Coronavirus category, Page 215
Mt. Pleasant Food Pantry clients line up 1 hour early for distributionVideo
Mt. Pleasant Food Pantry coordinator Marie Ochaba wasn’t sure how clients would react to two major changes in the monthly food distribution program Tuesday. First, the scheduled food giveaway at Mt. Pleasant Church of God was held a week early due to a scheduling conflict. Second, the Westmoreland County Food...
Gov. Wolf: Increase in coronavirus testing needed before large-scale reopening of Pennsylvania
A day after Gov. Tom Wolf laid the groundwork for a gradual reopening of businesses in Pennsylvania, he warned in a call with reporters Tuesday that a much more robust coronavirus testing system will need to be in place for any wide reopening of the state. “We are working with...
U.S. approves 1st home coronavirus test with self-swabVideo
WASHINGTON — U.S. health regulators on Tuesday gave approval the first coronavirus test that allows people to collect their own sample at home, a new approach that could help expand testing options in most states. The test from LabCorp will initially only be available to health care workers and first...
Philadelphia official: ‘Unacceptable’ to transport bodies in pickup truck
PHILADELPHIA — Transporting bodies from a hospital to the medical examiner’s office in Philadelphia in the back of a pickup truck is “unacceptable,” a city Department of Public Health spokesman said after images of a contractor stepping on the bodies while unloading them from the truck bed were captured over...
Coronavirus treatment guidelines reject drug combination backed by TrumpVideo
A panel of medical experts convened by the U.S. National Institutes of Health recommended against the use of a drug combination touted by President Donald Trump for covid-19 patients. The NIH panel — made up of 50 doctors, pharmacy experts and government researchers and officials — specifically recommended against the...
Duquesne Light drops late fees, expands payment assistance
More than 152,000 Duquesne Light customers will receive payment assistance on their electricity bills, the company announced Tuesday. Duquesne Light is extending its discontinuation of shutoffs and is waiving late fees until at least June 1. The company also is expanding eligibility for its Hardship Fund, a payment assistance program,...
Pandemic dealing European tourism ‘staggering’ blow
HALLE, Belgium — The European Union says its vaunted tourist industry is facing “staggering” figures of decline because of the coronavirus crisis, and the bloc’s internal market commissioner wants the sector to be first in line when it comes to recovery funds. Thierry Breton mentioned figures that the tourism economy...
Greensburg-based Feeding the Spirit offers free Saturday meal distribution
For nine years, Feeding the Spirit has offered a free Thursday dinner to those in need at Otterbein United Methodist Church in Greensburg. With the church closed during the coronavirus-related shutdown, the organization needed to come up with a “Plan B,” said Deborah Thackrah, founder of the local nonprofit that...
Pennsylvania refines coronavirus reporting, adding 360 deaths as total tops 1,500
Pennsylvania’s coronavirus death toll pushed past 1,500 on Tuesday as state health officials continue to refine how they are reporting cases and deaths. The Pennsylvania Department of Health said 360 new deaths related to covid-19 were reported throughout the day Monday. The number of deaths statewide now stands at 1,564....
Allegheny County reports 12 more coronavirus deaths, including 42-year-old
Allegheny County reported 12 new deaths from the coronavirus Tuesday, including one person who was 42 years old, the youngest person to have died from the virus in the county so far. This brings the countywide total to 67 deaths. Of that total, 55 people were confirmed to have covid-19...
Federal officials now requiring nursing homes to report all coronavirus cases
Federal officials have ordered nursing homes to report all coronavirus cases to residents, their families and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The new regulation was announced Sunday by President Donald Trump and Seema Verma, administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The move comes amid growing...
First Pittsburgh patients treated with plasma from coronavirus survivors at UPMC
UPMC doctors have started treating covid-19 patients with blood plasma from survivors — a technique not proven for coronavirus but successfully used to fight off outbreaks of measles and influenza. “The patients and the families of infected individuals who are in ICUs are really desperate for a therapy, and that’s...
More than $7,000 worth of personal protective equipment donated in West Mifflin
When West Mifflin #3 Fire Chief Joe Hlasnick received a donation of more than $7,000 worth of personal protective equipment, he knew the community was behind first responders. “It opened my eyes to a lot of things,” he said. “The idea this is a severe situation and the fact there...
1 more coronavirus death reported in Westmoreland
Officials said late Monday that a woman died from the coronavirus in Westmoreland County, bringing the death total to 25. The death was reported to the coroner’s office and added to the total Coroner Ken Bacha is providing on his department’s website. He is being notified of virus-related deaths sooner...
Trump criticism aside, governors call for more federal help
WASHINGTON — A chorus of governors from both parties pushed back hard after President Donald Trump accused Democrats of playing “a very dangerous political game” by insisting there is a shortage of tests for the coronavirus. The governors countered that the White House must do more to help states do...
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice to ease virus rules on hospitals
CHARLESTON — West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice pushed to ease coronavirus restrictions on hospitals even as confusion over the state’s testing capacity continued Monday. The Republican governor said he will allow hospitals to begin performing elective procedures if the facilities meet an unspecified set of criteria, saying it would be...
‘It’s going to backfire’: Fauci warns against reopening too quickly
As the rate of new infections and deaths from the coronavirus slowed in parts of the country Monday, some local governments began to ease stay-at-home restrictions, while others pleaded with residents to stay put amid scattered protests in support of reopenings. In Georgia, Gov. Brian Kemp outlined an aggressive reopening...
Massachusetts becomes coronavirus hot spot as cases surge
Massachusetts has become a hot spot of coronavirus infections, drawing the concern of federal officials and promises of aid from hard-hit New York as the state’s death toll prepares to double in less than a week. Deaths from covid-19 are expected to surpass 2,000 this week in Massachusetts, where officials...
Covid-19 kills 5-year-old child of Detroit firefighter, officerVideo
DETROIT — A husband and wife who have jointly devoted decades to fighting crime and saving lives in Detroit lost their 5-year-old daughter to covid-19 — Michigan’s youngest victim in the coronavirus pandemic. Skylar Herbert died Sunday from complications because of the virus. Even in Detroit, where more than 600...
South Korean shipment to up Maryland coronavirus tests by 500KVideo
ANNAPOLIS — Maryland has dramatically boosted its testing capacity for the new coronavirus with a shipment of 500,000 tests from a South Korean company, the state’s governor announced Monday, noting his Korean-born wife played a major role in championing the $9 million purchase. As states have scoured the world for...
CMU to launch website tracking covid-19 activity based on Google, Facebook surveys
Carnegie Mellon University is launching a website this week that uses data from Facebook and Google surveys to try to pinpoint covid-19 activity nationwide. Data from the Facebook surveys alone, broken down to a county level, show that Beaver County has the highest percentage of residents with covid-19 symptoms, compared...
Steelers great Troy Polamalu donates gift cards to furloughed Westmoreland workers
More than 400 furloughed Westmoreland County government workers will have a meal courtesy of Steelers’ Hall of Famer Troy Polamalu and his wife. County officials said Monday the former Steelers great donated gift cards to local restaurants to help employees who were temporarily removed from the payroll as government services...
Gov. Brian Kemp: Some shuttered Georgia businesses can reopen FridayVideo
ATLANTA — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Monday rolled out aggressive plans to reopen the state’s economy, saying many businesses shuttered to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus may reopen their doors as early as Friday. Kemp announced that gyms, hair salons, bowling alleys and tattoo parlors are among businesses...
Westmoreland County Blind Association making thousands of masks, selling for $3 each
When the Westmoreland County Blind Association announced it had masks for sale for $3 apiece, the response was predictable but still overwhelming, said Executive Director Tim Miller. “When I got in, the phones were ringing nonstop, and they really haven’t stopped since,” he said. As of Monday afternoon, the association...
Pittsburgh-area restaurants sue Erie Insurance over coronavirus losses
Two local restaurant owners are suing their insurance provider, claiming the company has refused to honor claims for damages to their businesses caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Joseph Tambellini and HTR Restaurants Inc. filed separate lawsuits Friday in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas against Erie Insurance Exchange. Both...
