Coronavirus category, Page 248
Pennsylvania reports 531 new coronavirus cases as total tops 2,000Video
Coronavirus cases in Pennsylvania rose by more than 500 from Thursday to Friday, bringing the total statewide to more than 2,000. The state Department of Health reported 531 new positive tests, the second day in a row in which new cases topped 500. The total stands at 2,218. That total...
Pope to mark Holy Week ceremonies in shelter of St. Peter’s
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis will celebrate Holy Week ceremonies in the confines of Vatican City, including a Good Friday Way of the Cross service on the steps of St. Peter’s Basilica instead of at Rome’s Colosseum as customary. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Vatican on Friday announced that...
Lack of social distancing leads to closure of parks, trails
OAK PARK, Ill. — It was a sunny day, the first in about a week when temperatures had climbed past the 50-degree mark, and people in Chicago did what they always do on such a day: They flocked to the shores of Lake Michigan. Mayor Lori Lightfoot did not consider...
Sewickley’s popular Memorial Day parade canceled
This year’s Sewickley Memorial Day parade would have marked 129 years, making it one of the oldest in the commonwealth. But the group responsible for the event has decided to forgo the tradition this year. “As a country and community, we’re doing what we can do,” said Brian Jeffe, who,...
UPMC experts on coronavirus: ‘We are prepared for a surge we hope never arrives’
Experts at UPMC said Friday they believe community spread of the coronavirus might be less intense locally than in other parts of the country. Dr. Graham Snyder, chief of infection prevention, said that out of 1,743 covid-19 tests done by UPMC facilities, 141 have been positive — about 8%. He...
Allegheny County adds 25 coronavirus cases, total reaches 158
Allegheny County reported 25 additional active cases of the coronavirus Friday, bringing the total to 158. That’s compared to the one-day increase recorded from Wednesday to Thursday, when the county reported 45 new cases. That total does not include two Allegheny County residents who have died from complications from covid-19....
Mary Schmich: Covid-19 as ‘Boomer Remover’? Let’s talk about that.
Mary Schmich is a columnist for the Chicago Tribune and winner of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for commentary. Until the past week or so, I’ve rarely thought of myself as old, at least not in the diminishing way the word is often used. I work a full-time job, walk 5...
Spain reports deadliest day with 769 more coronavirus deathsVideo
Spain reported its deadliest day since the outbreak of the coronavirus, with 769 deaths in the past 24 hours. The total number of fatalities rose to 4,858, from 4,089, and the number of confirmed cases climbed to 64,059, from 56,188 a day earlier, the Health Ministry said. The grim data...
‘Today’ anchor Hoda Kotb breaks down after interview with Drew Brees about $5M donation
The gravity and emotion of the coronavirus pandemic came through on national television Friday morning. Hoda Kotb, co-anchor of “Today” on NBC, was overcome with emotion after talking with New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees about a $5 million donation he made to Louisiana to help feed its residents. “I...
Baby Shark returns to help you wash your hands — doo, doo …Video
Just when you thought it was safe to go back on the internet. Baby Shark is back. This time, Pinkfong takes its infectious — er, maybe bad choice of words — its earworm song and made it all about hand washing. And the result? After listening to “Wash Your Hands...
Employee at Sheetz in Plum has tested positive for covid-19
An employee at the Sheetz store on Plum’s Hulton Road has tested positive for covid-19, the company announced Friday. A store manager reached by phone Friday morning said the store and gas station at 2175 Hulton Road were closed. She deferred questions to the company’s corporate office. Sheetz spokesman Nick...
Wigle Whiskey donating hand sanitizer to Pittsburgh Public Safety
Pittsburgh-based Wigle Whiskey is donating all of the hand sanitizer it is making to the Pittsburgh Public Safety Department for distribution across Allegheny County. The company last week announced it would begin making City of Champs Sanitizer in its Strip District distillery after receiving approval from the Pennsylvania Liquor Control...
R. Kelly seeks release from jail, cites coronavirus risk
R&B singer R. Kelly cited the novel coronavirus in asking a federal judge Thursday to free him from a federal jail in Chicago as he awaits trial on child pornography and other charges, a court filing by his lawyers saying scant precautions to stem the spread of the virus behind...
Couples in quarantine: Stress, anxiety, fear of the unknown
The 60-something husband works in the food industry and still insists upon leaving every day for work, saying he needs to keep his business afloat. His frightened wife desperately wants him to stay home. For another couple, in the midst of a separation, the bitterly fought issue is the kids...
Mark Blum, actor in ‘Desperately Seeking Susan,’ dies from covid-19 complications
Mark Blum, the actor known for roles in “Crocodile Dundee” and “Desperately Seeking Susan,” has died from complications of covid-19. He was 69. Blum died at New York Presbyterian Hospital on Wednesday after being diagnosed last week with the coronavirus, said Janet Zarish, his wife of 15 years. The couple...
British Prime Minister Johnson tests positive for virusVideo
LONDON — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has tested positive for the new coronavirus, the first leader of a major nation to contract covid-19, but he insisted Friday that he remains in charge of the United Kingdom’s response to the outbreak. Johnson, 55, said he was tested Thursday on the...
Italy hopes virus is easing but fears new onslaught in southVideo
ROME — Doctors and nurses in Italy’s overwhelmed northern hospitals have welcomed a slight stabilizing in the number of coronavirus infections but fear the virus is still silently spreading in the south two weeks into the West’s most extreme nationwide shutdown. As the dead in Italy keep piling up, virologists...
House passes $2.2T rescue package, rushes it to TrumpVideo
WASHINGTON — Acting with unity and resolve unseen since the 9/11 attacks, the House of Representatives gave near-unanimous approval Friday to historic legislation designed to prevent the economy from collapsing and rush resources to overburdened health care providers and struggling families during the deepening coronavirus epidemic. The unprecedented $2.2 trillion...
Tourists stranded in Asia by canceled flights, shut bordersVideo
PHUKET, Thailand — From the sun-soaked beaches of Thailand to the foothills of Mount Everest in Nepal, tourists across Asia are finding their dream vacations have turned into travel nightmares as airlines cancel flights and countries close their borders in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. Thousands of tourists escaping...
In Iran, false belief a poison fights virus kills hundredsVideo
TEHRAN, Iran — Standing over the still body of an intubated 5-year-old boy wearing nothing but a plastic diaper, an Iranian health care worker in a hazmat suit and mask begged the public for just one thing: Stop drinking industrial alcohol over fears about the new coronavirus. The boy, now...
Appeals grow to close U.S. national parks during pandemicVideo
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is sticking with its crowd-friendly waiver of entrance fees at national parks during the coronavirus pandemic, as managers at some parks try and fail to keep visitors a safe distance apart and communities appeal for a shutdown at other parks that are still open. While...
Western Pa. colleges donate protective gear for first responders, health care workers
A number of colleges and universities across Western Pennsylvania are donating supplies to first responders, hospital workers and others on the front line of the coronavirus pandemic. Saint Vincent The switch to online learning means lab procedures are suspended for the rest of the spring semester at the Unity college’s...
Greensburg restaurants giving away gift cards to help closed businesses
Ordering takeout at a Greensburg area restaurant this week could score you a gift card to one of the local businesses that have closed during the coronavirus pandemic. The Greensburg Community Development Corp. and the Downtown Greensburg Project have teamed up for the giveaway, buying about $1,000 worth of gift...
Pennsylvania now leaves it up to those with covid-19 to warn others about exposure
An auto parts store in New Kensington. A Derry Township skilled nursing center. Colleges from Greensburg to Pittsburgh. All have reported positive coronavirus tests in recent days. And all are on their own to let others know about potential exposure. State officials no longer perform that service. The Pennsylvania Department...
Monroeville lab looks to help fill gap in covid-19 testingVideo
A Monroeville lab that handles molecular and genetic testing has ramped up to offer testing for covid-19, beginning with senior citizens and staff working at care facilities it services. MHS Labs began testing patient samples on Thursday and had completed a few dozen tests by midday Friday, said Sean Waters,...
