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The Trump administration’s Covid-19 testing czar warned Wednesday that local governments may be forced to impose “draconian measures” if Americans don’t start taking safety precautions seriously and the coronavirus crisis worsens. “We still can control this” by wearing masks, social distancing and being careful around the holidays, Brett Giroir, the assistant secretary of health, said on NBC’s “Today” show. (Siemaszko, 10/28)

Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s top infectious-disease expert, said for the first time Wednesday that the United States needs a nationwide mask mandate to combat the rising tide of coronavirus infections. In interviews with CNBC and the Journal of the American Medical Association, Fauci expressed regret that masks haven’t been adopted more widely and suggested that doing so would be key to avoiding another round of shutdowns. (10/29)

State and local officials in Colorado, Idaho, Massachusetts and Texas are imposing new restrictions on schools, businesses and social gatherings, responding to the fall surge in coronavirus infections and hospitalizations that threatens much of the country with a health emergency resembling what struck the Northeast in the spring. Although this has been a highly politicized pandemic, some of the new restrictions are arising with no regard for local political inclinations: Liberal-leaning El Paso is under a nightly curfew, while conservative-leaning Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, on Tuesday passed a mask mandate. (Achenbach and Brulliard, 10/28)

A new study finds that coronavirus hospitalizations increased significantly more in areas without mask requirements, bolstering guidance from public health officials on the importance of wearing facial coverings to slow the spread of COVID-19. The study by Vanderbilt University compared Tennessee counties with mask requirements to those without any. (Sullivan, 10/28)

Florida police on Tuesday forcibly removed a small group of moms refusing to wear masks at a county school board meeting about the potential extension of a mask mandate in schools. According to NBC’s Daytona Beach affiliate station, WESH, officials said that a group of moms refused to adhere to coronavirus guidelines requiring masks as the Volusia County School Board was preparing to discuss a mandatory mask policy that had been put in place in August. (Castronuovo, 10/28)

Etsy Inc. reported higher sales in the fiscal third quarter as online shoppers flocked to its platform looking for masks and home décor, making the e-commerce company a standout in a struggling retail sector. Etsy reported selling 24 million face masks in the September quarter. (Chin, 10/28)