Regional category, Page 278
Pennsylvania reports 12 more deaths, 1,470 new coronavirus cases
Twelve more people have died in Pennsylvania as a result of the coronavirus as the number of cases neared 13,000, state health officials said Monday. The death toll stands at 162, and the 1,470 new cases reported throughout the day Sunday brings the statewide total to 12,980. Secretary of Health...
Robocalls dwindle during coronavirus pandemic
Even the robots are listening to worldwide recommendations to keep our distance from each other. Although robocalls are automated, call centers where they’re managed are closed or have otherwise reduced their operations, Los Angeles Times business columnist David Lazarus noted last week. Lazarus heard from a couple who noticed a...
Pennsylvania is getting worse at social distancing, data shows
Despite a growing number of covid-19 cases in Pennsylvania, location data shows residents have actually increased their travel. Unacast, a phone data company, used data from mobile phones to track the average change in distance traveled by individuals in each state and country, starting from Feb. 24. The state was...
Western Pa. cemeteries attract more visitors during coronavirus restrictionsVideo
Cemeteries across the region have sprung to life during the coronavirus pandemic, with more people than usual flocking to them for fresh air and exercise. Some, however, aren’t as serene as they were before the pandemic. Homestead’s John English, a frequent visitor to Homewood Cemetery in Pittsburgh’s Point Breeze neighborhood,...
ER doctor who died of covid-19-like symptoms was Fayette County native
Fayette County native Dr. Frank Gabrin lived his life helping others, all the way up to the end. An ER physician at East Orange General Hospital in New Jersey, Dr. Gabrin generally worked the midnight shift because that’s when sick people would come in, his younger brother, Mike Gabrin of...
Pennsylvania issues safety guidelines for essential businesses
A safety order that provides life-sustaining businesses with direction on how to properly clean and maintain buildings to help prevent the spread of covid-19 was issued Sunday by state Secretary of Health Rachel Levine. The Building Safety Measures order goes into effect at 12:01 a.m. April 6. It outlines measures...
Caregiver at Washington County senior home tests positive for coronavirus
A caregiver at an assisted living center in Washington County has tested positive for covid-19, according to the Presbyterian SeniorCare Network. On Saturday, the facility reported a personal care aide at Southminster Place, the Washington campus of Presbyterian SeniorCare Network, tested positive. “The team member, who has not been at...
West Virginia county bans liquor sales to out-of-state residents including Pennsylvanians
Western Pennsylvanians will have to look somewhere besides one popular neighboring West Virginia county to buy their liquor. The Monongalia County Health Department issued a public health order effective noon Saturday until further notice banning the sale of liquor to anyone without a West Virginia driver’s license or state identification....
Pennsylvania coronavirus cases top 10,000, state reports 34 new deaths
Thirty-four more people died of covid-19 complications in Pennsylvania between Friday and Saturday, bringing the state’s death toll to 136 as total confirmed cases crest 10,000. The state reported 1,597 new cases as of noon Saturday — the largest single-day increase since Pennsylvania’s first two patients tested positive for the...
Western Pa.’s lost amusement parks to be reclaimed in new book by Greensburg author
Those wanting to revisit the dips and turns of former roller coasters at old Pennsylvania amusement parks will soon have such an opportunity. Greensburg-based writer Rachel Smith hopes to reclaim the sense of nostalgia and have people revisit memories in her book “Western Pennsylvania’s Lost Amusement Parks.” “I think it’s...
Palmer postmark available for items mailed to Latrobe postmaster
The Latrobe post office is offering a postmark cancellation honoring late local golfing legend Arnold Palmer. The April 3 postmark will be available for 30 days, according to the Postal Service. It features Palmer’s trademark umbrella logo. The postmark offer arrives a month after post offices in Latrobe and elsewhere...
Officials release image of suspect in Grove City bank robbery
Investigators are asking for the public’s help in identifying a man who robbed the Citizens Bank in Grove City. The FBI’s Pittsburgh Division and Grove City police have released a surveillance image of the suspect — a white man weighing about 180 pounds and standing between 5 feet 8 inches...
Grocery shoppers keep their distance as stores adopt new coronavirus measuresVideo
Caution tape blocking entrances, shoppers wearing masks and stickers placed on floors — all signs of grocery shopping’s new normal as stores adapt to the spread of coronavirus. “We’re slowly starting to see people adapt their own behaviors and really realize the gravity of the situation,” said Jannah Jablonowski, spokeswoman...
Pennsylvania officials ask all residents to wear masks if they go out
Pennsylvania officials have asked all residents to wear a mask if they must leave the house — though they asked that people fashion their own and not seek the medical-grade mask that medical professionals need. It’s a change in course by Gov. Tom Wolf and Secretary of Health Rachel Levine....
Canceled standardized tests should have no long-term ramifications, locals say
The cancellation of Pennsylvania’s state exams has sparked an old debate: that of the validity and necessity of standardized testing in measuring student success. The purpose of state exams, according to the state Department of Education, is to assess the progress of each school district — identifying weaknesses or unmet...
Closed businesses take slice out of Pennsylvania Lottery sales
The nonessential business closures ordered by Gov. Tom Wolf last month are cutting into Pennsylvania Lottery sales, which could mean less money for programs that benefit older residents. According to lottery officials, preliminary indications are sales for traditional scratch-off and draw games have dropped off by about 25% since many...
Pennsylvania coronavirus deaths top 100 as state reports 1,404 new cases
Twelve more people died of coronavirus complications in Pennsylvania, bringing the state’s total to 102, and the state reported 1,404 new cases Friday, health officials said. The number of total cases in Pennsylvania now stands at 8,420. The 1,404 new cases mark the largest single-day increase since the state reported...
Duquesne Light expands customer assistance program
Duquesne Light is expanding its assistance program to help income eligible customers pay their utility bills during the coronavirus pandemic. The company announced Friday a $375,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Office of Consumer Advocate and matching funds from Duquesne Light would add $750,000 to the Dollar Energy Fund, administrator of...
Covid-19 dominates news as region struggles, changes, fights backVideo
Covid-19 continued to dominate the news, and lives, of everyone in Western Pennsylvania this week, as the closure of schools and businesses was extended indefinitely and all state residents were ordered to stay home. Everyone was adapting to the new normal, including a nearly 100-year-old Latrobe woman who found herself...
Pennsylvania flu cases drop significantly, state’s final report says
With influenza activity decreasing significantly across the state, Pennsylvania health officials have stopped updating a weekly report on flu activity for the season. Flu activity is down over the past few weeks and now below epidemic levels, according to a report from the Pennsylvania Department of Health for the week...
Highmark, UPMC to pay patients’ out-of-pocket costs for covid-19 treatments
Western Pennsylvania’s two largest insurers pledged Thursday to eliminate any out-of-pocket costs for patients who are treated for covid-19 at an in-network hospital. Both UPMC and Highmark committed to waiving all deductibles, co-pays and co-insurance costs for insurance members who receive in-network, inpatient care related to covid-19, the disease caused...
State police: Convenience store, restaurant, bar customers can’t stick around to play video games
The state police don’t want bar patrons playing video gambling machines under normal conditions, let alone during the coronavirus pandemic. State police have received “an influx of public inquiries related to liquor licensees allowing patrons to remain in their establishments to operate video gambling devices, sometimes marketed as ‘games of...
State urges those laid off from pandemic closures to apply for unemployment, business aid
With 1 million jobless claims filed in the past two and a half weeks, employees at the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry have been scrambling to respond to a record-high number of requests for immediate financial aid during the pandemic-spurred shutdown. Most labor department employees are working from home....
‘Hail to Pitt’ trending as Twitter users praise potential vaccine development
Praise for the University of Pittsburgh has dominated social media after the institution announced it was close to developing a vaccine for the novel coronavirus. Scientists at Pitt’s School of Medicine announced Thursday that the vaccine, when tested in mice, produces antibodies that could fight off the virus. Testing the...
3rd resident of Beaver County nursing home with covid-19 dies
A third resident who tested positive for covid-19 at Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center has died, officials announced Thursday. Two other residents with advanced dementia previously died after contracting the disease, according to Dr. David Thimons, the facility’s medical director. “There are currently 38 in-house residents that have tested positive,”...
