Coronavirus category, Page 180
Worker shortage concerns loom in immigrant-heavy meatpackingVideo
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — When Martha Kebede’s adult sons immigrated from Ethiopia and reunited with her in South Dakota this year, they had few work opportunities. Lacking English skills, the brothers took jobs at Smithfield Foods’ Sioux Falls pork plant, grueling and increasingly risky work as the coronavirus sickened thousands...
Brazil travel ban set to start on Tuesday
WASHINGTON — A ban on foreign travelers arriving in the United States from Brazil due to the surge in coronavirus cases there will now take effect late Tuesday, two days earlier than previously announced. The ban had been set to go into effect late Thursday. The White House announced the...
Tom Purcell: Pandemic restrictions highlight blessings we take for granted
What The Bogota Post got right about America before covid-19 rings just as true during the pandemic — maybe even more true. In a May 2019 article, “The List of Things Americans Take for Granted,” the newspaper examined some of the freedoms and blessings too many Americans forget they have....
Ohio’s covid-19 death toll nears 2,000, university students warned
COLUMBUS — The number of confirmed and probable deaths associated with the coronavirus in Ohio is nearing 2,000 total. The Ohio Department of Health said Monday afternoon there have been 1,987 coronavirus-related deaths., an increase of 18 reported in the previous 24 hours. The state health department also reported 32,477...
Coronavirus pandemic presents unique challenges for kindergarten education
Students of all ages have been adversely affected by the covid-19 pandemic, but educators say the stakes are especially high for kindergartners and preschool-aged children. “Imagine being 5 and this is your world. What will be ‘normal’ to this generation of kindergartners?” said Michilene Pegher, principal of Minadeo Elementary in...
In Bolsonaro’s Brazil, everyone else is to blame for coronavirusVideo
RIO DE JANEIRO — With Brazil emerging as one of the world’s most infected countries, President Jair Bolsonaro is deflecting all responsibility for the coronavirus crisis, casting blame on mayors, governors, an outgoing health minister and the media. By contrast, he portrays himself as a clear-eyed crusader willing to defend...
Efforts underway to get food from U.S. farms to needy
OMAHA, Neb. — As food banks have struggled to meet soaring demand from people suddenly out of work because of the coronavirus pandemic, it has been especially troubling to see farmers have to bury produce, dump milk and euthanize hogs. Now some states are providing more money to help pay...
Pennsylvania records 15 more coronavirus deaths, 473 new cases
Pennsylvania on Monday reported 15 more covid-19 deaths and 473 additional cases, according to the state Department of Health. The state has now had 68,186 total cases and 5,139 deaths. Deaths have been recorded in 54 of the state’s 67 counties, while every county has had a positive case. Nearly...
Allegheny County records 28 more coronavirus cases, no new deaths
The number of confirmed and probable cases of the coronavirus in Allegheny County increased by 28 to 1,805, while deaths remained unchanged at 150, the Allegheny County Health Department reported Monday. The new cases were reported to the department throughout the day Sunday. While the number of cases matched the...
White House goal on testing nursing homes unmet
RICHMOND, Va. — Nearly two weeks ago the White House urged governors to ensure that every nursing home resident and staff member be tested for the coronavirus within 14 days. It’s not going to happen. A review by The Associated Press found that at least half of the states are...
U.K. leader Boris Johnson stands by aide over 250-mile lockdown tripVideo
LONDON — Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Sunday he wouldn’t fire his chief aide for allegedly violating the national lockdown rules that he helped to create by driving the length of England to his parents’ house while he was infected with the coronavirus. Defying a growing clamor from public and...
Spokesman: Employee at Parkway Center Giant Eagle diagnosed with covid-19
A Giant Eagle employee at the Parkway Center Mall store near Greentree has tested positive for covid-19, company officials confirmed Sunday. The store on May 3 converted to a curbside pick-up distribution center and no longer has traditional customer store traffic, company spokesman Dick Roberts said. “The safety of our...
White House bans travel to the U.S. from BrazilVideo
WASHINGTON — The White House has announced a ban on travel to the U.S. from Brazil because of the spread of coronavirus in Latin America’s hardest-hit country. Press secretary Kayleigh McEnany says in a statement Sunday evening that the ban applies to foreign nationals who have been in Brazil in...
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson says residents must manage coronavirus riskVideo
LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson says residents must manage the risk of the coronavirus as the state reopens during the pandemic, even as the number of cases increase. “It doesn’t diminish the seriousness in which we take it, but we have to manage the risk, grow our economy,”...
Missouri hair stylist exposed more than 90 people to coronavirus
A hair stylist in Missouri exposed 91 people to coronavirus by going into work for eight days despite showing symptoms for the illness. The stylist, who was not identified, had contact with 84 customers and seven of her Great Clips coworkers, according to Clay Goddard, director of the Springfield-Greene County...
John Steigerwald: Just let the kids play ballVideo
Could the pick-up game make a comeback? You would have to be of a certain age to remember when kids didn’t need to have adults around to organize everything they did. Baby Boomers remember picking two captains, having them “shink it out” and choose from a group of kids to...
3 more covid-19 cases reported in Westmoreland County; no new deaths
Westmoreland County on Sunday reported an increase in positive covid-19 cases, but continued to report no new deaths. State officials said 440 people have tested positive for the virus as of Sunday, an increase of three from the 437 reported on Saturday. More than 8,200 people have tested negative. Neither...
Huge crowds gather for Memorial Day weekend as coronavirus deaths near 100,000Video
Social distancing, crowd limitations and wearing face masks are all techniques of lessening the risk of coronavirus exposure. But during the Memorial Day weekend, many in the United States are doing away with such practices. As the national death toll of covid-19 neared 100,000, states across the country relaxed restrictions...
Pennsylvania reports 28 more coronavirus deaths, 730 additional cases
Pennsylvania on Sunday reported 28 more covid-19 deaths and 730 additional cases, bringing the state’s total number of cases to 67,713, according to state health officials. A total of 5,124 people have died from the virus. Those deaths have been reported in 54 of the state’s 67 counties. Positive cases...
Pandemic a boon for the bicycle as thousands snap them up
SAN FRANCISCO — Joel Johnson hadn’t owned a bicycle since he was 15, but the pandemic changed all that. Johnson first bought a multipurpose bike to avoid the germs on crowded buses and trains but then discovered a passion for pedaling around San Francisco, where some streets are now closed...
Allegheny coronavirus death toll holds steady while case count increases
The number of confirmed and probable cases of the coronavirus in Allegheny County increased Sunday by 24 to 1,777 while the number of deaths held steady at 150, according to health department officials. The first case was reported in the county on March 14. No new deaths in the county...
Peter Salk, whose father conquered polio, says coronavirus fight is far from over
SAN DIEGO — He lives in La Jolla Village, near a cove that will be crowded this weekend by sunbathers who are no longer willing to shelter in place from the coronavirus. Peter Salk’s favorite stores and restaurants are nearby. Many are beginning to reopen now that the pandemic is...
Holiday amid pandemic: Americans divided as nations grapple with 2nd waves of virus
NEW YORK — President Trump visited one of his golf courses Saturday at the start of Memorial Day weekend as he urges states to reopen after coronavirus-related lockdowns. Yet many Americans remained cautious as the number of confirmed cases nationwide passed 1.6 million. In California, where many businesses and recreational...
‘Strong’ after shooting, El Paso vulnerable to virus
EL PASO, Texas — Inked on skin and hashtagged on social media, the words “El Paso Strong” united city residents after a mass shooting at a Walmart last year. As covid-19 took hold in El Paso, government officials have tried to repurpose the slogan, much like “Don’t mess with Texas,”...
Restrictions eased while virus deaths decline in New York
NEW YORK — New Yorkers experiencing cabin fever after two months of coronavirus quarantine received an unexpected reprieve when Gov. Andrew Cuomo eased the state’s ban on gatherings in time for the Memorial Day weekend. But beachgoers faced inclement weather Saturday that dampened crowds. A look at those and other...
