Coronavirus category, Page 192
Gov. Wolf: No timeline on Pennsylvania counties transitioning from yellow to green phase
Southwestern Pennsylvania is poised to transition from the red to yellow phase of the state’s tiered reopening plan, leaving many residents and business owners wondering how long it will be before the region is allowed to go green. Gov. Tom Wolf said Monday that has not yet been decided. “We...
West Wing visitors, staff now required to wear masks
WASHINGTON — The White House is requiring everyone who enters the West Wing to wear a mask or face covering after coronavirus scares near President Donald Trump. A memo sent to all staff outlined the new directive Monday after two staffers last week tested positive for covid-19. The memo says:...
Pennsylvania state senator calls for resignation of Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine
A state senator from Franklin County has called for the immediate resignation of Pennsylvania Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine, saying her actions were a major factor in the large number of covid-19 cases and deaths in the state’s nursing homes. Sen. Doug Mastriano, a first-term Republican representing Franklin, Adams and...
Mobile coronavirus testing coming to Pittsburgh’s Homewood neighborhood
Allegheny Health Network said Monday it is launching a new mobile initiative to take covid-19 testing into underserved Western Pennsylvania communities. The first AHN mobile covid-19 testing site is scheduled to be open for appointments from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday outside the Alma Illery Medical Center...
PennDOT reopens more rest areas
As covid-19 restrictions ease around the state, PennDOT is reopening indoor facilities at three additional rest areas. The three locations opening Monday include Interstate 70 westbound in Fulton County, 1 mile east of the Maryland state line, Interstate 80 eastbound in Columbia County and Interstate 80 westbound in Columbia County....
High school yearbooks go virtual for Western Pa. grads
For high school graduates of 2020, that chance to write a senior yearbook message has been taken away with the pandemic. But resourceful teenagers have found a way to sign a yearbook virtually. They’re creating yearbooks on Instagram, the social media platform that emphasizes photographs. In most cases, one student...
Pennsylvania customs officials seize unapproved medication shipped from Hong Kong
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials seized a shipment of 1,200 capsules of an unapproved medicine shipped from Hong Kong to Pennsylvania. Working out of the Port of Harrisburg, agents seized the Lingua Qingwen capsules en route to an address in Union County, in the central part of the state....
Pennsylvania reports 543 new coronavirus cases, 24 more deaths
State health officials reported hundreds of new coronavirus cases on Monday, pushing the state’s running case count above 57,000. The 543 new cases were reported between 12 a.m. Sunday and 12 a.m. Monday, and they bring the statewide total to 57,154 since the first cases were identified on March 6....
Gov. Wolf threatens action against Pennsylvania counties, businesses that ignore restrictions
Gov. Tom Wolf on Monday had strong words for politicians and business owners who choose to defy the state’s coronavirus restrictions, threatening funding and business licenses as some counties move to the yellow phase of reopening while others remain in the most restrictive phase. Wolf said funding to help counties...
Allegheny County Treasurer’s Office to reopen May 18
The Allegheny County Treasurer’s Office will reopen to the public with normal operating hours starting May 18. Tax and license cashiers will be available to process payments and applications on weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. All employees and visitors will be required to wear a face covering. “Because...
Allegheny County reports 8 new coronavirus cases, 1 death
Allegheny County officials reported eight additional cases of covid-19 and one more death Monday, bringing the total to 1,511 confirmed or probable cases and 123 deaths countywide. The youngest person to have died from the coronavirus in Allegheny County was 42 years old and had underlying conditions, county officials said....
Pittsburgh police are towing, ticketing vehicles parked illegally
Pittsburgh police have started ticketing and towing vehicles parked illegally Downtown as the city prepares for the easing of coronavirus restrictions under the yellow phase. Officers are focusing on flagrant violations, according to Commander Mike Pilyih of the Zone 2 station. They’re also issuing verbal warnings to motorists parked illegally....
State police withdraw stay-at-home violations against 2 in Westmoreland
Citations have been withdrawn against two people who were accused of violating Gov. Tom Wolf’s stay-at-home order last month. The citations against Kara Lee Lawson, 27, of Bell, and Scott James Renwick, 28, of Loyalhanna, were withdrawn May 1, according to online court records. It was unclear why the citations...
Norvelt firefighters giving back with donation-only fish fry
Norvelt firefighters are giving back to those who have supported them during Lent by frying up fish Saturday for a cash donation-only drive-thru takeout. The fire department and its ladies auxiliary had to unexpectedly cancel their fish fry this year because of state-mandated social distancing restrictions related to the coronavirus...
Poll: Majority of Americans disapprove of coronavirus protests
A majority of Americans disapprove of protests against restrictions aimed at preventing the spread the coronavirus, according to a new poll that also finds the still-expansive support for such limits — including restaurant closures and stay-at-home orders — has dipped in recent weeks. The new survey from the University of...
Faces of courage: Ambulance personnel on coronavirus front lines
The call comes over their radio — the patient is having trouble breathing, they need an ambulance. Then, “call the center for special patient information,” says a Westmoreland 911 dispatcher. The paramedics know it’s likely they’re heading toward the invisible threat that everyone else is trying to stay away from...
Former Duquesne and WPIAL Olympic hopeful now a front-line nurse battling covid-19
Softball and baseball aren’t on the list of athletic accomplishments for former Duquesne and WPIAL athlete Anna Simone. Track is. After a stellar stint with the Dukes track team, Simone made a push for the 2016 Olympics. She also played soccer and basketball at Mt. Lebanon. But in trying to...
Stuck on cruise ships during pandemic, crews beg to go home
MIAMI — Carolina Vásquez lost track of days and nights, unable to see the sunlight while stuck for two weeks in a windowless cruise ship cabin as a fever took hold of her body. On the worst night of her encounter with covid-19, the Chilean woman, a line cook on...
Trib Total Media partners with Pittsburgh police, Global Links to distribute free masks
Trib Total Media has partnered with Pittsburgh police and local nonprofit Global Links to offer free, cloth masks across the city. More than 10,000 free masks are available to the public at Pittsburgh police stations through the “Need a Mask, Take a Mask” initiative. The masks are located in newspaper...
U.S. coronavirus patients and businesses sue China over outbreak
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Before the coronavirus outbreak, Saundra Andringa-Meuer was a healthy 61-year-old mother of six who never smoked or drank alcohol. Then she became seriously ill with the disease after traveling from her Wisconsin home to help her son move from college in Connecticut. She was hospitalized in...
Vice President Mike Pence self-isolating after aide tests positive for coronavirusVideo
WASHINGTON — Vice President Mike Pence is self-isolating away from the White House following his press secretary’s diagnosis of covid-19 on Friday, said three people familiar with the situation. The vice president didn’t attend a meeting on Saturday with President Donald Trump and top military officials. Pence tested negative for...
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem tells tribes to open roads, calls Smithfield workers
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem told tribes to take down road checkpoints they had set up to keep out unnecessary visitors because of concerns over the coronavirus. The Republican governor said Friday she would take legal action if the tribes didn’t remove the checkpoints in 48...
Sen. Chuck Schumer calls on VA to explain use of unproven drug on vets
WASHINGTON — The Senate’s top Democrat on Sunday called on the Department of Veterans Affairs to explain why it allowed the use of an unproven drug on veterans for the coronavirus, saying patients may have been put at unnecessary risk. Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York said the VA needs...
N.Y. to require virus testing for nursing home staffersVideo
ALBANY, N.Y. — New York nursing homes must start twice-weekly coronavirus testing for all staffers and will no longer be sent covid-19 patients leaving hospitals, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Sunday after facing criticism over the handling of nursing facility outbreaks. New York City is responding to complaints about racial disparities...
U.K. easing some coronavirus lockdown restrictionsVideo
LONDON — U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a modest easing of the country’s coronavirus lockdown Sunday and outlined his government’s roadmap for further lifting restrictions in the coming months. In a televised address, Johnson said people in Britain who can’t work from home, such as those in construction or...
