Coronavirus category, Page 204
Tuition freeze, early retirement incentives approved for Pa. state universities
Citing financial challenges families are facing in the coronavirus pandemic, officials with the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education froze tuition for the second consecutive year. The move is the first time in the state system’s 38-year history that it has frozen tuition two years in a row. Base tuition...
Allegheny County reports 8 more coronavirus deaths, 16 new cases
The Allegheny County Health Department reported eight more deaths and 16 additional cases of the coronavirus Thursday, bringing the countywide case count to 1,289. There have been 94 deaths. Of the 94 reported deaths, 84 are listed as confirmed cases of covid-19, while 10 are considered probable. The youngest person...
Pittsburgh YMCA’s weekly virtual dance parties to continue
Show off your dance moves. During the state’s stay-at-home order, organizations have had to come up with innovative ways to engage people, especially kids. The YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh introduced virtual dance parties from 7 to 8 p.m. on Friday nights in April. The parties will continue through May. The...
Voice analysis research in Pittsburgh could help doctors screen for coronavirus symptoms
You know it when you hear it: a friend’s voice sounds scratchy, a parent struggles to finish a sentence without pausing to take a few breaths. Something doesn’t sound right, and maybe it’s time to see a doctor. Doctors at Allegheny Health Network and researchers with the technology startup Telling.ai...
Western Pa. high school students struggle to make college plans during pandemic
Lydia Musser had her heart set on attending college outside of Pennsylvania. The Kiski Area senior, 18, had campus visits scheduled throughout March at East Carolina University, the University of Tampa and West Virginia University. Then, all of her visits were canceled. She’s now planning to attend Duquesne University instead,...
Greensburg church partners with Meals on Wheels to deliver ‘Carload of Cookies’
First Christian Church of Greensburg has delivered sweet treats to people in need for decades, but members have had to change up their tradition because of the coronavirus pandemic. “We didn’t skip a beat, honestly,” said the Rev. John Owen, church pastor. For more than 20 years, church members baked...
Jewish Federation to lead national cybersecurity webinar
As millions work from home during the covid-19 crisis, officials say cybercrimes are on the rise. “Zoom bombing,” in which unauthorized intruders attack private Zoom calls, have been increasing. Jewish communities, schools and online events have been particularly hard-hit by hate groups, who are targeting them with anti-Semitic propaganda. On...
Police called when Brooklyn funeral home puts bodies in trucksVideo
NEW YORK — Police were called to a Brooklyn neighborhood Wednesday when a funeral home overwhelmed by the coronavirus resorted to storing dozens of bodies on ice in rented trucks, and a passerby complained about the smell, officials said. Investigators who responded to a 911 call found that the home...
Bill to release covid-19 addresses to first responders passes state Senate
A bill requiring the state to release home addresses of people diagnosed with covid-19 to Pennsylvania 911 centers is to be considered by House members in Harrisburg. The state Senate overwhelmingly passed the measure with a 47-3 bipartisan vote on Wednesday. Emergency management officials have said flagging such addresses in...
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis takes first ‘baby step’ to reopening stateVideo
TALLAHASSEE — Florida’s restaurants and retail stores will be allowed to reopen Monday at 25% capacity, if the local government allows it, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Wednesday, as the state begins the slow climb from the economic abyss caused by the coronavirus. The governor specifically excluded hard-hit, heavily populated Miami-Dade,...
VA defends use of unproven drug on veterans for coronavirus
WASHINGTON — Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie on Wednesday defended the use of an unproven drug on veterans for the coronavirus, insisting they were never used as “test subjects” but given the treatment only when medically appropriate. In a letter and call with major veterans organizations, Wilkie said the malaria...
Editorial: Port Authority needs to find answer
If you get a flat tire, you can put on the emergency doughnut to get to the garage for a real repair. You can’t just accept that the little round rim of rubber is going to do the job of a full-fledged tire. A half-solution can end up being no...
County officials say Allegheny County on track for reopening
Allegheny County data on cases of the coronavirus show that the county is on track to start reopening, but decisions about that timeline will be made at the state level, county officials said during a press briefing Wednesday. “Our numbers are encouraging and look to be in line with what...
Pittsburgh doctors say coronavirus patients having strokes, blood clots
When Allegheny Health Network doctors studied images of Mark Romutis’ brain, they made an unusual but significant discovery. The covid-19 disease afflicting Romutis, the interim police chief of Ambridge, had somehow triggered blood clots. The doctors likened them to a traffic jam in the bloodstream. “It’s as if the Fort...
Smallest businesses get a few hours at head of relief loan line
NEW YORK — The smallest companies seeking coronavirus relief loans were moving to the head of the line Wednesday after the Small Business Administration said that for eight hours ending at midnight Eastern time it would accept loans only from small lenders. The step was being taken to ensure that...
Many field hospitals went largely unused, will be shut down
NEW YORK — Gleaming new tent hospitals sit empty on two suburban New York college campuses, never having treated a single coronavirus patient. Convention centers that were turned into temporary hospitals in other cities went mostly unused. And a Navy hospital ship that offered help in Manhattan is soon to...
Pittsburgh Public School Board leaves grading guidelines up to the superintendent
The Pittsburgh Public Schools Board refrained from establishing new grading guidelines for the district Wednesday afternoon, leaving the decision up to Superintendent Anthony Hamlet. In a legislative session Wednesday that was livestreamed, board member Cynthia Falls, of District 7, moved to uphold a long-standing policy that leaves all grading guidelines...
Restaurants become pop-up grocers as FDA restrictions loosen during pandemic
The Carlton restaurant, a mainstay of Downtown Pittsburgh, has found a creative way to generate much-needed revenue since the coronavirus pandemic forced its closure. Early this month, the upscale eatery in the BNY Mellon Center began curbside sales of wine from its extensive cellar. It’s now offering packaged steaks, chicken...
Westmoreland adds just 3 new coronavirus cases
Westmoreland County added just three more coronavirus cases on Wednesday as an update in the state’s death numbers brought their total more in line with the county coroner’s number. The county now has 386 covid-19 cases with 30 deaths. The state as a whole added 479 covid-19 deaths, though Secretary...
Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner touts administration’s response against the covid-19 pandemic ‘a great success story’Video
On a day when the nation’s death toll of covid-19 neared 60,000 and 26.5 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits, President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner called the administration’s response a “great success story.” “The government, federal government rose to the challenge, and this is a great success story, and I...
Westmoreland officials planning for when state eases restrictions
Westmoreland County officials said they don’t know when Gov. Tom Wolf will lift the state’s stay-at-home order for the county but planning is under way for what the anticipated reopening will look like. “We’ve been told by the governor’s office that Westmoreland County (government) can reopen anytime,” Commissioner Chairman Sean...
Bon Appétit variety show to raise funds for coronavirus reliefVideo
Members of the Bon Appétit Test Kitchen will participate in a variety show that will raise funds for coronavirus relief efforts. The publication’s first live show is set for 7 p.m. Friday via YouTube and will feature cooking challenges, cute pets and more. The event will raise money to support...
Trump’s ‘Operation Warp Speed’ aims to rush coronavirus vaccineVideo
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is quietly organizing a Manhattan Project-style effort to drastically cut the time needed to develop a coronavirus vaccine, with a goal to have 100 million doses ready by year’s end, according to two people familiar with the matter. Called “Operation Warp Speed,” the program will...
Nursing homes plagued by shortages of masks, gowns and testing
Shortages of masks and gowns, as well as a lack of tests, contributed to the coronavirus outbreaks that claimed 1,428 lives in Pennsylvania nursing homes and personal care facilities so far, an industry leader said Wednesday. Nursing homes and personal care facilities across Pennsylvania have been hot spots for infection,...
Pennsylvania’s ‘yellow’ phase doesn’t mean a return to ‘normal,’ official warns
As the first Pennsylvania regions inch toward a May 8 lift of restrictions, the state’s coronavirus death toll pushed past 2,000 on Wednesday and officials warned that moving to the “yellow phase” will not mean a return to normal. The 479 new deaths reported come from the Department of Health’s...
