Coronavirus category, Page 99
Pennsylvania reports 2nd-highest daily covid case count
Pennsylvania on Thursday reported 11,972 additional cases of coronavirus, the second-highest single-day increase. The previous record was 12,884 cases reported on Dec. 5. The state’s seven-day new case average hit its highest level at 10,065, joined by the seven-day total of 70,452 new cases. Of Thursday’s additional cases, 11,066 are...
Allegheny County reports 1,166 new covid cases, 2nd-highest daily tally
Allegheny County on Thursday reported its second-highest number of cases recorded in a single day with 1,166. This raises the total cases since March to 36,707. The county’s seven-day case average climbed to a record 881, and the seven-day case total recorded a new high of 6,164. Of the new...
Colin McNickle: The continuing case for regular property reassessments
The coronavirus pandemic should be teaching us many things about inappropriate government action. But it also should be teaching us about equally arbitrary and capricious government inaction, concludes a new analysis by the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy. As the Pittsburgh think tank reminds, the Allegheny County Board of Property...
FDA panel endorses widespread use of Pfizer covid-19 vaccine
WASHINGTON — A government advisory panel endorsed widespread use of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine Thursday, putting the country just one step away from launching an epic vaccination campaign against the outbreak that has killed close to 300,000 Americans. Shots could begin within days, depending on how quickly the Food and Drug...
Tensions rise over masks as virus grips smaller U.S. cities
MISSION, Kan. (AP) — Arguments over mask requirements and other restrictions have turned ugly in recent days as the deadly coronavirus surge across the U.S. engulfs small and medium-size cities that once seemed safely removed from the outbreak. In Boise, Idaho, public health officials about to vote on a four-county...
U.S. surpasses grim milestone of more than 3,000 covid deaths in a day, a new record
For the first time during the coronavirus pandemic, the United States surpassed 3,000 deaths in one day, according to data compiled by the Covid Tracking Project. The project, which tallies state-level coronavirus data, reported 3,054 covid-19 related deaths on Wednesday night— a significant jump from the previous single-day record of...
U.S. ranks behind EU, Australia and U.K. in vaccine buys but says it will meet goalVideo
Thirty-one countries around the globe have reserved more covid-19 vaccine per capita than the United States, according to a Bloomberg analysis of country vaccine agreements. The U.S. Operation Warp Speed program is credited with shaving years off the typical development timeline for vaccines that are now on the brink of...
Allegheny County officials: State covid restrictions are neededVideo
Allegheny County officials again said they are expecting new covid-19 restrictions from the state to be announced soon. “We thought today there were going to be some announcements around mitigating strategies,” County Executive Rich Fitzgerald said during a virtual news conference Wednesday. “Obviously they are needed. … These numbers are...
AP-NORC poll: Only half in U.S. want shots as vaccine nearsVideo
WASHINGTON — As states frantically prepare to begin months of vaccinations that could end the pandemic, a new poll finds only about half of Americans are ready to roll up their sleeves when their turn comes. The survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows about a...
More than half the inmates at Pennsylvania federal prison have covid
Atif Malik is serving an eight-year prison sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution at Loretto in Cambria County for a nonviolent crime. In April, he filed his own motion seeking compassionate release because of a variety of pre-existing health conditions and the increasing risk of covid-19 spreading in the facility....
Gov. Tom Wolf tests positive for covid
Gov. Tom Wolf said Wednesday his covid-19 diagnosis is a reminder that no one is immune from the virus that has infected more than 445,000 people in Pennsylvania. Wolf, 72, said he tested positive for the virus during a routine test and he has no symptoms. His wife, Frances, is...
Westmoreland County records 15 new covid deaths, tying a record
Westmoreland County added 15 new coronavirus-related deaths Wednesday, the Pennsylvania Department of Health reported, tying a previous record from last week for most reported deaths on a single day. The additional deaths now bring the county’s death toll to 265. There have been 61 deaths attributed to the disease this...
Pennsylvania reports 220 new coronavirus deaths, 8,703 new cases
Pennsylvania’s Department of Health on Wednesday reported 220 new deaths attributed to the coronavirus, its highest increase since May. The death toll for the state stands at 11,762. There have been 1,199 deaths reported this month. The state also reported 8,703 new coronavirus cases, a slight decline from Tuesday’s report....
Allegheny County reports 34 new coronavirus deaths, passes 35,000 cases
Allegheny County on Wednesday reported 34 new coronavirus deaths, a record for a single day, and 727 additional coronavirus cases. The death toll for the county stands at 619. There have been 105 deaths this month. The Allegheny County Health Department said the new deaths occurred between Nov. 20 and...
New White House offer adds $600 checks to covid-19 relief
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration dived back into Capitol Hill’s confusing covid-19 negotiations, offering a $916 billion package to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that would send a $600 direct payment to most Americans but eliminate a $300-per-week employment benefit favored by a bipartisan group of Senate negotiators. Treasury Secretary...
UK investigates possible allergic reactions to covid-19 shot
LONDON — U.K. regulators said Wednesday that people who have a “significant history” of allergic reactions shouldn’t receive the new Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine while they investigate two adverse reactions that occurred on the first day of the country’s mass vaccination program. Professor Stephen Powis, national medical director for the National Health...
Pandemic restrictions enacted at Fayette County courthouse
The Fayette County courthouse is closed to the public to stem the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, according an announcement from county officials. The courts will remain open on an emergency basis and for some previously scheduled matters. Anyone with a hearing is asked to contact their attorney or the...
Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis reportedly tests positive for coronavirus
Jenna Ellis, a main component on President Donald Trump’s campaign legal team, has reportedly tested positive for covid-19. Axios reported on Tuesday that Ellis, 36, told friends and associates she got the results shortly after attending a White House Christmas party over the weekend. White House aides have been abuzz...
Contact tracing and case investigations in Pa. remain a struggle in fight against covid
Even as covid-19 cases skyrocket across Pennsylvania and case investigators prioritize who they will call, state officials on Tuesday urged everyone to please answer the phone and cooperate when investigators and contact tracers reach out to them. “In order to effectively contact trace, we need Pennsylvanians to participate in case...
Western Pa. officials, businesses brace for possible covid restrictions
Western Pennsylvania officials and businesses expect an announcement from the state soon, detailing new pandemic restrictions for businesses and gatherings. “I think we’re moving in that direction,” Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald said Tuesday. “The numbers indicate that’s the proper strategy to employ. … I do anticipate, if not tomorrow...
As covid surges, Westmoreland County suspends criminal trials until February
Westmoreland County criminal and civil trials — suspended this month because of the surging number of coronavirus cases — will be halted until February. Common Pleas Court President Judge Rita Hathaway signed a court order Tuesday to delay all trials until Feb. 1. Two weeks of civil trials and one...
‘We cannot turn our back on it’: Opioid crisis rages alongside covid pandemic in Pa.
Amid a global pandemic killing thousands across the state, country and world, health officials in Pennsylvania warned that the opioid epidemic continues to leave thousands dead in its wake as well. “We know that with the holidays of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and various others approaching, it can be a difficult...
Pittsburgh council approves law requiring paid covid sick leaveVideo
Pittsburgh businesses with more than 50 employees will be required to provide paid sick leave to workers who contract covid-19 or who are required to quarantine because of exposure during the pandemic. City council members approved the bill requiring the paid leave, and it is supported by Mayor Bill Peduto....
California asking millions to stay home because of coronavirusVideo
LOS ANGELES — California authorities sent a cellphone text alert Tuesday to two major regions to tell millions of people that the novel coronavirus is spreading rapidly and asking them to stay home except for essential activities. The blast sent at noon to the state-designated 11-county Southern California region and...
‘We messed up’: Ex-state senator in Alabama warns of virus before death
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Before his death from covid-19 last week, former Alabama state senator Larry Dixon spoke to his wife of 53 years from his hospital bed and asked her to relay a warning. “Sweetheart, we messed up. We just dropped our guard,” Dr. David Thrasher, a pulmonologist and friend...
