Coronavirus category, Page 121
Westmoreland jail virus outbreak explodes
The coronavirus outbreak at Westmoreland County Prison continued to grow over the Columbus Day weekend and, on Tuesday, officials said the number of cases could result in overcrowding at the Hempfield lockup. Another 33 inmates and two more guards tested positive for the virus since late last week, county commissioners...
Experts: Rise of covid cases in Western Pennsylvania not surprising
Westmoreland County’s rate of positive coronavirus tests remained high Tuesday, but health experts said the increase is no surprise. “Covid-19, not unlike other previous viral pandemics, came here and will have ebb and flow to it,” said Dr. Don Yealy, UPMC’s chair of emergency medicine. Yealy cited the virus’ trajectory...
Allegheny County reports no new covid-19 deaths for 4th day
Allegheny County reported 74 new covid-19 cases Tuesday. There were seven new hospitalizations and no new coronavirus-related deaths reported. Total cases in the county are now 13,436. Total hospitalizations are now 1,293 and the death toll remains at 397. Allegheny County coronavirus by dayInfogram There has not been a new...
Pennsylvania continues trend of 1,000-plus new covid-19 cases
Pennsylvania reported 1,342 new covid-19 cases Tuesday, according to the state Department of Health. Coronavirus-related deaths also increased, with 16 new deaths reported. Of the 16 deaths reported Tuesday, one is from October, nine are from September, three are from August, one is from July and two from June. Total...
Westmoreland County sets record for covid-19 case average, 7-day total
Westmoreland County added 89 new covid-19 cases Tuesday, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. There were no new coronavirus-related deaths reported. Cases now near the 3,000-mark with 2,993 total cases as of Tuesday. The death total remains at 64. Westmoreland County coronavirus by dayInfogram In the county, there are...
Hong Kong orchestra quarantines after member contracts covid
HONG KONG — About 100 members of a Hong Kong orchestra are being quarantined after one of its members tested positive for the coronavirus. A bass clarinet player for the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra was infected, according to a Facebook post by fellow orchestra member Andrew Simon. Simon, the orchestra’s...
Europe eyes new restrictions as virus cases hit record highVideo
GENEVA — Governments across Europe ratcheted up restrictions Tuesday in an effort to contain the spread of the coronavirus as the continent recorded its highest weekly number of new infections since the start of the pandemic. The World Health Organization said there were more than 700,000 new covid-19 cases reported...
2nd covid-19 vaccine trial paused over unexplained illness
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. — A late-stage study of Johnson & Johnson’s covid-19 vaccine candidate has been paused while the company investigates whether a study participant’s “unexplained illness” is related to the shot. The company said in a statement Monday evening that illnesses, accidents and other so-called adverse events “are an...
West Virginia health system again enacts no-visitor policy
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — A West Virginia health system is again banning visitors from its hospitals as community spread of the coronavirus increases in the region, network officials say. Mountain Health Network announced Monday that most visitors will not be allowed in its medical centers, including at St. Mary’s in Huntington,...
A Nevada man got covid-19 twice; his case shows why we need a vaccine
If you were counting on a coronavirus infection to keep you safe from covid-19 without having to get a vaccine, scientists have some bad news: It won’t work. The evidence for this comes from a Nevada man who was infected with two distinct versions of the novel coronavirus and became...
U.N. warns against pursuing herd immunity to stop coronavirusVideo
LONDON — The head of the World Health Organization warned against the idea that herd immunity might be a realistic strategy to stop the pandemic, dismissing such proposals as “simply unethical.” At a media briefing on Monday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said health officials typically aim to achieve herd...
Metzgar Elementary closed amid 5 coronavirus cases at 2 Greensburg Salem schools
James H. Metzgar Elementary School in Salem is closed through Friday, after three students tested positive for the coronavirus. They are among five positive cases among Greensburg Salem students that occurred over 14 days and were announced late last week in a letter to parents posted online by Superintendent Gary...
Staff member at Allegheny Valley School District’s Acmetonia Elementary tests positive for covid-19
The Allegheny Valley School District was notified Friday that a staff member at Acmetonia Elementary School has tested positive for covid-19. The last date of possible exposure at the school was last Tuesday. “We were made aware by the staff member that they tested positive on Friday,” superintendent Patrick M....
3 Hempfield Area High students positive for coronavirus; school, athletics shut down
Hempfield Area High School is closed Tuesday through Friday after three students tested positive for the coronavirus. School administrators were notified of the positive cases over the weekend, according to a letter to parents from Superintendent Tammy Wolicki, posted Sunday on the district website. During the five-day closure, all students...
U.S. trails other developed nations in curbing coronavirus deaths
The proportion of Americans dying from coronavirus infections is the highest in the developed world, according to a study of global mortality rates that shows the U.S. pandemic response left citizens exposed to the lethal disease. Early in the outbreak, the U.S. mortality rate from covid-19 was lower than in...
World Health Organization leader warns against herd immunity solution
LONDON — The head of the World Health Organization warned against the idea that herd immunity might be a realistic strategy to stop the pandemic, calling such proposals “unethical.” WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a news briefing on Monday that health officials typically aim to achieve herd immunity...
Westmoreland County sets another record with 90 new cases Monday, 2 deaths
Westmoreland County had 90 more covid-19 cases added in the past 24 hours Monday, with another 52 cases reported on Sunday, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The new numbers are another record set for the county of nearly 349,000 residents. Over the past two days, Westmoreland County had...
Over 2 days, Pennsylvania adds over 2,250 new covid cases, 24 new deaths
Pennsylvania saw 2,254 new coronavirus cases over the past two days — 1,166 on Sunday, 1,088 on Monday — according to a report from state Department of Health on Monday. The state said 239,484 tests were conducted from Oct. 5-11, with 9,117 positives found. Six new covid-related deaths were reported...
Allegheny County adds 179 new covid cases over past 2 days
On Monday, the Allegheny County Health Department announced it found 179 new cases of coronavirus over the past two days. The breakdown — 97 cases on Sunday, 82 on Monday — were from 2,320 PCR tests conducted from Oct. 4-11. Of those new cases, 156 were confirmed, 23 probable. The...
Iran has highest daily virus death toll, new patient count
TEHRAN, Iran — For the second day in a row, Iran announced on Monday its highest single-day death toll from the coronavirus with 272 people confirmed dead. The announcement by Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari saw Iran also give its single-day highest count of new cases with 4,206 new...
Allegheny Conference summit focuses on economic recovery from pandemic
An economic summit focused on restoring the Pittsburgh region’s economy to pre-pandemic levels was held last week by the Allegheny Conference on Community Development. As part of the summit, the organization prepared a robust report on how severely the region’s economy has been disrupted during the pandemic. The report did...
Report: Fauci rips recent Trump campaign ad, says he was taken out of contextVideo
Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN on Sunday that he did not consent to a clip of him being used in an ad by the Trump campaign, adding that the footage is out of context. “In my nearly five decades of public service, I have never publicly endorsed any political candidate....
GOP governors in spiking states strain for silver linings
Hospitalizations from covid-19 have hit their highest points recently throughout the Midwest, where the growth in new cases has been the worst in the nation. But that’s not the message coming from a number of Republican governors in the region, who are working to find silver linings in the ominous...
1 more covid-19 death, 2 more cases reported at Westmoreland Manor
Another Westmoreland Manor resident has died and two others have tested positive for covid-19, county officials announced Saturday. Four residents remain hospitalized with covid-19, officials said. In all, 107 residents and 32 staff members have tested positive for coronavirus. Three people have died from the disease. Staff and residents who...
Doctor says Trump no longer at risk of transmitting virus
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s doctor said Saturday the president is no longer at risk of transmitting the coronavirus. In a memo, Navy Cmdr. Dr. Sean Conley says Trump meets the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria for safely discontinuing isolation and that by “currently recognized standards” he is...
