Coronavirus category, Page 247
Handling mail amid coronavirus: Low risk but wash your hands
Kathy Payne has a routine: She wipes down the trays holding the mail she’s about to deliver. She puts on gloves to sort the letters and packages, then a new pair when she climbs into her vehicle. As she fills people’s mailboxes throughout the day, she constantly cleans her steering...
California has surge of virus cases that threatens hospitals
LOS ANGELES — The surge of coronavirus cases in California that health officials have warned was coming has arrived and will worsen, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Friday, while the mayor of Los Angeles warned that by early next week his city could see the kind of crush that has crippled...
For Loyola’s Sister Jean, pandemic is new territoryVideo
CHICAGO — Even to Sister Jean, the lovable nonagenarian nun who became a star during Loyola Chicago’s stunning run to the Final Four two years ago, this is new territory. The coronavirus pandemic has brought big chunks of the world to a near standstill. “This is very different,” said Sister...
Giant Eagle employees in New Kensington, North Huntingdon and Wexford test positive for covid-19
Employees at five Giant Eagle stores have tested positive for coronavirus, including stores in New Kensington, North Huntingdon and Wexford, the company announced Friday. All five of the affected grocery stores have been thoroughly sanitized and are open for business, the company said in a statement. “Like other essential businesses,...
John Stossel: Red tape pandemic
Coronavirus is frightening. I’m working from home, practicing “social distancing.” Experts say it’ll help “flatten the curve” so fewer people will be infected simultaneously. Then hospitals won’t be overwhelmed. But the infection rate grows. Doctors and hospitals may yet be overwhelmed. It didn’t have to get to this point. Coronavirus...
Big Ten extends ban on organized team activitiesVideo
The Big Ten extended the suspension of all organized team activities through May 4. Big Ten officials said this is an additional measure to the previously announced cancellation of all conference and non-league competitions through the end of the 2019-20 academic year, including spring sports that extend beyond the academic...
No games, big losses: Money crisis faces U.S. Olympic sportsVideo
DENVER — The postponement of the Tokyo Games has catapulted the sports organizations that make up the backbone of the U.S. Olympic team into crisis. At least one has already started layoffs, and others are desperate to stay solvent. Some are expecting a major downturn in membership dues, while others...
Seton Hill Child Care: Coronavirus case discovered after closing
A person associated with Seton Hill Child Services Inc.’s Greensburg Center, which has been closed since March 18, tested positive for the coronavirus, a Child Services official said Friday. Seton Hill Child Care representatives were not notified that the person tested positive for the coronavirus until after the center closed...
Butler County added to growing list of areas under Gov. Tom Wolf’s stay-at-home order
Butler County on Friday joined the growing list of Pennsylvania counties under Gov. Tom Wolf’s stay-at-home order. The order was scheduled to take effect at 8 p.m. Friday and continue until April 6. Individuals must stay at home “unless someone’s life depends on your leaving,” according to the order. In...
Congressman Mike Kelly of Butler tests positive for covid-19
U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly said Friday that he has tested positive for covid-19. The Republican from Butler, 71, said his symptoms are not severe and that he will continue to work from home until they subside completely. “My symptoms remain mild, and I will serve the 16th District from home...
Trump seeks to force General Motors to produce ventilators
DETROIT — President Donald Trump issued an order Friday that seeks to force General Motors to produce ventilators for coronavirus patients under the Defense Production Act. Trump said negotiations with General Motors had been productive, “but our fight against the virus is too urgent to allow the give-and-take of the...
Santa Anita ends live racing because of coronavirusVideo
LOS ANGELES — Santa Anita canceled live racing Friday because of the coronavirus pandemic after instructions from the Los Angeles County Health Department. The track in Arcadia, Calif., was preparing to stage eight races when the cancellation was announced about 30 minutes before the first race. It’s not immediately known...
ESPN’s Doris Burke reveals positive coronavirus testVideo
ESPN NBA broadcaster Doris Burke, a Curt Gowdy Award recipient by the Basketball Hall of Fame for excellence in her field, said she tested positive for the coronavirus. Burke made the announcement Friday on an ESPN podcast hosted by NBA reporter Adrian Wojnarowski. Burke said she started feeling extreme fatigue...
Ohio sets all-mail primary April 28; in-person voting off
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio has set a new, almost exclusively mail-in primary election for April 28 due to the coronavirus, ignoring the timing recommendations of the state elections chief and some voting-rights groups. Republican Gov. Mike DeWine signed a sweeping relief bill containing the change Friday, though he also had...
PUC asks residents to delay digging projects during covid-19 emergency
The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission is asking the public and businesses to delay nonessential digging projects. “While the Pennsylvania One Call system has remained fully operational through this pandemic, we join them in asking consumers, businesses and contractors to not begin any nonessential construction,” PUC Commissioner John F. Coleman Jr....
Allegheny County map shows where coronavirus patients live
Allegheny County officials on Friday released a map showing where residents who have tested positive for covid-19 live in the county. The color-coded map can be found on the county’s website. Of the 158 people who have tested positive, 59 live in the City of Pittsburgh, the highest total of...
Diocese of Greensburg plans virtual Holy Week, Easter services
The Diocese of Greensburg has announced Virtual Holy Week Services to help Catholics in Westmoreland, Armstrong, Indiana and Fayette counties celebrate Easter in their homes. In a statement, Bishop Edward C. Malesic said parishioners should “use the Easter season to stay connected to our faith and be ready to help...
NCAA weighs more eligibility for sports cut short by virusVideo
The NCAA Division I Council is scheduled to vote Monday on whether to allow another year of eligibility for spring sport athletes such as baseball, softball and lacrosse players, who had their seasons wiped out by the coronavirus pandemic. Providing similar relief to winter sport athletes, such as basketball and...
Experts: Little worry about groceries transmitting coronavirus
Relax, your food isn’t trying to kill you — probably. While grocery stores have increased sanitation measures amid the coronavirus pandemic, some consumers are worried they have more cleaning to do when they get their goods home. Pittsburgh-based infectious disease and critical care physician Dr. Amesh Adalja doesn’t think shoppers...
Nonprofits adjust services, volunteer opportunities to keep serving communities
As businesses close and workers face drastic pay cuts, the need for functioning nonprofit organizations has never been greater, said Phil Koch, executive director of the Community Foundation of Westmoreland County. Unfortunately, those nonprofits are facing the same challenges as everyone else. “Many of our nonprofit organizations rely on events...
As virus toll mounts in New York, more hospitals sought
NEW YORK — President Donald Trump and elected leaders in New York are clashing again over the depth of the state’s coronavirus crisis. Meanwhile, the outbreak is taking its toll on the state’s civil servants, with the virus claiming the lives of bus and train workers and a civilian employee...
Kane Center residents test positive for coronavirus days after employee also did
Two residents in a Kane Community Living Center have tested positive for the coronavirus, Allegheny County officials said Friday. Both residents live in the Glen Hazel facility, where an employee tested positive for covid-19 earlier this week. Dennis Biondo, executive director of Kane, said in a statement the residents were...
Westmoreland County under stay-at-home order as confirmed coronavirus cases grow
Westmoreland County residents have been ordered to stay at home. Gov. Tom Wolf announced an additional nine Pennsylvania counties will be under restrictions as part of the state’s efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The new order, which is in effect from 8 p.m. Friday through April 6,...
Canada to cover up to 75% of salaries for businesses
TORONTO — The Canadian government is increasing a payroll subsidy to small- and medium-sized businesses to now cover up to 75% of salaries amid the pandemic. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the major increase over the original 10 percent subsidy plan. Trudeau said it became clear they needed to do...
Western Pa. health systems provide masks to staff to combat covid-19 spread
Health care systems in Western Pennsylvania are working to equip all employees in clinical areas of its hospitals with protective masks. UPMC said it is also providing masks to staff and visitors to hospitals after they pass a screening test. Westmoreland County-based Excela Health, which has hospitals Greensburg, Latrobe and...
