Coronavirus category, Page 243
Social distancing may have helped California slow the virus and avoid New York’s fateVideo
MILLBRAE, Calif. — For California and Washington, the coronavirus triggers came early. They pushed the two Western states to social distancing measures earlier than the rest of the country. In the San Francisco Bay Area, the warning came while the Grand Princess cruise ship, carrying infected crew and passengers, lurked...
Pittsburgh couple’s virus song goes viral on YouTubeVideo
A Pittsburgh couple used their housebound time to fight back at coronavirus with a parody song. Claire and Mel Vatz based their “We’re All Home Bound” on the Simon & Garfunkel classic “Homeward Bound.” The couple sent the video to about 35 friends and family Sunday night. The YouTube video...
World coronavirus roundup: Spain records its highest number of new deathsVideo
Here’s the latest on the coronavirus pandemic from around the world. From Spain Spain recorded on Tuesday 849 new coronavirus deaths, the highest number since the pandemic hit the southern European country, according to the country’s health ministry. With both new infections and deaths up around 11% each, to a...
Trump declares federal disaster in Pennsylvania over coronavirusVideo
HARRISBURG — President Donald Trump declared a major disaster in Pennsylvania late Monday night. Trump’s order allows for federal assistance to supplement state, tribal and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by the coronavirus pandemic. “The President’s action makes Federal funding available to Commonwealth and eligible local governments and...
How dire projections, grim images dashed Trump’s Easter planVideo
WASHINGTON — The two doctors spread out their charts on the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office. The projections were grim: Even if the U.S. were to continue to do what it was doing, keeping the economy closed and most Americans in their homes, the coronavirus could leave 100,000 to...
Pittsburgh Public Schools announce updated plan for online instruction
Pittsburgh Public Schools will begin district-wide online instruction on April 16, according to a letter sent to families Monday. Per the district’s updated plan, this week will be dedicated to teachers and instructional staff learning to teach remotely. Technology will be distributed to identified students on Thursday, April 9. The...
Gov. Ron DeSantis opposes letting ship with 189 sick people dock in South FloridaVideo
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A Holland America cruise ship carrying nearly 200 sick people is on steady pace toward South Florida, traveling past the Panama Canal faster than expected. Passengers are anxious to finish their voyage, which has turned into a nightmare with the deaths of four people. But the...
Editorial: 30 more days of pandemic distance
Another 30 days. As we sit in our homes or in our eerily empty offices or in stores that are long on lines and short on basics, it might be hard to imagine. As we deal with kids doing classwork via conference calls or visit our doctors on video chats,...
Former WYEP ‘Soul Show’ host Stephen Chatman dies of covid-19
Stephen Chatman was a different kind of radio host. His former colleagues at WYEP remember him as easygoing at the microphone — never formal. He spoke to listeners like he was talking with friends, casually and unhurried. “It was that really personal aspect that he brought,” said Michael Canton, WYEP’s...
Charley Family Shop’n Save stores extend senior hours, add protective barriersVideo
Charley Family Shop’n Save stores in Greensburg and Murrysville expanded their senior shopping hours and took additional measures to put shoppers’ minds at ease amid the coronavirus pandemic. “We expanded senior hours on Monday from 6 to 9 a.m., and on Tuesday and Wednesday from 6 to 7 a.m.,” said...
Tom Purcell: Pandemic threatens John Prine when needed most
When I was a junior at Penn State, I had a front-row seat when legendary singer-songwriter John Prine performed on campus. If you aren’t familiar with Prine’s work, you aren’t alone. He’s often called the greatest singer and songwriter you’ve never heard of. New York Times columnist Dan Barry explains...
Jonah Goldberg: Coronavirus crisis sure to spawn new political realities
The social and political response to major catastrophes often proceeds in stages. Stage 1 is denial. Thankfully, this stage is largely over for the coronavirus crisis. Not counting a few poltroons and conspiracy theorists, nobody is saying it’s all hype or no big deal. Now we’re transitioning, in fits and...
Virus cases, deaths continue upward creep in GeorgiaVideo
ATLANTA — Confirmed infections and deaths from the coronavirus in Georgia continued to increase Monday as traveling to Savannah on the coast and into neighboring Florida became more cumbersome and one expert predicted Georgia’s daily toll will keep escalating until late April. The Georgia Department of Public reported Monday that...
Westmoreland jail population declines; Allegheny jail serves as model during pandemic
The number of adults and juveniles incarcerated in Westmoreland County corrections facilities continued to drop over the past week as the jail and juvenile detention center saw fewer new commitments while the public deals with the coronavirus pandemic. The jail had 519 inmates Monday, a decrease of more than 40...
Nail shop owners donate masks to North Huntingdon first responders
Two owners of a Monroeville nail salon donated 150 surgical masks last week for use by North Huntingdon’s fire, police and emergency medical services personnel, shop. North Huntingdon residents Thu Tran and her sister, Landai Bui, who own T&T Nails of Broadway Boulevard, Monroeville, made the donation last week, said...
‘Masks for all’ movement grows while medical officials still recommend targeted use
The debate over who should wear a face mask is continuing as some health experts and lawmakers urge the public to wear a mask when they go out to run an errand or visit a communal space. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still recommends that anyone who is...
Schools collaborate to deliver services during shutdown
When fear of the coronavirus separated K-12 students from school buildings, the need to continue teaching brought school officials in Westmoreland County’s far-flung school districts closer than ever. For the last two weeks, every morning at 8 a.m., top administrators from the county’s 17 school districts, three career and technical...
Hundreds of cars line up for help from Pittsburgh food bankVideo
Hundreds of cars lined up Monday waiting to receive boxes of food from the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank amid the covid-19 crisis. Unlike last week, the cars were not lining up to get into the Kennywood parking lot but across the street from the food bank’s headquarters in Duquesne....
2 Beaver County nursing home residents with covid-19 have died, medical director says
Two residents of Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center who tested positive for covid-19 have died, its medical director confirmed Monday. Dr. David Thimons said the two residents had advanced dementia and were in hospice care when they died. They were in a unit that was converted specifically to treat the...
Westmoreland officials say first responders are running out of personal protection equipment
Westmoreland County’s first responders could run out of personal protective equipment by next week, public safety officials said Monday. Public Safety Director Roland Mertz said the county’s stockpile of masks, gloves, medical gowns and other equipment used by first responders is quickly drying up, a situation made worse by the...
Western Pa. clergy send signs of hope to their communitiesVideo
As churches refrain from holding gatherings during this time of coronavirus precautions, we asked clergy for messages they would like to send to their parishioners. Rev. James Arter of First Evangelical Lutheran Church in Leechburg, Msgr. Michael Begolly of Mount Saint Peter in New Kensington and Rev. Greg Spencer of...
More than 844,000 unemployment claims filed in Pa. in 2 weeks
Pennsylvania has seen 844,684 new unemployment claims since March 15, state Department of Labor and Industry Secretary Jerry Oleksiak said Monday. “That eclipses anything we’ve experienced for a weekly total, and maybe even a yearly total,” Oleksiak said. That number is up from about 650,000 claims reported Thursday for a...
Florida megachurch pastor arrested for violating rules amid virus outbreak
TAMPA, Fla. — Florida officials have arrested the pastor of a megachurch after detectives say he held two Sunday services with hundreds of people and violated a safer-at-home order in place to limit the spread of the coronavirus. According to jail records, Pastor Rodney Howard-Browne turned himself in to authorities...
Va. governor halts on-campus teaching in move likely aimed at Liberty
RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia’s governor on Monday ordered all higher education institutions to stop any in-person instruction amid the coronavirus pandemic, a move likely directed at Liberty University. The evangelical college in Lynchburg led by President Jerry Falwell Jr. has faced intense criticism over its decision to welcome students back...
UPMC: Employees will be paid at current rate through May 9
UPMC employees will be paid at their current rate for their normally scheduled hours even if they are assigned to a different job during the covid-19 pandemic, officials said Monday. UPMC said it is implementing a staffing and pay protection program so that staff who may be assigned to do...
