 69-year-old Democrat John Hickenlooper of Colorado. All three had been vaccinated.

Hickenlooper said Friday he had a mild case. King says Tuesday he has recovered, although he didn’t feel great during the worst of his illness.

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HONOLULU — Health care officials in Hawaii are concerned about a shortage of oxygen amid the coronavirus surge.

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports hospital officials are canceling nonemergency procedures that require oxygen to conserve supplies. Hilton Raethel, president and CEO of the trade group Healthcare Association of Hawaii, says there is a global shortage of oxygen containers needed for transport to the islands.

Hawaii’s two liquid oxygen plants have switched to producing medical gas only. Raethel says mainland tank orders are backlogged for months. Hawaii Pacific Health, which oversees several hospitals in the state, directed staff to cancel elective procedures that require oxygen.

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HARRISBURG, Pa. — Gov. Tom Wolf announced masks will be required in all Pennsylvania K-12 schools starting on Sept. 7.

The masking order will apply to private as well as public schools and to child care facilities.

Pennsylvania’s two statewide teachers’ unions had urged K-12 schools to require masks in school buildings, citing the more contagious delta variant of the coronavirus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends masks in schools for students, staff and teachers.

Wolf is taking action amid a statewide resurgence of coronavirus that’s filling hospital beds just as students return to class.

Pennsylvania is averaging more than 3,200 confirmed daily infections -- 20 times the number in early July. More than 1,700 people are hospitalized with COVID-19, up sevenfold since last month. Deaths have doubled in two weeks to about 20 per day.

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OMAHA, Neb. — The number of coronavirus cases in Nebraska has nearly doubled over the past two weeks with the highly contagious delta variant.

Nebraska reported 5,006 new cases for the week ending Friday, according to an Omaha World-Herald analysis of data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s up from 3,755 the previous week and nearly double the 2,668 cases recorded the week before.

The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in Nebraska has risen in the past two weeks from 190 new cases per day on Aug. 15 to 715 on Sunday.