Coronavirus category, Page 186
Emotional support hotline set up for Westmoreland first responders
An emotional support hotline is available for first responders in Westmoreland County during the coronavirus pandemic. The hotline has been established by Westmoreland Community Action and the Westmoreland County Critical Incident Stress Management Team. It is available for any first responder — ambulance personnel, police, firefighters, 911 dispatchers and corrections...
China announces $2 billion in virus help at WHO assemblyVideo
GENEVA — China will provide $2 billion over two years to fight the coronavirus pandemic, President Xi Jinping said Monday, rallying around the World Health Organization and its efforts even as the Trump administration has slashed funding for the U.N. health agency. The European Union’s 27-member bloc and other countries,...
Europe reopens widely, seeks to salvage summer vacationsVideo
ATHENS, Greece — Europe reopened more widely Monday, allowing people into the Acropolis in Athens, shops in Italy, markets and museums in Belgium, golf courses in Ireland and beer gardens in Bavaria while its leaders discussed how to salvage Europe’s hallowed summer vacations. As nations carved out a new normal...
Trump aide Peter Navarro claims lockdowns will kill ‘many more’ Americans than covid-19Video
White House economic adviser Peter Navarro said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that lockdowns to curb the spread of the coronavirus will “indirectly” kill more people than the virus itself. Navarro said loosening restrictions on businesses is not a “question of lives vs. jobs. What President Trump realized early...
As more Texas businesses open, health experts watch and waitVideo
DALLAS — With gyms and more businesses set to reopen Monday, Texas is closer to reaching some of its goals for fighting the coronavirus. The number of daily tests has grown. The percentage of tests that come back positive has shrunk. The state now has 2,000 people in place to...
Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse criticized for telling students China is to blame for covid-19
FREMONT, Neb. — U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse’s attempt at humor during a speech at a Nebraska high school’s online commencement — which included jokes about students’ fitness and psychologists and also blamed China for the coronavirus outbreak — drew strong criticism. The Republican senator’s speech on Saturday was panned by...
Lower Burrell officials want Gov. Tom Wolf to reopen businesses closed because of pandemic
Lower Burrell officials on Monday plan to send a letter to Gov. Tom Wolf asking him to reopen businesses that have been shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic. The letter, signed by Mayor John Andrejcik and council members Joe Grillo, Rosina Albanese, Rob Hamilton and Chris Fabry, said the...
Gov. Cuomo takes coronavirus test in bid to encourage New Yorkers to do sameVideo
NEW YORK — Claiming some New Yorkers are reluctant to seek coronavirus tests, Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Sunday took one himself on live national television. “There is a general proclivity where … some people just don’t like to go to the doctor and don’t like to get tested,” he said...
Surprise parade helps Hempfield teen mark milestone birthdayVideo
Kolby Liston is fascinated by fire trucks and loves parades. Those two elements came together Sunday afternoon to provide the Hempfield teen a memorable 18th birthday celebration. Arranged by his sister Katelyn Larsen of Youngwood, about 50 vehicles driven by first responders, friends or relatives delivered birthday wishes and gifts...
Coronavirus vaccine within a year is ‘far from a sure thing,’ expert warnsVideo
WASHINGTON — A coronavirus vaccine by year’s end is possible, but not something to “bank on,” a leading public health expert warned Sunday as the Trump administration continued to push for swift business reopenings in a bid to revive the battered U.S. economy. Aides to President Donald Trump have touted...
4 more covid-19 cases reported in Westmoreland County; no new deaths
Westmoreland County on Sunday continued to report no new deaths from the coronavirus, but did see an increase in positive covid-19 cases. State officials said 427 people have tested positive for the virus as of Sunday, an increase of four from Saturday. Neither the coroner nor state officials reported any...
Pennsylvania reports 15 more coronavirus deaths, 623 additional cases
Pennsylvania on Sunday reported 15 more covid-19 deaths and 623 additional cases, bringing the state’s total number of cases to 62,234, state officials said. A total of 4,418 people have died from the virus, which has been reported in all of the state’s 67 counties. More than 270,600 people have...
U.S. health secretary won’t criticize over crowded bars, beaches
WASHINGTON — Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar is declining to criticize local leaders amid images of crowded bars and boardwalks in areas where coronavirus restrictions are being lifted. Azar told CNN in an interview Sunday that “the president has left it up to states to know their local...
Allegheny County reports no new coronavirus deaths or hospitalizations, just 8 new cases
Allegheny County on Sunday reported no new coronavirus deaths, no new hospitalizations and just eight new cases. The latest figures bring the total number of covid-19 cases in the county to 1,603 since the first case was reported here March 14. Total deaths remained at 143, and total hospitalizations stayed...
Allegheny Township personal care home hit with unknown number of covid-19 cases
An outbreak of covid-19 cases has been reported for the Pleasant Ridge Mature Living personal care home in Allegheny Township, although authorities aren’t releasing the number of cases or if there have been any deaths. At least not yet. The Pennsylvania Department of Health plans to start releasing Monday the...
Michigan residents flock to Ohio to enjoy state’s reopening
TOLEDO, Ohio — For the first time in months, Nawal Hamade enjoyed a salon pedicure Friday, although she had to leave Michigan to get it. “It feels amazing,” said Hamade of the pampering she received at Espres Nails and Spa salon in Toledo. “It feels like getting back to normal.”...
Pandemic throws campaign challenges in way of candidates looking to win June 2 primaries
When he decided to run for state auditor general, Pittsburgh City Controller Michael Lamb thought he had retail politics down to an art form. After all, the 57-year-old was born into a political family. The affable Democrat had run seven successful campaigns in Allegheny County, made his bona fides as...
New MLB rules: shower at home, don’t spit, Pirate Parrot stay awayVideo
NEW YORK — Major League Baseball will look somewhat like high school ball this year under protocols to deal with the new coronavirus, with showers at ballparks discouraged and players possibly arriving in uniform, like they did when they were teenagers. Team personnel will be banned from eating at restaurants...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Paupers and kings and coronavirus
The danse macabre was a theme in medieval art that provided some comfort to regular folks during wars and plagues by portraying people from all walks of life dancing together towards their final resting place. It was clear then that death did not discriminate during a catastrophe. Aristocrats and paupers...
Barack Obama criticizes virus response in online graduation speech
WASHINGTON — Former President Barack Obama on Saturday criticized some officials overseeing the coronavirus response, telling college graduates in an online commencement address that the pandemic shows many officials “aren’t even pretending to be in charge.” Obama spoke on “Show Me Your Walk, HBCU Edition,” a two-hour livestreaming event for...
Married music teachers use old-school rendition to show they miss studentsVideo
Time away from the classroom isn’t just affecting students. Teachers are feeling the impact as well. Two music teachers, who are a married couple, have found a creative way to cope with withdrawal from their pupils. Joe Wilson is music department chair and marching band moderator at Central Catholic High...
Gov. Andrew Cuomo says car and race tracks in New York can reopen with no fans
ALBANY, N.Y. — In another step toward reopening its economy going into the summer, New York will allow horse racing tracks and Watkins Glen International car track to reopen with the coronavirus outbreak easing, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on Saturday. But the Democrat was quick to add a caveat: “No...
Coronavirus masks a boon for crooks who hide their faces
CHICAGO — The way the FBI tells it, William Rosario Lopez put on a surgical mask and walked into the Connecticut convenience store looking to the world like a typical pandemic-era shopper as he picked up plastic wrap, fruit snacks and a few other items. Then, when the only other...
No new covid-19 cases, deaths to report in Westmoreland County
Westmoreland County did not have any new covid-19 cases or deaths to report as of Saturday, state health data show. Between Thursday and Friday, state officials had reported one more covid-19 case in the county, bringing the total to 423. Nearly 40% of Westmoreland County’s cases involve residents and employees...
Pennsylvania reports 61 more covid-19 deaths; 69% of deaths linked to nursing homes
Pennsylvania reported 61 more covid-19 deaths and 989 newly confirmed cases as of Saturday morning, bringing the state’s total number of cases to more than 61,600. Hospitals are treating 1,887 patients with the disease, and 409 of those patients are on ventilators. Another 18 patients are on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation,...
