In this Tuesday, April 13, 2021 file photo, Allison Richter drinks her free shot at the bar, after receiving the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, during a vaccine event hosted by Nola Ready, where people get a free drink at the bar if they received a COVID-19 vaccine, at The Howling Wolf, a music venue and bar, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) French President Emmanuel Macron gestures while addressing the media prior to a working lunch with Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa at the Elysee palace in Paris, Thursday April 29, 2021. President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that the outdoor terraces of France's cafes and restaurants will be allowed to reopen on May 19 along with museums, cinemas, theaters and concert halls under certain conditions. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly) In this Monday, April 12, 2021 file photo, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio delivers remarks in Times Square after he toured the grand opening of a Broadway COVID-19 vaccination site intended to jump-start the city's entertainment industry, in New York. Blasio expects the city to “fully reopen” by July 1, with the lifting of the city’s COVID-19 restrictions. He told MSNBC the city will be ready for stores, offices and theaters to open at full strength. He cited improved COVID-19 vaccination rates and decreasing hospitalization rates. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File) A government worker wearing a protective suit disinfects the shoes of his colleague outside a COVID-19 testing site to curb the spread of the coronavirus in Quezon city, Philippines on Thursday, April 29, 2021. The Philippines is extending an already monthlong lockdown by two weeks as the country's worst coronavirus infection spike starts to ease but remains alarming. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila) A health worker takes a mouth swab sample of a boy to test for COVID-19 in Hyderabad, India, Thursday, April 29, 2021. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.) Workers unload a shipment of Moderna COVID-19 vaccines at the FedEx hub in Toronto, Wednesday, April 28, 2021. (Cole Burston/The Canadian Press via AP) A Nepalese woman walks on a deserted street during the first day of lockdown in Kathmandu, Nepal, Thursday, April 29, 2021. Offices were closed, markets were shuttered and vehicles were forced off the street in Nepal's capital on Thursday as authorities imposed a 15-day lockdown because of spiking cases of COVID-19 in the country. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) People wait to receive COVID-19 vaccine in Mumbai, India, Thursday, April 29, 2021. India set another global record in new virus cases Thursday, as millions of people in one state cast votes despite rising infections and the country geared up to open its vaccination rollout to all adults amid snags. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade) In this Monday, March 29, 2021 file photo, a man prepares for his AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine at Ndirande Health Centre in Blantyre, Malawi. Africa is "watching with total disbelief" as India struggles with a devastating resurgence in COVID-19 cases, the continent's top public health official said Thursday, April 29, 2021, as African officials worry about delays in vaccine deliveries caused by India's crisis. (AP Photo/Thoko Chikondi, File) FILE — In this March 24, 2021 file photo a frontline worker reacts as she receives a shot of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India and provided through the global COVAX initiative, in Machakos, Kenya. Africa is "watching with total disbelief" as India struggles with a devastating resurgence in COVID-19 cases, the continent's top public health official said Thursday, April 29, 2021, as African officials worry about delays in vaccine deliveries caused by India's crisis. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga/File) FILE — In this Jan. 11, 2021 file photo a health worker in a protective suit runs past oxygen cylinders in a makeshift emergency unit at Steve Biko Academic Hospital in Pretoria, South Africa, Africa is "watching with total disbelief" as India struggles with a devastating resurgence in COVID-19 cases, the continent's top public health official said Thursday, April 29, 2021, as African officials worry about delays in vaccine deliveries caused by India's crisis. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe/File) Spectators follow the match between United States' Shelby Rogers and Ashleigh Barty during the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Spain, Thursday, April 29, 2021. The white banners covering the seats read "Do not sit here. Keep social distance". (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue) A person gets a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at the first drive-through vaccination center in Bucharest, Romania, Thursday, April 29, 2021. Romanians queued in their vehicles from the opening hour to get their COVID-19 vaccine. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) A consumer wearing a protective face mask carries bags as he exits the fish market of Athens during the Orthodox Holy Week, Thursday, April 29, 2021. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) A man sits for a few minutes after getting a shot of the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine at the Universidad Publica de El Alto, during a vaccination drive for people over age 60 in El Alto, Bolivia, Wednesday, April 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Juan Karita) People wear face masks to help protect against the spread of the coronavirus as they cross an intersection in Taipei, Taiwan, Thursday, April 29, 2021. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying) Artist Deirdre Freeman poses in her studio in Alameda, Calif., Tuesday, April 13, 2021. Freeman, who has hung over 120 pieces of artwork on telephone poles to spread joy to others, says, "It's starting a love and kindness movement, which is what we need." (AP Photo/Janie McCauley) Government workers wearing a protective suit disinfect a COVID-19 testing site to curb the spread of the coronavirus in Quezon city, Philippines on Thursday, April 29, 2021. The Philippines is extending an already monthlong lockdown by two weeks as the country's worst coronavirus infection spike starts to ease but remains alarming. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila) Rubber gloves hang on a cubicle used at a COVID-19 testing site to curb the spread of the coronavirus in Quezon city, Philippines on Thursday, April 29, 2021. in Quezon city, Philippines. The Philippines is extending an already monthlong lockdown by two weeks as the country's worst coronavirus infection spike starts to ease but remains alarming. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila) In this April 13, 2021, file photo, Brent Houzenga receives the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine from volunteer RN Maggie Baker, during a vaccine event hosted by Nola Ready, where people received a free drink at the bar if they received a COVID-19 vaccine, at The Howling Wolf, a music venue and bar, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File) People sit in a park in Ankara, Turkey, Thursday, April 29, 2021, just hours before the start of a three-week full lockdown. People stocked up on groceries, shoppers filled markets and many left cities for their hometowns or the southern coast as Turkey's strictest COVID-19 lockdown yet comes into effect later on Thursday. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan imposed a "full lockdown" from Thursday evening until May 17 amid soaring COVID-19 infections and deaths. Turkey now ranks among the world's worst-hit countries. (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici) People walk through a shopping street along the famed Sensoji temple in the Asakusa neighborhood in Tokyo on Thursday, April 29, 2021. Most stores were temporarily closed due to the coronavirus state of emergency according to signs on the storefronts. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae) Children bide their time playing as their parents wait to buy cooking gas from the Petrobras Oil Tankers Union, part of a solidarity campaign to sell fuel at low prices in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, April 29, 2021. The union also promoted the sale as a protest against Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro and his handling of the new coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo) A healthcare worker transfers a patient suspected of having COVID-19 from an ambulance into the HRAN public hospital in Brasilia, Brazil, Thursday, April 29, 2021. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres) A man prepares to receive a Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at the first drive-through vaccination center in Bucharest, Romania, Thursday, April 29, 2021. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) People shop at the local market in Istanbul, Thursday, April 29, 2021, a few hours before the start of the latest lockdown to help protect from the spread of the coronavirus. People stocked up on groceries, shoppers filled markets and many left cities for their hometowns or the southern coast as Turkey's strictest COVID-19 lockdown yet came into effect late Thursday. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan imposed a "full lockdown" until May 17 amid soaring COVID-19 infections and deaths. Turkey now ranks among the world's worst-hit countries and it's the first time that it is imposing a nearly three-week lockdown for the whole of the country. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel) Nurse Natasha Garcia prepares a lollipop and an "I Got My COVID-19 Vaccine" sticker for a recipient in a mobile clinic set up in the parking lot of a shopping center in Orange, Calif., Thursday, April 29, 2021. The mobile unit, launched in February by Families Together of Orange County, began its service to provide better access to the COVID-19 vaccine within the community and to prevent vaccine hesitation, according to mobile operations manager Parsia Jahanbani. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) Second grader Londyn Vargas does her school work at Christa McAuliffe School in Jersey City, N.J., Thursday, April 29, 2021. Kindergarten through third grade students are returning to their school buildings in Jersey City for their first time in over a year. New Jersey's two largest cities have begun making their return to classrooms in person after working remotely because of the COVID-19 outbreak. Students in Jersey City began returning to school today, just days after Newark officials said they were expanding in-person instruction to four days a week, up from two. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
SANTA FE, N.M. — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham says New Mexico will soon adopt new policies encouraging residents receiving jobless benefits to go back to work.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that the Democratic governor says the policies will be unveiled in the next week or so and that extended benefits should not be a “disincentive” to work.
Some business owners have said they are struggling to compete against expanded unemployment benefits, saying incentives have yet to attract a large applicant pool.
Advocacy groups say workers should not be blamed for not wanting to put their families at risk of COVID-19 for low-paying jobs that offer minimal benefits.
New Mexico has had one of the highest unemployment rates in the U.S., behind only New York and Hawaii. The state reported an 8.3% unemployment rate in March and waived its job search requirements for people receiving jobless benefits.
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THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:
— US recovery from pandemic recession is showing momentum
— Indians turn to black market, unproven drugs as virus surges
— New York City mayor expects city to reopen by July 1
— San Francisco Bay Area artist spreads love, smiles through her ‘heartwork’
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— Follow more of AP’s pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic and https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine
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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:
DENVER — Coloradoans may be able to celebrate happy hour at home with beverages from their favorite restaurants even in a post-pandemic world under a measure passed by the state House.
The bill extending the sale of to-go cocktails beyond the coronavirus crisis was unanimously advanced to the Senate, KUSA-TV reports.
A previous executive order from Democratic Gov. Jared Polis allowing takeout alcohol was scheduled to expire this summer.
Iowa, Ohio, Kentucky, Wisconsin, Montana, Arkansas and the District of Columbia have all made their to-go measures permanent.
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PHOENIX — A fully vaccinated Arizona state lawmaker confirms that she has tested positive for COVID-19.
Tucson Democratic Rep. Alma Hernandez announced late Wednesday that she has some mild symptoms and is quarantining at the home she maintains in Phoenix.
Democratic Rep. Daniel Hernandez, her brother, says he tested negative for the virus but will self-isolate for several days and then take another test.
Alma Hernandez is at least the eighth Arizona state lawmaker to have contracted the virus, and the only known one who was fully vaccinated.
She notes that getting the inoculation does not always prevent the infection.
At least 435 state lawmakers nationwide have tested positive for the disease and seven have died, according to a tally by The Associated Press.
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TORONTO — All people 18 years and above will be eligible for a vaccine in Canada’s largest province the week of May 24.
Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott also says half the vaccines the province receives in the next two weeks will go to hot spots amid a third wave of infections fueled by variants.
Vaccinations have ramped up in Canada in recent weeks after a slow start.
A lack of domestic production and supply chain difficulties have forced the country to extend the time between the first shot and the second by up to four months so that everyone can be protected faster with the primary dose. The hope is to get all adults at least one shot by the end of June.
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NEW YORK — Places around the U.S. are offering incentives to energize the slowing vaccination drive and get reluctant Americans to roll up their sleeves.
Some involve free beer, doughnuts and savings bonds. These small promotional efforts have been accompanied by more serious and far-reaching efforts by officials in cities such as Detroit, where they’re going door-to-door or paying people $50 to drive others to get vaccinated.
Public health officials say the efforts are crucial to reach people who haven’t been vaccinated yet — whether they’re hesitant or have trouble making an appointment or getting to a vaccination site. Most older Americans are fully vaccinated, so the effort is moving into a new phase.
So far, 43% of the population in the U.S. has received at least one shot, while 30% is fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.
(This item has been corrected to indicate 43% of U.S. population, not adults, is vaccinated.)
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NEW ORLEANS — New Orleans officials are again loosening coronavirus restrictions, announcing restaurants, bars and other businesses can soon operate at 100% capacity.
That’s an increase from 75%. The looser rules take effect Friday.
There are still some important restrictions. While the statewide mask mandate in Louisiana is being dropped, New Orleans is maintaining mask requirements. Businesses will have to maintain social distancing. Varying limits remain at stadiums and indoor arenas. But other indoor gathering limits are increasing from 150 people to 250. And outdoor gatherings of 500 people will be allowed, up from 250.
The easing of rules comes as the city, which was an early hot spot for COVID-19, continues to see increasing vaccination rates, while new cases and the percentage of positive tests remain low.
City officials stress that caution is still necessary until more people are vaccinated. Louisiana ranks 48th in the nation with at least one shot (32%) and 42nd for fully vaccinated people (24%), according to the Centers for Disease Control.
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NEW YORK — Health experts are still cautioning against attending big sporting events during the pandemic but say there are ways to make it safer if you go.
They say outdoor stadiums are safer than indoor arenas. Venues that limit attendance and require masks are safer as well. Some teams are also requiring proof of vaccination or a negative test for the coronavirus. Once at the stadium, experts say to avoid indoor bars, restaurants and box seating.
The CDC says if you feel sick or are waiting for results of a coronavirus test, stay home.
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WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy grew at a brisk 6.4% annual rate last quarter — a show of strength fueled by government aid and declining coronavirus cases as the nation rebounds with unusual speed from the pandemic recession.
Thursday's report from the Commerce Department estimates the nation’s gross domestic product, its total output of goods and services, accelerated in the January-March quarter from a 4.3% annual gain in the final quarter of 2020.
Growth in the current April-June period is expected to be faster still, potentially reaching a 10% annual pace or more, powered by an increase in people willing to travel, shop, dine out and otherwise resume their spending habits.
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PARIS — President Emmanuel Macron says France will reopen cafe and restaurant terraces May 19 as well as museums, cinemas, theaters and concert halls under certain conditions.
The decision comes as the country is slowly starting to step out of its partial lockdown despite high numbers of infections and hospitalizations.
Macron confirms that a ban on domestic travel will be lifted next week. A curfew currently in place from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. will be maintained.
On May 19, restaurants and cafes will be able to welcome customers outdoors, with tables of maximum six people, and the curfew will be pushed back to 9 p.m. Cultural places and sport facilities will also reopen, with a limit of 800 people indoors and 1,000 outdoors.
The plan allows foreign tourists on June 9 if they have a certificate of vaccination or a PCR test. On June 30, the final stage would involve an end of the curfew and lifting of most restrictions.
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AMSTERDAM — The European drug regulator says it is evaluating an application to use a rheumatoid arthritis drug to treat hospitalized COVID-19 patients who need extra oxygen.
The European Medicines Agency says it is evaluating baricitinib, which is sold under the name Olumiant, to treat patients aged 10 years and older.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization in November for baricitinib, in combination with remdesivir.
The drug blocks the action of enzymes that play a role in causing inflammation. The EMA says it is thought the drug could help reduce inflammation and tissue damage in COVID-19 patients.
The agency will assess data from Eli Lilly, the company that markets the drug, including two large randomized studies in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. The evaluation is expected to be completed by July.
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LANSING, Mich. — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has announced a plan to tie the lifting of coronavirus restrictions to the state’s vaccination rate, setting four benchmarks.
About half of residents ages 16 and older have received at least one dose, but the state has become a national hotspot for coronavirus infections and hospitalizations.
Under the “MI Vacc to Normal” plan, indoor capacity limits at restaurants and other venues will be lifted once 65% are vaccinated. At a 70%, the gathering limits and face mask order will go away barring unanticipated circumstances.
The state health department could delay easing restrictions in regions where a seven-day case rate reaches more than 250 per million residents.
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BUCHAREST — The Romanian capital has launched its first drive-thru vaccination center as authorities look to speed up the country’s inoculation campaign.
Dozens of cars lined up at the center in Bucharest's Constitution Square as people without appointments looked to receive a shot.
Medical student Gabriela Mihalache decided to go to the drive-thru after failing to get a vaccine elsewhere, saying, “It took less time here.”
Next week some 3,000 family doctors are set to join the vaccination campaign by inoculating people at their practices.
Since authorities introduced tighter virus-control measures last month, infections have fallen from around 6,000 a day to 2,000.
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NEW YORK — New York's mayor expects the city to “fully reopen” by July 1 with the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions.
Bill de Blasio tells MSNBC the city will be ready for stores, offices and theaters to open at full strength. He cites improved vaccination rates and decreasing hospitalizations.
But it is unclear whether the mayor has the power to say when schools, restaurants and offices can open at full capacity. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has maintained throughout the pandemic that those decisions are his alone.
De Blasio says the goal remains for Broadway theaters to open fully in September. He says he hopes some smaller productions can open by July.
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NAIROBI, Kenya — Africa’s top public health official says Congo wants to give back some 1.3 million doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine doses so they can be distributed to other nations.
Africa Centers for Disease Control director John Nkengasong says there is “a lot of vaccine hesitancy” in the country, and there is a five-week timeline to get doses administered elsewhere.
Nkengasong says Congo is working with the COVAX project, aimed at distributing doses to low- and middle-income nations, to hand over its unused supplies.
African countries largely rely on doses from COVAX, but Nkengasong says the crisis in India means further doses for the continent could be affected for weeks or months. The Serum Institute of India makes the doses that COVAX delivers to African nations, but India has banned exports as it grapples with a devastating resurgence of infections.
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ISLAMABAD — After weeks of hesitation, Pakistanis are rushing to vaccination centers to get inoculated against the coronavirus as COVID-19 deaths devastate neighboring India.
Most Pakistanis had avoided registering for free vaccines since the government started offering them in March.
Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar said Thursday that more than 100,000 shots were administered for a second consecutive day. He said it was encouraging that residents were showing interest in getting inoculated against the virus.
Pakistan on Thursday reported 151 virus-related deaths in 24 hours, one of the country’s highest daily tolls.
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MADRID — More than 40 nongovernmental organizations are urging Spanish authorities to ensure that homeless people and migrants without authorization to be in the country aren’t left out of COVID-19 vaccination plans.
The groups, which include Amnesty International, say they sent a letter to Health Minister Carolina Dias on Thursday asking for the urgent adoption of promised legislation that would plug gaps in Spain's mass vaccination program.
They say people without the social security cards needed to register for vaccine shots risk being left out, though the organizations acknowledge that some regional governments have taken steps to address that.
Ensuring equitable, non-discriminatory distribution of coronavirus vaccines has been an issue in much of the world.
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LISBON, Portugal — The head of the World Health Organization says more than 1 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered globally with 82% of them given in high- and upper-middle-income countries.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says just 0.3% of all vaccines administered have gone to people in low-income countries.
Tedros said during an online health conference Thursday that access to vaccines “is one of the defining challenges of the pandemic” and that public health is “the foundation of social, economic and political stability.”
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