Coronavirus category, Page 219
Lou Weiss: In memory of ‘Freddie’ the garbage collector, the first city worker taken by covid-19
I lost my garbageman this past Wednesday. While his name hasn’t been officially released from the Pittsburgh Department of Environmental Services, word is that he was the first covid-19 related fatality of a public employee in the city. I’ll call him “Freddie” for now. Not knowing his last name, I...
Ex-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen to serve out prison sentence at home
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s former lawyer and longtime fixer Michael Cohen will be released from federal prison to serve the remainder of his sentence in home confinement because of the coronavirus pandemic. Cohen is currently locked up at FCI Otisville in New York after pleading guilty to numerous charges,...
5th Port Authority employee tests positive for coronavirus
A fifth Port Authority employee has tested positive for covid-19, officials said Friday. The employee works in maintenance at the authority’s garage in West Mifflin. The person, who was not identified, last worked on April 10 and has been in self-quarantine on paid leave since then. The Port Authority said...
Lockdown weighs heavily on Orthodox Christians during Easter
ATHENS, Greece — For Orthodox Christians, this is normally a time of reflection and mourning followed by joyful release, of centuries-old ceremonies steeped in symbolism and tradition. But this year, Easter — by far the most significant religious holiday for the world’s roughly 300 million Orthodox — has essentially been...
France finds more than 1,000 coronavirus cases on aircraft carrier
PARIS — The French navy is investigating how the coronavirus infected more than 1,000 sailors aboard the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, amid growing pressure on government leaders to explain how it could have happened. The ship, France’s biggest carrier and the flagship of its navy, is undergoing a lengthy...
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice orders virus testing in nursing homes across state
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice on Friday ordered that residents and staffers of all nursing homes in the state immediately be tested for the coronavirus. The Republican governor said his executive order comes after some testing discrepancies when outbreaks have cropped up in nursing homes. The state...
Fort Bragg soldiers make masks to fight coronavirus pandemic
FORT BRAGG, N.C. — It’s become a competition for the soldiers of 647th Quartermaster Company to see who can crank out the most face masks during a shift to protect against the coronavirus. The parachute rigging unit is essential to Airborne operations at Fort Bragg. On any given day, their...
Florida man encases self in concrete at governor’s mansion
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A Florida man encased himself in concrete Friday outside the Governor’s Mansion in the state capital apparently to protest prison conditions related to the coronavirus. Tallahassee police spokesman Kevin Bradshaw said the man, identified as 28-year-old Jordan Mazurek, put PVC pipes horizontally into two 55-gallon plastic drums...
Pittsburgh firefighter recovers from coronavirus, returns to work
The Pittsburgh firefighter who tested positive for covid-19 two weeks ago has recovered and returned to work, the city’s Public Safety department said Friday. The firefighter started having symptoms of the coronavirus on March 27 and immediately went into self-isolation. He tested positive April 1, but never required hospitalization, officials...
Gov. Tom Wolf lays out plan for reopening Pennsylvania’s economy
The plan to reopen Pennsylvania’s economy will be slow and gradual, hinging on a “regional, sector-based approach,” Gov. Tom Wolf said Friday, though he offered no timetable on when the plan would be enacted. The plan, available on the governor’s website, comes in three phases — relief, reopening and recovery...
Dr. Joseph Answine: Nurse anesthetists’ role
We can agree that all medical personnel should be utilized to fight the covid-19 pandemic. However, this is not the time for nurse anesthetists to push a long-fought personal agenda, which is independent practice separating the physician from the patient during the highly complicated and risky period while under anesthesia...
Comic-Con canceled over coronavirus, plans 2021 return
LOS ANGELES — This year’s San Diego Comic-Con has been canceled due to coronavirus-related restrictions around large gatherings. Organizers say they are planning for the festival to return in July 2021. The annual confab was scheduled to take place July 23-26 in and around the San Diego Convention Center. California...
Taylor Swift cancels shows, won’t play again in 2020
Taylor Swift won’t be taking the stage for the rest of the year. The pop star announced Friday afternoon that she would be canceling her shows for the rest of 2020 because of the coronavirus. “Fighting COVID-19 is an unprecedented challenge for our global community and the safety and wellbeing...
‘Heartbreaking’ report shows virus ravaging N.Y. nursing homes
ALBANY, N.Y. — The despair wrought on nursing homes by the coronavirus was laid bare Friday in a state survey identifying numerous New York facilities where multiple patients died over the past few weeks. Nineteen of the state’s nursing homes reported 20 or more deaths linked to the pandemic, the...
Westmoreland reports no new coronavirus deaths; total cases up to 249
Westmoreland County officials continued to report 19 coronavirus deaths on Friday as state data showed nine new cases across the county. The coroner’s website, last updated Thursday morning, showed 19 cases: 10 men and nine women. The oldest covid-19 victim in the county was 109 years old, and the youngest...
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo slams feds for ‘passing the buck’ on coronavirus
NEW YORK — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo slammed the federal government for “passing the buck” amid the coronavirus crisis — and President Donald Trump wasted no time in hitting him back for “complaining.” Cuomo accused Congress and President Donald Trump of ignoring the financial needs of hard-hit state governments...
Grassroots efforts connect PPE donors to small health care providers during coronavirus pandemicVideo
Volunteer emergency and ambulance services and small health care facilities in Western Pennsylvania are turning to grassroots efforts to locate personal protective equipment. In the coronavirus pandemic, they find themselves in competition with large hospitals and health systems across the country for resources. At The Children’s Home of Pittsburgh, “we...
IUP partners with Indiana hospital to provide same-day testing for covid-19
Indiana University of Pennsylvania is joining Indiana Regional Medical Center to bring same-day testing for covid-19 to the rural hospital. University officials said Dr. Narayanaswamy Bharathan, chairman of the biology department at IUP, will be working at the hospital to conduct covid-19 tests. Using equipment from his IUP laboratory, Bharathan...
New Pennsylvania coronavirus cases increase sharply; 49 more deaths reported
New coronavirus cases in Pennsylvania jumped by more than 1,700, a marked increase in new daily cases compared to the past week, the Pennsylvania Department of Health reported Friday. State health officials also reported 49 more deaths, bringing the statewide death toll of 756. The Department of Health recorded 1,706...
5 more coronavirus deaths reported in Allegheny County
Allegheny County reported 5 more deaths from the coronavirus Friday, bringing the countywide total to 43 deaths. The 43 people who have died ranged in age from 56 to 103 years, with the most deaths occurring in people over 70, county data show. The county also added 22 new cases...
How Pennsylvania residents continue to run for border to bootleg liquor
You’ve got a friend in Pennsylvania, as the old tourism slogan goes. Friendsville Discount Liquors didn’t know just how many until the past month. “I’m getting bombarded by people in PA. We’re the first liquor store from the border,” said Kim Spear, manager of the small beverage shop in the...
Kane Regional’s Glen Hazel nursing home sees spike in coronavirus cases
At least 50 residents and 23 employees at one Allegheny County-owned nursing home have coronavirus, and employees at other county nursing homes have also tested positive. Four residents at Kane Community Living Center’s Glen Hazel location have died from the virus, which first appeared in the facility in late March...
Charles Mitchell: Lawmakers offer way out of coronavirus chaos
Since the beginning of the covid-19 outbreak, I have been rooting for our governor, Tom Wolf. We all need him to be successful in protecting our neighbors from this disease, and initially his response was consistent and transparent. But now, his secretive approach is harming his multi-state effort to reopen...
Lori Falce: The politics of ordering groceries
On Wednesday, my groceries were delivered. I had tried to get an Instacart window for more than a week. We didn’t have ham at my house for Easter because the earliest time I could get was Monday. So there I was, Monday morning, trying to focus on reading and research...
Greensburg Community Days canceled due to coronavirus concerns
The upcoming Greensburg Community Days festival has been canceled. Uncertainties surrounding coronavirus-related shutdowns led to the decision, said Trudy Ivory, Greensburg Recreation Department facilities manager. The 26th annual event was scheduled for May 21-23 at Lynch Field. The long-running kickoff to summer features a midway, games for all ages, crafts...
