Coronavirus category, Page 244
Gov. Wolf closes Pa. schools and businesses indefinitely, extends stay-at-home order
Gov. Tom Wolf extended school and business closures indefinitely and also extended the stay-at-home order in place for some Pennsylvania counties until at least April 30. “Until now, I’ve been saying ‘another two weeks, another two weeks,’ ” Wolf said during a virtual news conference Monday. “Now I’m going to...
Coronavirus is mutating and now has 8 strains, doctors say
The novel coronavirus is mutating, as viruses do, and eight strains are now making the rounds globally, medical experts say. The good news is that the mutations are not more lethal, said Trevor Bedford, whose website, NextStrain.org, is tracking the virus’s genome from samples provided to him from throughout the...
Pittsburgh pothole patching on hold during coronavirus pandemic
Pittsburgh’s usual spring pothole patching blitz is on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a city official. The Department of Public Works is operating with skeleton crews, but will respond to emergencies and fix large damage-causing potholes when notified, according to Tim McNulty, spokesman for Mayor Bill Peduto....
8 new coronavirus cases in Westmoreland County, state total tops 4,000
Westmoreland County reported eight new coronavirus cases between Sunday and Monday, according to state health officials. The total number of cases rose to 55, up from from 47. The state recorded 693 new cases of covid-19 and now has 4,087. Eleven more people have died from the virus, bringing that...
North Huntingdon closes park playgrounds
North Huntingdon has closed playgrounds in township parks because of the concern over the spread of the coronavirus that causes covid-19, officials announced Monday. Parks will remain open for non-organized recreation. Dan Miller, director of the township’s parks and recreation department, could not be reached for comment. The township has...
Pa. state prisons under quarantine following inmate covid-19 diagnosis
Inmates in Pennsylvania’s 25 state prisons were quarantined to their cells following the first diagnosis of covid-19 in an inmate at State Correctional Institution at Phoenix, located near Philadelphia. Department of Corrections Secretary John Wetzel announced the quarantine at 10 p.m. Sunday. It is the latest move to contain and...
Billie Eilish, Mariah Carey, more sing from home to raise funds for virusVideo
Billie Eilish, Mariah Carey, Alicia Keys and Dave Grohl opened their doors — literally — as the musicians performed from their homes for an hour-long benefit concert to raise money for those affected by the coronavirus crisis. Keys kicked off the Sunday event — which also honored health professionals and...
Pa. sees 10 more deaths, 693 new coronavirus cases as total tops 4,000
Ten more people have died from the coronavirus in Pennsylvania, and the state added nearly 700 new cases of the virus between Sunday and Monday, state health officials said. Deaths in the state now total 48, and 693 new cases bring the statewide total to 4,087. It’s the largest one-day...
Pittsburgh closing basketball courts, city overlooks
Pittsburgh is closing outdoor basketball courts in parks and city overlooks and suspending its street sweeping program to further guard against the spread of covid-19. The city on Monday reported that groups of people failed to follow social distancing guidelines to remain at least six feet apart while enjoying warm...
Covid-19 spreads to Penn Hills, Monroeville, other Allegheny suburbs
As covid-19 spreads to Allegheny County’s suburbs, officials in those areas are encouraging residents to adhere to the governor’s stay-at-home order and practice social distancing. A map that displays where the virus has spread shows cases now have touched Penn Hills, Monroeville, Plum, Oakmont, Churchill and Wilkinsburg, among others. Of...
Allegheny County adds 25 coronavirus cases, total reaches 290
Allegheny County reported 25 new cases of the coronavirus Monday, bringing the countywide total to 290. That total does not include two Allegheny County residents who have died from complications from covid-19. More than 37,000 people across Pennsylvania have been tested for covid-19, according to figures released by the state...
Mac Regan: Will covid-19 unite or divide us?
Will covid-19 unite or divide our society? America’s social capital, that is, how individuals and groups work together (or don’t) to create (or inhibit) cooperation, will have much to say about how we survive today and build a better tomorrow. How will we live together, seek truth and sort through...
Grandma separation: Coronavirus keeps kids from older family
SALT LAKE CITY — A few weeks ago, Debbie Cameron saw her grandsons most days, playing the piano, making after-school snacks or singing nursery rhymes with the baby in her Chandler, Arizona, home. Then the cornavirus crisis hit and the boys were suddenly gone. Cameron is 68 and has asthma,...
Medical fetish company donates entire stock of scrubs to U.K. hospitalVideo
The shortage of medical equipment in this time of the coronavirus pandemic has made hospitals desperate for help — no matter the source. In the United Kingdom, a hospital in the National Health Service even sought out help in procuring scrubs from a medical fetish company, Newsweek reports. Luckily for...
Ohio prison worker tests positive; inmate sues for releaseVideo
COLUMBUS, Ohio — An Ohio prison employee tested positive for the coronavirus, the state reported Sunday night, marking the first such occurrence in Ohio at a time of growing national fears about the impact of the virus in crowded jails and prisons. The employee at Marion Correctional Institution in north-central...
How would overwhelmed hospitals decide who to treat first?Video
NEW YORK — A nurse with asthma, a grandfather with cancer and a homeless man with no known family are wracked with coronavirus-induced fevers. They are struggling to breathe, and a ventilator could save their lives. But who gets one when there aren’t enough to go around? Health care workers...
Sesame Workshop enlists Elmo, Cookie Monster on hand washingVideo
Elmo, Rooster and Cookie Monster are doing their part to help keep kids safe as the coronavirus pandemic grinds on. The beloved Sesame Street Muppets are featured in some of four new animated public service spots reminding young fans to take care while doing such things as washing hands and...
Navy hospital ship set to arrive in New York City harborVideo
NEW YORK — A Navy hospital ship with 1,000 beds is scheduled to arrive Monday morning in New York Harbor to help relieve the coronavirus crisis gripping the city’s hospitals. The USNS Comfort, which was sent to New York City after 9/11, will be used to treat non-coronavirus patients while...
Prisoners riot in Iran; Netanyahu goes into self-quarantineVideo
TEHRAN, Iran — Prisoners in southern Iran broke cameras and caused other damage during a riot, state media reported Monday, the latest in a series of violent prison disturbances in the country, which is battling the most severe coronavirus outbreak in the Middle East. Israel meanwhile announced that Prime Minister...
Wolf administration lays off about 2,500 state employees amid coronavirus outbreakVideo
HARRISBURG — The Wolf administration has laid off about 2,500 part-time and seasonal employees and interns as the financial fallout from the coronavirus deepens, straining Pennsylvania’s cash flow, Spotlight PA has learned. The affected workers, which include temporary clerical staff and employees who help out in departments across state government...
World coronavirus roundup: Airline crews to work hospitals, Spain tops China in infectionsVideo
Here’s the latest news from around the world on the coronavirus pandemic. In England Britain’s health service is asking airline cabin crew who have been laid off during the coronavirus pandemic to go to work in temporary new hospitals being built to treat covid-19 patients. The National Health Service says...
With an eye on ICU beds, Pa. hospitals prep for surge in coronavirus patients
As coronavirus cases continue to grow, hospitals across the state are doing what they can to prepare for a surge of critical patients that officials fear could overwhelm the health care system. More than half of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties, however, have fewer than 20 intensive care beds, according to data...
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards: Stay-home order ‘may well’ be extendedVideo
NEW ORLEANS — Orders closing many Louisiana businesses and keeping people home to slow the spread of covid-19 ‘may well’ have to be extended past April 13, Gov. John Bel Edwards said Sunday. He spoke as the numbers of Louisiana residents falling ill and dying from the new coronavirus continued...
West Virginia reports first coronavirus deathVideo
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia reported the state’s first death linked to the new coronavirus pandemic on Sunday. The fatality involved an 88-year-old woman from Marion County, the Department of Health and Human Resources said in a news release. The statement said the death was confirmed through the Marion County...
Inmate at state prison in Montgomery County diagnosed with covid-19
An inmate in the state prison system tested positive for covid-19, according to Pennsylvania Department of Corrections Sec. John Wetzel. “An inmate at SCI Phoenix (Montgomery County) with underlying health conditions has tested positive for COVID-19,” Wetzel said in a statement. “The inmate is in the prison’s infirmary and is...
