The British government plans to burn billions of dollars in unusable protective equipment purchased during the coronavirus pandemic.

Spain’s medical community has scored a victory after a court ordered that a regional government compensate doctors with up to 49,000 euros ($56,000) for having to work without personal protection suits during the devastating early months of the pandemic.

The Green Bay Packers were fined $300,000 and quarterback Aaron Rodgers and receiver Allen Lazard were fined $14,650 by the NFL for violating the league's COVID-19 protocols.

Thailand’s already locked down capital shut parks and the few remaining public places available to residents Friday, as the country registered a new high of coronavirus infections.

Across the border from a devastating surge in India, doctors in Nepal are warning of a major crisis as daily coronavirus cases hit a record and hospitals are running out of beds and oxygen.

Discarded masks and gloves worn by people to protect against the coronavirus pandemic are turning up on beaches around the world.

Von der Leyen also announced during the meeting an additional 100 million euros ($121.4 million) to support vaccination campaigns in Africa in partnership with the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “The funding will be used to strengthen health systems, ensure the cold chains, buy equipment and train staff," von der Leyen said. She added that the EU would discuss with drugmakers how they can ramp up their COVID-19 vaccine production capacity in Africa. COVAX hopes to deploy some 336 million doses by the end of June, and around 2 billion doses by the end of the year. In addition to its COVAX contribution, the EU said it wants to share some of its doses with neighbors in Europe and Africa.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida lawmakers are trying to drum up support for liability protections for health care workers and long-term care facility staff who have been on the front lines fighting the pandemic. From PPE shortages, crowded COVID-19 wards and lockdowns at long-term care facilities, health care workers have faced numerous challenges over the past year. And as lawmakers have sought pandemic liability protections for Florida businesses, they’re now hoping to provide similar legal protections for those in the health care industry. “We should be celebrating our caregivers, not putting them at risk of being sued,” said Kathy Gallin with the Florida Health Care Association. State Senator Jeff Brandes told News4Jax liability protections for health care workers will go further than those proposed for businesses.

(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)Here’s what’s happening Wednesday with the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S.:THREE THINGS TO KNOW TODAY— Coronavirus deaths in the U.S. hit another one-day high at over 4,300 with the country’s attention focused largely on the fallout from the deadly uprising at the Capitol. The country is now in the most lethal phase of the outbreak yet, even as vaccines are being rolled out. — An ongoing study suggests that older American adults are showing resilience and perseverance despite struggles with loneliness and isolation during the pandemic. THE NUMBERS: The U.S. is averaging about 249,000 new cases per day, and about 3,300 deaths. ___Find AP’s full coverage of the coronavirus pandemic at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic

The competitive scramble by states to buy personal protective equipment this spring stuck some businesses with big bills. An Associated Press analysis of state purchasing data during the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic found that states canceled billions of dollars in PPE orders. Many of the cancellations occurred when businesses couldn't get the products to states under tight deadlines or when prices rose. Many businesses that jumped in to help this spring soon found themselves facing delays from suppliers and, in some cases, having orders canceled by states too impatient to wait. For other companies, their first venture into selling personal protective equipment is still causing headaches.

The AP tallied more than $7 billion in purchases by states this spring for personal protective equipment, or PPE, and high-demand medical devices such as ventilators and infrared thermometers. Some governors described the early personal protective equipment marketplace as the Wild West, where supplies often went to the highest bidder, even if they had already been promised to someone else. This spring, states paid an average of $3 each, according to the AP's analysis. The largest supplier of personal protective equipment to states this spring had never sold a single mask before the pandemic. Others, however, were more than willing to describe how personal protective equipment sales provided a lifeline at the onset of the pandemic.

California spent the most during the pandemic's initial months — at least $1.5 billion in the AP's data — followed by Texas, Maryland, Massachusetts and Washington. Traditional safety equipment suppliers also saw a surge in PPE sales, offsetting their losses from other products amid the sudden recession. Many of the companies in the AP's data set are not publicly traded and thus can keep their financial figures private. Others, however, were more than willing to describe how PPE sales provided a lifeline at the onset of the pandemic. The AP's data for the spring includes just over $50 million in PPE sales to states by the Salem, New Hampshire, company.

Britain's public spending watchdog says the government spent billions, without proper transparency, in a scramble to secure protective equipment early in the coronavirus outbreak. Like many countries, the U.K. was caught without enough masks, gowns, gloves and other items to keep health care workers and the public safe as coronavirus cases skyrocketed. (AP Photo/Jon Super, File)LONDON – The British government spent billions without proper transparency in a scramble to secure protective equipment early in the coronavirus outbreak, the country’s public watchdog said Wednesday. Like many countries, the U.K. was caught without enough masks, gowns, gloves and other items to keep health care workers and the public safe as coronavirus cases skyrocketed. In more than half the cases, contracts had not been published by Nov. 10.

They include Nebraska and South Dakota, where the number of new cases topped previous highs for each state. But this fall's resurgence of the virus, despite being far more widespread, has brought a decidedly more limited response in many states. Most are led by Republican governors backing a president who insists, falsely, that the country is getting the virus under control. “At the end of the day, personal responsibility is the only way. “I believe in personal responsibility and that it is our responsibility as American citizens to choose if we want to wear it or not,” she said.

FILE - In this May 22, 2019, file photo, Troy Vincent, NFL executive vice president, speaks to the media during the owners meetings in Key Biscayne, Fla. The NFL will consult an advisory committee made up of former coaches, general managers and players on such issues as postponing, moving or even canceling games this season due to the coronavirus pandemic. Vincent said Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2020 that the advisers, who will report to Commissioner Roger Goodell, will help avoid any inequities in those decisions. Vincent did not identify any members of the panel, saying he was awaiting their approval to do so. Dr. Allen Sills, the league's chief medical officer, noted that setting firm schedules for anything during the pandemic is foolhardy.

(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)FULLERTON, Calif. Theres red tape running along the floor of the coronavirus unit at St. Judes Medical Center in Fullerton, California. The Associated Press spent several days in the coronavirus unit at St. Judes and followed four nurses and their families after their shifts were over. She started a new job at St. Judes in March, returning to a field very different from the one she had left before giving birth. Eleanor gave up her own part-time night nursing shifts at St. Judes so she could stay home with the kids. They felt safe with St. Judes preparations and plans, and the feared shortage of protective equipment hadn't hit Southern California.

Ron DeSantiss administration on Friday discussed a limited reopening of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities that would not require COVID-19 screening for visitors. Under the proposal floated Friday, people visiting the long-term care facilities would have to wear personal protective equipment, such as face masks. DeSantis stopped visitation at nursing homes and other long-term care facilities in March, as the coronavirus pandemic began to sweep the state. The long-term care facilities include nursing homes, assisted-living facilities and intermediate-care facilities for the developmentally disabled. The DeSantis administration contracts with Curative to provide COVID-19 testing to long-term care staff at nursing homes and assisted-living facilities.

FILE - In this July 5, 2020, file photo, healthcare workers help each other with their personal protective equipment at a drive-thru coronavirus testing site outside Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. The lack of equipment forced states and hospitals to compete against each other, the federal government and other countries in desperate, expensive bidding wars. In general, supplies of protective gear are more robust now, and many states and major hospital chains say they are in better shape. As of mid-June, for example, Montana had received 1,125 items of protective gear per case, compared with 32 items per case in Massachusetts, an early hot spot. A nonprofit group called #GetUsPPE was established in March by physicians to help distribute donated protective gear.

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More than half of a million hoarded personal protective equipment (PPE) are ready for distribution in New York and New Jersey. The FBI discovered the supplies during an enforcement operation by the Department of Justice’s COVID-19 Hoarding and Price Gouging Task Force on March 30. HHS said it will pay the owner of the hoarded equipment pre-COVID-19 fair market value for the supplies. Anyone who learns of hoarding or price gouging of PPE should report it to the National Center for Disaster Fraud by dialing 1-866-720-5721 or emailing disaster@leo.gov. Vendors interested in selling PPE to the federal government should contact the Federal Emergency Management Agency.