Coronavirus category, Page 89
Bodies pile up, patient care falters as covid-19 devastates LA County hospitals
Los Angeles County’s healthcare system was buckling Wednesday under the unprecedented surge of covid-19 patients, with bodies piling up at morgues and medical professionals resorting to increasingly desperate measures as they brace for conditions to worsen in the coming weeks. With hospitals overwhelmed by patients and no outlet valve available,...
China OKs 1st homegrown vaccine as covid-19 surges globally
China authorized its first homegrown covid-19 vaccine for general use Thursday, adding another shot that could see wide use in poorer countries as the virus surges back around the globe. The Sinopharm vaccine had already been given to groups such as health care professionals and essential workers under emergency-use guidelines...
Sluggish vaccine campaign raises specter of U.S. dysfunctionVideo
WASHINGTON — U.S. health officials acknowledged that a covid-19 immunization campaign is crawling out of the starting gate, raising the prospect that the nation’s all-in bet on vaccines could be afflicted by the same dysfunction that hobbled other measures to contain the pandemic. Only about 2.7 million Americans had been...
California has nation’s 2nd confirmed case of coronavirus variantVideo
California on Wednesday announced the nation’s second confirmed case of the new and apparently more contagious variant of the coronavirus, offering a strong indication that the infection is spreading more widely in the United States. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the infection found in Southern California during an online conversation with...
Youngstown’s Tin Lizzy continues to defy covid orders as late bartender memorialized
For the second time this year, the Tin Lizzy Tap Room and Restaurant in Youngstown has run afoul of state officials for violating Gov. Tom Wolf’s temporary restrictions meant to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. But despite the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture ordering the business to close this...
Allegheny County ‘getting faster’ at distributing covid-19 vaccines, health director says
Allegheny County Health Director Dr. Debra Bogen pledged that the region’s vaccine distribution is on track to ramp up as 2021 begins. “We’ve now got a rhythm and we’re getting faster,” Bogen said during a virtual news conference Wednesday afternoon. Bogen shrugged off criticism over the local pace of administering...
Florida seniors begin swarming covid-19 vaccination sitesVideo
TALLAHASSEE — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis begged for patience from anxious seniors waiting their turn to get inoculated against covid-19, as confusion and frustration arose over the availability of the life-saving vaccine among some of the state’s most vulnerable. At vaccination sites across the state, seniors formed long lines —...
California governor offers plans to reopen in-person schools
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday encouraged schools to resume in-person education next year, starting with the youngest students, and promised $2 billion in state aid to promote coronavirus testing, increased ventilation of classrooms and personal protective equipment. The recommendation was driven by increasing evidence that there...
U.K. is 1st to authorize easy-to-handle AstraZeneca vaccine
LONDON — Britain became the first country to authorize AstraZeneca’s inexpensive, easy-to-handle covid-19 vaccine Wednesday, gaining another weapon against the virus amid a resurgence so severe that the government extended lockdowns to three-quarters of England’s population. The country also changed course by deciding to dispense the first dose of its...
What Pittsburgh region needs to know about U.K. coronavirus strain
A new and seemingly more contagious strain of the coronavirus was diagnosed this week in a Colorado National Guardsman, bringing about a slew of questions regarding its severity and lethality. Dr. Amesh Adalja, a Pittsburgh-based infectious disease and critical care physician, offered his insights into what this new variant of...
Gov. Wolf: New Pa. covid restrictions to end Monday
Come Monday, it won’t just be a new year. It may be a new start for the beleaguered restaurant and bar industries that have borne the brunt of coronavirus restrictions in 2020. “It will be good to get people back to work,” Bill Fuller, corporate chef and president of Big...
Canada to require negative test for people entering country
TORONTO — The Canadian government said Wednesday that travelers must have a negative covid-19 test taken within three days before they arrive in the country. Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc said the measure will be implemented in the next few days. Canada already requires those entering the country to self-isolate...
Amid fewer new cases, Westmoreland County reports 15 more covid deaths
On Wednesday, Westmoreland County saw its latest report of new covid-19 cases cut by more than half from Tuesday. The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported the county added 215 new cases. On Tuesday, the county added 466. The lower number of new cases brings the county back to its recent...
U.K. puts millions more under tight restrictions as cases soar
LONDON — The British government on Wednesday extended its toughest coronavirus restrictions to more than three-quarters of England’s population, saying a fast-spreading new variant of the virus has reached most of the country. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that at midnight the government’s top infection-warning level, Tier 4, would be...
Pennsylvania posts 4th highest single-day covid-related death report
The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported another 8,984 coronavirus cases Wednesday. Despite the high number, it actually brought the state’s seven-day average of new cases down more than 18% from a week ago. A week ago, Pennsylvania’s seven-day average of new cases was 8,827. With Wednesday’s report, that average dropped...
As Allegheny County’s covid cases slow, deaths hit record mark
Another 525 cases of covid-19 were reported Wednesday by the Allegheny County Health Department. While certainly still high, the new cases are nearly 50% less than Tuesday’s four-digit report. The new count puts the county back on its recent trend of fewer cases. The seven-day average of new cases drops...
Louisiana congressman-elect Luke Letlow dies from covid-19
BATON ROUGE — Luke Letlow, Louisiana’s incoming Republican member of the U.S. House, died Tuesday night from complications related to covid-19 only days before being sworn into office. He was 41. Letlow spokesman Andrew Bautsch confirmed the congressman-elect’s death at Ochsner-LSU Health Shreveport. “The family appreciates the numerous prayers and...
Despite slow vaccine rollout, nursing homes optimistic about distributionVideo
Much is still unknown about how vaccines are being distributed in Pennsylvania’s nursing homes, but operators and advocates are optimistic and excited for the milestone. Skilled nursing facilities across the state began receiving their first doses of covid-19 vaccine Monday, through a partnership between the federal government and two national...
1st reported U.S. case of virus variant triggers questions
DENVER — The new and seemingly more contagious variant of the coronavirus that has set off alarm in Britain has been reported for the first time in the U.S., in a Colorado man who hadn’t been traveling, triggering a host of questions about how it got here and adding urgency...
Biden criticizes pace of vaccine rollout, vows to accelerate
WILMINGTON, Del. — President-elect Joe Biden criticized the Trump administration Tuesday for the pace of distributing covid-19 vaccines and predicted that “things will get worse before they get better” when it comes to the pandemic. “We need to be honest — the next few weeks and months are going to...
UPMC begins vaccinations in Pittsburgh area senior communities
When Nancy Fadgen was offered the covid-19 vaccine, she said yes “without reservations.” “If we want this to go far, somebody has to take the step forward and try it,” the 79-year-old resident at UPMC Heritage Place said. UPMC began vaccinating residents and staff in its senior communities Tuesday –...
Allegheny County’s Kane Centers to start vaccinating residents, staff next week
Residents and staff in Allegheny County’s Kane Community Living Centers will begin receiving vaccinations next week, officials said Tuesday. The Kane Centers at Ross and Glen Hazel are the first county facilities scheduled to receive doses of vaccine through a federal partnership with CVS Health. Their two-day clinics are tentatively...
Pennsylvania reports 8,545 new covid cases, 267 deaths
Pennsylvania has 8,545 new covid-19 cases and 267 new deaths Tuesday, according to the state Department of Health. With the new numbers, there are now 622,329 total covid cases and 15,353 total deaths in the state. In December thus far, there have been 260,885 cases and 4,970 deaths reported. Of...
About 50% of Westmoreland County covid cases, deaths have come in December
Westmoreland County reported the most new coronavirus cases in about two weeks Tuesday. There were 466 new cases reported, the most since 542 cases were announced Dec. 15. Tuesday’s new cases bring the county’s total to 18,855. In December, there have been 9,594 cases reported, which account for about 51%...
Allegheny County reports 41 new covid deaths, 1,020 cases
Allegheny County on Tuesday reported 41 new deaths attributed to covid-19 and 1,020 additional cases of the virus. Total deaths and cases are now at 898 and 52,473, respectively, in the county. There have been 389 deaths and 24,069 cases reported in December thus far. Of the new deaths, one...
