Coronavirus category, Page 108
Ahead of holidays, Tennessee spurns mask mandate requests
NASHVILLE — As health experts ring alarm bells at surging virus case numbers, Tennessee is just one of 14 states poised to head into the holiday season without a statewide mask mandate. Gov. Bill Lee also has vowed he will not impose business restrictions nor issue guidance on how families...
Pennsylvania gives update on antigen tests, contact tracing efforts
Pennsylvania health officials are echoing pleas to follow covid-19 health guidelines and cooperate with contact tracing efforts as infections continue to reach new heights. At a news briefing Wednesday afternoon, Michael Huff, director of testing and contact tracing, once again asked Pennsylvanians to answer the calls of case investigators and...
New York City schools to close again as city fights coronavirusVideo
NEW YORK — New York City is shuttering schools to try to stop the renewed spread of the coronavirus, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday in a painful about-face for one of the first big U.S. school systems to bring students back to classrooms this fall. The nation’s largest public...
Europe has half of world’s 4M new virus cases but sees hope
GENEVA — Europe made up almost half of the world’s 4 million new coronavirus cases last week but recorded a nearly 10% fall in infections compared to the week before, thanks in part to strict government lockdown measures that have fanned some discontent, the World Health Organization reported Wednesday. In...
Westmoreland County sets new coronavirus mark with 228 additional cases
Westmoreland County added more than 200 new coronavirus cases for the second time in a week, setting a new high with 228 on Wednesday. The new cases bring the county’s total to 6,649, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The previous high was 207 reported last Thursday. Of the...
6 Western Pa. counties set new highs as Pa. reports record new coronavirus cases
Six counties in southwestern Pennsylvania experienced their highest single-day coronavirus case totals, as the state set another record for most new cases in a single day on Wednesday. Pennsylvania added 6,339 new positive cases, raising the state’s total to 281,852. The previous high of 5,900 was set Tuesday. Allegheny, Armstrong,...
Jeannette schools will hold 2 days of virtual learning after Thanksgiving break
Jeannette School District students will have two remote learning days after the Thanksgiving holiday in what school district officials said is an effort to reduce the potential exposure of the coronavirus. Students will resume classes Dec. 1 and 2 with remote learning both days after a fall break. In-person classes...
Allegheny County sets another record for new coronavirus cases
Allegheny County set another high for new coronavirus cases on Wednesday. There were 620 new covid-19 cases, bringing the county’s total to 21,434, according to the Allegheny County Health Department. Of the new cases, 506 are confirmed and 114 probable from 2,797 PCR tests. The new cases put the daily...
Covid testing available at these AHN sites
Allegheny Health Network is offering covid-19 testing at the following community sites.Citizens Hospital, 651 Fourth Ave., New Kensington: Tuesday and Thursday, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.AHN McCandless, 9335 McKnight Road: Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.Forbes Hospital, 2600 Haymaker Road, Monroeville: Tuesday and Thursday, 8 a.m. to 1...
Pfizer says covid-19 shot 95% effective, seeking clearance soon
Pfizer said Wednesday that new test results show its coronavirus vaccine is 95% effective, is safe and also protects older people most at risk of dying — the last data needed to seek emergency use of limited shot supplies as the catastrophic outbreak worsens across the globe. The announcement from...
Pitt chosen to lead NIH trials in covid-19 care for patients with blood clots
One of the many ways in which covid-19 wreaks havoc on the human body is by helping to cause abnormal blood clotting. A new study supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) suggests that SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes covid-19, seems to release mysterious antibodies that mistakenly attack the...
FDA allows 1st rapid coronavirus test that gives results at home
WASHINGTON — U.S. regulators on Tuesday allowed emergency use of the first rapid coronavirus test that can be performed and developed entirely at home. The announcement by the Food and Drug Administration represents an important step in U.S. efforts to expand testing options for covid-19 beyond health care facilities and...
Oakmont Bakery closes its indoor dining, modifies hours due to rising covid cases
Oakmont Bakery officials have closed the bakery’s indoor dining areas and reduced operational hours due to rising covid-19 cases, according to the shop’s website. The bakery will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. The cafe will be...
Report: More than 1 million children have been infected with covid-19
More than 1 million children in the United States have been infected with covid-19, according to a report released by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association. The report, released on Monday, shows children now make up 11.5 percent of all cases in the country. The total...
Burrell School District to move to virtual learning after Thanksgiving, Christmas as coronavirus cases rise
Burrell School District will move to fully virtual learning for two weeks after Thanksgiving, and again for two weeks after Christmas, the school board decided Tuesday. The move comes as coronavirus cases in the community continue to climb, including four cases within the district in the last two weeks. The...
Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, 87, says he tested positive for coronavirus
WASHINGTON — Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, the longest-serving Republican senator and third in the line of presidential succession, said Tuesday that he has tested positive for the coronavirus. Grassley announced earlier Tuesday that he was quarantining after being exposed to the virus and was waiting for the results of a...
Hundreds of nurses strike at Philadelphia-area hospitalVideo
LANGHORNE — Hundreds of nurses have gone on strike at a suburban Philadelphia hospital, citing low staffing levels amid rising coronavirus cases. The walkout that began at 7 a.m. Tuesday involves the 700-plus registered nurses at St. Mary Medical Center in Langhorne and their allies in the Pennsylvania Association of...
Ohio governor orders 3-week retail curfew to slow virus
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Tuesday announced a three-week retail curfew running from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. to slow the spread of the coronavirus as cases stay at near-record high levels. DeWine said this measure, effective Thursday, is needed to reduce cases and stop the state’s...
Kiski Area now allowing 4 days of in-person learning
Schools across the region are shutting their doors, but Kiski Area School District is increasing face-to-face instruction time. The district began offering a hybrid option this week that allows for four days of in-person instruction with one day of remote learning. This option is available in addition to the district’s...
Pennsylvania expands mask mandate as coronavirus cases rise
New orders from Pennsylvania’s Secretary of Health expand on an April order mandating masks be worn in public, extending the conditions under which one must be worn to include indoors when with anyone outside their household. The orders, which also give further guidance to hospitals and colleges, are meant to...
Volunteers still needed to test variety of covid-19 vaccines
Two covid-19 vaccines might be nearing the finish line, but scientists caution it’s critical that enough people volunteer to help finish studying other candidates in the U.S. and around the world. Moderna Inc. and competitor Pfizer Inc. recently announced preliminary results showing their vaccines appear more than 90% effective, at...
Pennsylvania sets another record for new covid-19 cases, nearly 6,000 cases reported
Pennsylvania reported 5,900 new covid-19 cases Tuesday, the new high for daily cases in the state. With the new cases, the seven-day case total stands at 36,856 for the period of Nov. 11 through Tuesday. The seven-day case average is 5,265. Both figures are new records in Pennsylvania. There were...
Westmoreland County sees highest 7-day total of new covid-19 cases
With Tuesday’s figures, Westmoreland County set new highs for the seven-day covid-19 case total and seven-day case average. Cases from Nov. 11 to Tuesday are 1,128 and average new daily cases are 161 over that time. There were 155 new covid-19 cases and two deaths reported Tuesday. Total cases and...
Allegheny County reports 288 new covid-19 cases
After record-setting case counts over the past week in Allegheny County, new covid-19 cases have come down a bit. The Allegheny County Health Department reported 288 additional cases Tuesday. The new cases are a near split, with 145 confirmed and 143 probable. In November, Allegheny County has seen a 30%...
Levine to announce ‘targeted efforts’ to control covid cases
Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine is set to announce “targeted efforts” to control the spread of covid-19 as case counts across the state continue to rise. The announcement, set for 1 p.m., comes a day after Levine told members of the media there were no plans to shut...
