Coronavirus category, Page 152
What the spike in covid-19 hospitalizations means in Allegheny County
Health officials had predicted it, and now it’s here. Following several weeks of high daily case counts, hospitalizations in Allegheny County have steadily increased, with a record 22 hospitalizations reported Friday. In the past 19 days, the county has topped 200 new cases eight times, averaging 182 cases per day....
Legal experts: Mask requirements likely don’t violate Americans with Disabilities Act
Cries from across the country claiming constitutional rights are being stripped away by mask requirements might not be as valid as some people think. Mask requirements, put in place to help curb the spread of the coronavirus, are being challenged with lawsuits claiming they violate the Americans with Disabilities Act....
Pennsylvania schools setting in-person teaching rules as pandemic spreads
HARRISBURG — The many Pennsylvania school districts that have not settled on how and when they will restart instruction this fall will be making decisions in the coming weeks, and the pandemic plans that have been produced so far are all over the map. That’s by design, the state education...
U.S. prison populations down 8% amid coronavirus outbreak
RICHMOND, Va. — Stephanie Parris was finishing a two-year prison sentence for a probation violation when she heard she’d be going home three weeks early because of COVID-19. It made her feel bad to leave when she had so few days left at the Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women. She...
Westmoreland County covid-19 new case counts trending downward
For the fourth time in the past week, Westmoreland County’s count of new covid-19 cases was under 20. The Pennsylvania Department of Health’s latest report adds 18 new cases to the county’s total, with one additional death being reported. Of those new positive cases, all have been confirmed. The total...
Pennsylvania reports highest new covid-19 case count in over 2 months
The Pennsylvania Department of Health posted its highest number of new cases of covid-19 in two and a half months on Friday. The day’s report of 1,213 new cases was the highest new daily total since May 10, when 1,295 new cases were counted. The state has amassed a total...
Mandatory masks becoming the rule amid Europe’s virus uptick
ROME — New rules on wearing masks in England came into effect Friday, with people entering shops, banks and supermarkets now required to wear face coverings, while Romania reported a record for daily infections and new cases nearly doubled in France. People in England can be fined as much as...
Greensburg church, donors ensuring nobody goes hungry during pandemicVideo
Otterbein United Methodist Church was trying to create a program to feed hungry kids, then the coronavirus pandemic came along and changed everything. “We had been planning on doing this program but, because of covid, we were worried it was going to be canceled,” said the Rev. Dawn Check. Instead,...
New covid-19 cases, hospitalizations rise for 3rd straight day in Allegheny County
The Allegheny County Health Department announced a record 22 new hospitalizations for covid-19 on Friday, along with 198 new cases. Both figures represent the third straight day those numbers have gone up. With Friday’s report, Allegheny County surpasses the 7,000 case mark, with a total of 7,015 cases since the...
Pitt reopening plan spurs questions, concerns from student newspaper, neighborVideo
The University of Pittsburgh’s plan to reopen its Oakland campus in phases beginning Aug. 11 is raising questions among students and neighborhood residents. The hybrid plan, which calls for a mix of in-person and online classes, was months in the making. Among other features, the plan includes measures to reduce...
Florida lawmaker tests positive amid 173 coronavirus deathsVideo
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A second Florida lawmaker said Thursday he has tested positive for the coronavirus as the state reached a new milestone with 173 reported coronavirus deaths and pushed the total number of cases in the state past 389,000. State Rep. Randy Fine, a Republican who represents the...
Pittsburgh Public Schools considering 9-week delay for classroom learning
The Pittsburgh Public School Board is considering whether to delay in-person instruction for the first nine weeks of the school year. Board member Kevin Carter, of District 8, introduced a resolution at the board’s legislative meeting Wednesday to postpone all in-class instruction for the first nine weeks of school and...
Pennsylvania’s rate of covid-19 testing among lowest in country, data show
The percentage of Pennsylvanians being tested for covid-19 is among the lowest rates in the country, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The Commonwealth came in 47th out of the nation’s 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico with 8,244 tests performed per 100,000 people, the...
Pittsburgh officials not included on White House call warning city to step up virus fight
Pennsylvania state officials participated in a private phone call Wednesday in which Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House Coronavirus Task Force response coordinator, warned Pittsburgh and 10 other cities needed to get more “aggressive” with covid-19. After a story about the call was published by The Center for Public Integrity,...
Pepcid as a coronavirus remedy? Trump administration’s $21M gamble fizzled
A nearly $21 million government-funded study to see if a popular, over-the-counter heartburn medication could be a covid-19 remedy has fizzled amid allegations of conflicts of interest and scientific misconduct, according to interviews, a whistleblower complaint and internal government records obtained by The Associated Press. In mid-April, the Trump administration...
Drug court graduates celebrate accomplishment despite covid-19 restrictions
John Panucci was in the home stretch of his path through Westmoreland County’s Drug Court when the coronavirus erupted in March. Drug court — a two-year program that mixes court supervision, counseling and treatment in exchange for reduced or alternative jail sentences — was not exempt from the pandemic, which...
Pennsylvania school openings hinge on case counts, Health Secretary Rachel Levine warns
HARRISBURG — Every region of Pennsylvania has seen an increase in the rate of positive coronavirus cases and failing to stop that could jeopardize the reopening of schools for the fall semester, the state’s top health official said Thursday. In addition, Health Secretary Rachel Levine said the majority of counties...
Westmoreland County adds 20 new coronavirus cases, no new deaths
Westmoreland County on Thursday saw 20 new coronavirus cases, bringing the county’s running total to 1,234, according to data released by the Pennsylvania Department of Health. With no reports of any new deaths related to covid-19 in Westmoreland County, the count remains at 41. Westmoreland County coronavirus by dayInfogram Of...
FDA recalling some hand sanitizers over methanol risk
Careful what hand sanitizer you choose. The Food and Drug Administration said this month that it has seen a sharp increase in hand sanitizers that contain methanol but are listed as containing ethanol, or ethyl alcohol. Methanol, or wood alcohol, can be toxic when absorbed through the skin and can...
Pennsylvania reports 962 new coronavirus cases, 16 additional deaths
The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Thursday reported 962 new coronavirus cases statewide and 16 additional deaths. The state’s total now sits at 104,358 cases and 7,079 deaths attributed to covid-19. Pa. coronavirus by dayInfogram The number of tests administered within the last seven days is 147,837, with 5,731 cases...
Hempfield restaurant closed after mistaken covid-19 case, looks to reopen Friday
Rodney Yemc is at his wits’ end. His 25-year-old Hempfield business, Rodney’s Restaurant, has been closed for a week as he awaits coronavirus test results from as many as 25 employees who erroneously believed they were exposed to covid-19 by another worker. “This really puts you in a situation,” Yemc...
Allegheny County reports 147 new coronavirus cases, 15 new hospitalizations
Allegheny County on Thursday reported 147 new cases of coronavirus and two deaths. Of those cases, 140 are confirmed and seven are probable. That brings the total number of cases of covid-19 in the county to 6,817. There were 15 new hospitalizations, raising the total to 551, according to the...
Woodland Hills School District suspends cheerleading after positive covid-19 test
Woodland Hills School District suspended its cheerleading activities after a cheerleader tested positive for covid-19, school officials announced Thursday. The district’s on-site testing center discovered the positive case, according to Superintendent James Harris. “We do testing at our high school and one of the young ladies tested positive, so we...
South Fayette pushes back start, end of school year because of coronavirus concerns
South Fayette School District officials have changed the proposed start and end of the upcoming school year because of covid-19 concerns. The school board voted 6-1 Tuesday night to adjust the 2020-21 school calendar to move the first day of school from Aug. 19 to Sept. 2 and the last...
Florida governor wants schools to reopen, offers flexibilityVideo
TALLAHASSEE — Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis strongly emphasized the need to reopen schools in a rare address Wednesday, saying that keeping them closed will lead to depression, social isolation and a higher dropout rate, but acknowledged that parents should be able to keep children at home if they fear...
