Coronavirus category, Page 235
NY’s death count nears 4,200, but there’s a glimmer of hope
NEW YORK — A slight dip in new coronavirus deaths in New York over the past 24 hours may be a glimmer of hope the spread is slowing, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Sunday as overall fatalities in the state climbed to nearly 4,200. Cuomo said it was too soon to...
Italy reports lowest daily coronavirus fatalities since March 19
Italy reported the lowest single-day coronavirus deaths in 2 1/2 weeks, even as the northern Lombardy region around Milan announced tougher containment measures. Fatalities fell Sunday to 525, the lowest since March 19, bringing the total in Italy to 15,887. New confirmed cases totaled 4,316, compared with 4,805 the day...
Members of the 911th Airlift Wing headed to New York City to assist in covid-19 response
About 10 members of the 911th Airlift Wing with medical experience were mobilized Sunday from the U.S. Air Force Reserve Unit adjacent to Pittsburgh International Airport to support covid-19 efforts in New York City, the wing’s commander Col. John F. Robinson said. The airmen left the Moon Township base Sunday...
12 more covid-19 cases reported in Westmoreland County
Twelve more people have tested positive for covid-19 in Westmoreland County, bringing the total to 147, officials announced Sunday. The health department reported 14 more covid-19 deaths in Pennsylvania on Sunday, bringing the statewide death toll to 150. None of those deaths has occurred in Westmoreland County. “The continued rise...
Pittsburgh pulmonologist discusses safety when working with coronavirus patientsVideo
Dr. Jennifer McComb is a pulmonologist who works in the intensive-care unit at UPMC Shadyside hospital, where more and more covid-19 patients are showing up. A pulmonologist is a doctor specializing in treating the respiratory system, the very thing covid-19 attacks. A wife and mother of two children, McComb works...
14 more coronavirus deaths recorded in Pa.; 1,493 new cases logged
Fourteen more people in Pennsylvania died of covid-19 between Saturday and Sunday, bringing the total number of people who have died from the virus in the state to 150. The state reported an additional 1,493 positive cases of covid-19, bringing the statewide total to 11,510. Sixty-five of the state’s 67...
Grocery workers are key during the virus. And they’re afraid.
AUSTIN, Texas — Every day, grocery workers are restocking toilet paper, eggs, produce and canned goods as fast as the items fly off the shelves. They disinfect keypads, freezer handles and checkout counters as hundreds of people weave around them, sometimes standing too close for comfort amid the coronavirus pandemic....
Surgeon general warns U.S. of ‘saddest week’ and ‘9/11 moment’
WASHINGTON — The U.S. surgeon general offered some of the starkest warnings yet Sunday as he braced Americans for the worsening fallout from the new coronavirus, warning “this is going to be the hardest and the saddest week of most Americans’ lives, quite frankly.” The public was advised separately by...
Pennsylvania issues safety guidelines for essential businesses
A safety order that provides life-sustaining businesses with direction on how to properly clean and maintain buildings to help prevent the spread of covid-19 was issued Sunday by state Secretary of Health Rachel Levine. The Building Safety Measures order goes into effect at 12:01 a.m. April 6. It outlines measures...
4th person dies of covid-19 in Allegheny County as total cases climb to 605
Allegheny County Health department officials reported Sunday a fourth person, in his 80s, has died of covid-19. The county also reported that the number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Allegheny County went up by just under 10% between Saturday and Sunday as the countywide total climbed to 605....
U.S. ‘wasted’ months before preparing for virus pandemic
WASHINGTON — After the first alarms sounded in early January that an outbreak of a novel coronavirus in China might ignite a global pandemic, the Trump administration squandered nearly two months that could have been used to bolster the federal stockpile of critically needed medical supplies and equipment. A review...
No covid-19 testing at home yet but quicker options coming
WASHINGTON — Home testing for the new coronavirus may sound like a good idea, but U.S. regulators say it’s still too risky. They’ve stopped companies that quickly launched home-testing kits until they can show their products can accurately detect the virus. For now, the only way Americans can get tested...
Coronavirus pandemic disrupts Appalachian Trail dreams
COSBY, Tenn. — When Alexandra Eagle first mentioned plans to hike the entire Appalachian Trail alongside her new husband, her sister told her they’d either be divorced in five months or married forever. Eagle, 33, and Jonathan Hall, 36, had just moved out of their Brooklyn apartment when they married...
Jews prep for a pandemic Passover: Smaller but no less vital
Passover and its epic story — how the Jewish people escaped to freedom after plagues struck their oppressors — are uniquely resonant this year, as Jews find ways to honor the holiday amid the outbreak of what feels like a real-life plague. The coronavirus has forced Jewish families to limit...
Caregiver at Washington County senior home tests positive for coronavirus
A caregiver at an assisted living center in Washington County has tested positive for covid-19, according to the Presbyterian SeniorCare Network. On Saturday, the facility reported a personal care aide at Southminster Place, the Washington campus of Presbyterian SeniorCare Network, tested positive. “The team member, who has not been at...
Westmoreland County company turns out vital parts for coronavirus test kits
The frontline fighters against the coronavirus in Westmoreland County most certainly include medical professionals, first responders and other health care workers treating patients. But workers at Latrobe-based Carclo Technical Plastics are quietly supporting their efforts through the manufacturing of tiny plastic collection tubes used around the globe in coronavirus testing...
Pa. says food supply safe and sufficient; farmers slammed by coronavirus shutdownsVideo
While the state’s food supply remains safe and secure, the closing of nonessential businesses to prevent the spread of the coronavirus has squeezed farmers. They say they have seen commodity prices drop and their markets close. A growing glut at dairy processing plants has forced some farmers to dump their...
2nd Port Authority bus driver tests positive for coronavirus
A second Port Authority of Allegheny County bus driver has tested positive for coronavirus, officials announced Saturday. The driver, who works out of the West Mifflin garage, has been self-quarantining since April 1, according to spokesman Adam Brandolph. The driver has not worked since March 21. No other information was...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Americans deserve better from our leadership
Talking politics at a time like this is tricky, but politics has made the coronavirus more deadly, and it will take politics to bring us back after the death and destruction passes. Until last week, when Donald Trump had to cave and show that he had been wrong all along...
Paul Bojarski: I miss the alone
While most of the world is struggling with the issues that come from staying home from work — the loneliness, the lack of interaction with co-workers, the quiet — I am struggling with something else: I miss being alone. I miss the alone that comes with working from my home...
Report: Trump believes NFL season should start on time
President Trump thinks the NFL season should start on time in September, according to an ESPN report. The president made the claim on a conference call Saturday with 12 commissioners from pro sports leagues when discussing the potential return of sports amid the coronavirus pandemic. He also said he hopes...
Greensburg diocese announces new coronavirus restrictions, church closures
The Catholic Diocese of Greensburg on Saturday announced church closures and limitations on funerals, weddings, baptism and confession and other restrictions in response to the covid-19 pandemic. “We are entering into a particularly critical moment for our society,” Bishop Edward C. Malesic said in a statement. “Our president and our...
Editorial: Be shocked, but not surprised, by massive unemployment
The numbers are exploding as more people are affected by the coronavirus epidemic. Not just the number of people who are diagnosed with the disease, now topping a million worldwide and 266,000 in the United States. Not just the number of people who have died — some 7,000 nationally and...
Douglas Morris: All American workers deserve military benefits
Right now every American worker is on the front lines of the war against a lethal viral pathogen, especially U.S. nurses, doctors and other medical personnel. So are our retail, food service, delivery and transportation workers, as well as many others who earn a low minimum wage without any benefits....
Westmoreland County reports 25 new coronavirus cases, second largest daily increase
Westmoreland County saw its second biggest single-day increase in coronavirus cases since the pandemic hit the county in mid-March. Twenty-five new cases were reported in the state health department’s update Saturday, bringing Westmoreland’s total to 135. That’s a 23% increase from the previous day. The health department reported 34 more...
