Coronavirus category, Page 252
Rep. Dan Frankel: Congratulations on your new gun. Now lock it up.
So many Pennsylvanians bought guns last week that our state background check system crashed. Twice. In fact, 4,342 of you bought or transferred a gun or applied for a license to carry a gun on March 17 alone, according to a press release from the Pennsylvania State Police. Of course,...
$50 million state aid package, future recovery help, ready for Gov. Wolf’s signature
Both the state House and Senate passed a $50 million recovery package Wednesday intended to help families and businesses deal with the growing economic fallout from the coronavirus threat. According to press releases sent by several Republican senators, Senate agreed Wednesday the package after the House had done so earlier....
Canada imposes mandatory self-isolation for those returning
TORONTO — Canada announced Wednesday it is imposing mandatory self-isolation for those returning to Canada under the Quarantine Act. Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said it will begin at midnight Wednesday and the requirement will be for 14 days. “It will be a legal obligation for people entering Canada from...
Elton John to host TV, radio concert as coronavirus antidote
Elton John is hosting a “living room” concert aimed at bolstering American spirits during the coronavirus crisis and saluting those countering it, iHeartMedia and Fox said Wednesday. Alicia Keys, Billie Eilish, Mariah Carey, the Backstreet Boys, Tim McGraw and Billie Joe Armstrong are scheduled to take part in the event...
Game Zero: Spread of coronavirus linked to Champions League match
ROME — It was the biggest soccer game in Atalanta’s history and a third of Bergamo’s population made the short trip to Milan’s famed San Siro Stadium. Nearly 2,500 fans of visiting Spanish club Valencia also traveled to that Champions League match. More than a month later, experts are pointing...
Aetna waives patient payments for coronavirus hospital stays
One of the nation’s biggest health insures is waiving patient payments for hospital stays tied to the coronavirus. CVS Health’s insurer Aetna said Wednesday that many of its customers will not have to make co-payments or other forms of cost sharing if they wind up admitted to a hospital in...
Pa. coronavirus cases top 1,000; 4 more deaths reported
Coronavirus cases in Pennsylvania crested 1,000 Wednesday, health officials said, and four more patients have died. From Tuesday to Wednesday, 276 new cases were identified, according to Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine. The cases now total 1,127. She noted 11 deaths in the state, up from seven reported deaths...
Chevron to donate $260,000 to region’s food banks, fire companies
Food banks and volunteer fire companies across the region are in line for an infusion of cash, courtesy of Chevron, the energy company active in the Marcellus Shale region. Officials on Wednesday said the company is donating $60,000 — $10,000 to each to food banks in Allegheny, Fayette, Greene, Washington...
Pennsylvania Secretary of Education says on time graduation for high school seniors a priority
Ensuring that high school seniors graduate on time is among his top priorities as Pennsylvania grapples with the prospect of an extended school shutdown because of covid-19 fears, Secretary of Education Pedro Rivera said Wednesday, stressing that the school year cannot be extended beyond June 30. “We’ve put a full...
Rural America watches pandemic erupt in cities as fear growsVideo
DUFUR, Ore. — The social distancing rules repeated like a mantra in America’s urban centers, where the coronavirus is spreading exponentially, might seem silly in wide-open places where neighbors live far from each other and “working from home” means another day spent branding calves or driving a tractor alone through...
What Italy’s lockdown looks like 17 days in from a Penn Hills expat
A former professional baseball player from Penn Hills who has lived in Italy for nearly 40 years says life has totally changed there since the country moved to a state of total lockdown amid the covid-19 pandemic. Tony Lonero, 60, has been in quarantine with his wife, Mimma, for 17...
‘Greg and Donny’ take on ‘Dat Virus’ in Western Pa. styleVideo
“Greg and Donny” are back – and they’re dealing with “Dat Virus.” The web comedy sketch series, created by Johnstown natives Jeff Skowron and Matt Yeager in 2009, has been on a break since about 2016. The gang – including Kim Cea and Tamera Gindlesperger-Fisher – has gotten back together...
Komen Pittsburgh Race for a Cure postponed until September
The 28th annual Komen Pittsburgh Race for the Cure has been postponed until September due to the coronavirus. Originally scheduled for May 10, the event will take place Sept. 13 at Flagstaff Hill in Schenley Park. Raising money for the Susan G. Komen Greater Pennsylvania nonprofit organization, it attracts over...
Allegheny County reports 30 new coronavirus cases; total hits 88
Allegheny County reported 88 active coronavirus cases Wednesday, up from 58 on Tuesday, marking the biggest single-day increase since the county first began reporting cases. Of the 88 active cases, 13 individuals were hospitalized. That total does not include the two Allegheny County residents who have died from complications from...
Employee at Kane Community Living in Glen Hazel tests positive for coronavirus
An employee at a Kane Community Living Center tested positive for the coronavirus, officials said Wednesday, though they noted the employee doesn’t work with residents. Dennis Biondo, director of the Kane centers, said the employee at the Glen Hazel location has not worked since Thursday. “There are no positive cases...
Ohio lawmakers push address state’s response to coronavirus impactVideo
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Mandatory state testing for schools would be ditched this year and the deadline for filing state income taxes would be extended until July 15 under legislation being crafted Wednesday by lawmakers to address the impact of the coronavirus. The coronavirus bill would also tackle confusion caused by...
Pandemic financial pressures build for Pittsburgh region’s nonprofit sector
A brewing economic storm, fueled by a pandemic whipping up gale-force financial headwinds, is threatening to batter more than 1 million nonprofit organizations across the nation already struggling with increased demands for services. A plummeting stock market — down some 10,000 points, or about a third, in a month —...
Pittsburgh garbage collection resuming Thursday after workers sent home
Pittsburgh sent home its environmental services workers with pay Wednesday morning after they voiced concerns about the coronavirus pandemic, but they will resume normal trash pickup on Thursday, officials said. Residents scheduled for garbage pickup on Wednesday should leave their bags at curbside for collection on Thursday, according to the...
Resident of Loyalhanna Care Center tests positive for coronavirus
A woman who is a long-term resident of the Loyalhanna Care Center in Derry Township is among the Westmoreland County residents who have tested positive for covid-19. Kelly Pynos, administrator of the skilled nursing facility, said the woman exhibited symptoms on Monday and was transferred to a local hospital. Pynos...
Experts: Domestic violence threat rises as economic downturn, stay-at-home order linger because of coronavirus
Domestic violence advocates say they are seeing an influx of calls related to the coronavirus, and many fear it will only continue as orders to stay home drag on. “Isolation is always a tool of an abusive person,” said Michelle Gibb, director of the Alle-Kiski Area Hope Center in Tarentum....
Hampton business adds medical masks to its manufacturing listVideo
Rose Morris got a call over the weekend from a friend whose husband owns a Pittsburgh-area hospice. “He was at a point where he was running out of his protective medical equipment and was not able to find more to purchase,” Morris said. Morris owns Abram’s Nation in Hampton ....
South Africa’s virus cases jump; Mali, Guinea-Bissau get 1stVideo
JOHANNESBURG — South Africa’s coronavirus cases jumped again to 709, the health minister said Wednesday, as the country with the most cases in Africa prepared to go into lockdown first thing Friday. Health Minister Zweli Mkhize on state television pointed out “intense local spread” in Free State province among attendees...
China lifting last controls in province at outbreak’s centerVideo
BEIJING — Trains carrying factory employees back to work after two months in locked-down cities rolled out of Hubei province, the center of China’s virus outbreak, as the government on Wednesday began lifting the last of the controls that confined tens of millions of people to their homes. Roadblocks on...
Britain’s Prince Charles tests positive for new coronavirusVideo
LONDON — Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, has tested positive for the new coronavirus, his office said Wednesday. The 71-year-old is showing mild symptoms of covid-19 and is self-isolating at a royal estate in Scotland, his Clarence House office said. It says his wife Camilla, 72, has...
Deal reached on historic $2 trillion virus rescue billVideo
WASHINGTON — The White House and Senate leaders of both parties announced agreement early Wednesday on an unprecedented $2 trillion emergency bill to rush sweeping aid to businesses, workers and a health care system slammed by the coronavirus pandemic. The urgently needed pandemic response measure is the largest economic rescue...
