Coronavirus category, Page 196
Excela offers support for teens feeling overwhelmed by pandemic
Students and high school seniors could be dealing with emotions such as grief, anxiety, guilt and loss as the coronavius pandemic disrupts their lives. Their eating and sleeping habits might be different than normal and dreams could be getting disturbing, said Marcie Stover-Jividen, outpatient behavioral health therapist at Excela Health....
Pennsylvania reports jump of 310 coronavirus deaths as it continues to catch up with data
Continued work by the state Department of Health to catch up with coronavirus numbers from all 67 counties has resulted in another jump in deaths on Thursday, this one by more than 300. The 310 new deaths, which occurred over the course of several weeks rather than one day, brings...
Governor softens order over jailed Texas hair salon ownerVideo
AUSTIN, Texas — Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday removed jail as a punishment for violating his coronavirus restrictions following outcry by conservatives over a Dallas salon owner who was jailed for refusing to keep her business closed. In a swift reversal of his own rules, Abbott said his...
Face masks make a political statement in era of coronavirus
WASHINGTON — The decision to wear a mask in public is becoming a political statement — a moment to pick sides in a brewing culture war over containing the coronavirus. While not yet as loaded as a “Make America Great Again” hat, the mask is increasingly a visual shorthand for...
California doom: Staggering $54 billion budget deficit loomsVideo
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California will have a budget shortfall of $54.3 billion because of the economic devastation wrought by the coronavirus, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration announced Thursday, a stunning reversal for a state that had a $21 billion surplus a year ago. The state has been under a mandatory stay-at-home...
Allegheny County reports 6 more coronavirus deaths, 45 new cases after delays in reporting
Allegheny County officials reported 45 additional cases of covid-19 and six more deaths Thursday, bringing the total to 1,439 confirmed or probable cases and 117 deaths countywide. That’s compared to 10 additional cases and seven deaths reported Tuesday and 19 additional cases and two deaths reported Wednesday. The 45 cases...
Alessandra Hirsch: A GI Bill for health care workers
Alessandra Hirsch, M.D., is a first-year resident physician in obstetrics and gynecology in Chicago, Ill. On Sunday, March 15, the single day that I was given to adjust from a full month of working overnight to my next rotation in gynecologic surgery, I received an email with new instructions: all...
South Greensburg man marks 80th birthday with surprise parade thanks to friends, familyVideo
Robert “Boo” Shrader thought he was going to have a quiet 80th birthday celebration on Wednesday with pizza, cake and family. Until he was instructed to put his coat and shoes on and get outside. On an unseasonably cool May day in his South Greensburg neighborhood, about 40 vehicles filled...
33 million have sought U.S. unemployment aid since coronavirus hitVideo
WASHINGTON — Nearly 3.2 million laid-off workers applied for unemployment benefits last week as the business shutdowns caused by the viral outbreak deepened the worst U.S. economic catastrophe in decades. Roughly 33.5 million people have now filed for jobless aid in the seven weeks since the coronavirus began forcing millions...
Police: 2 McDonald’s workers shot over dining area closure
OKLAHOMA CITY — Two McDonald’s employees in Oklahoma City were shot and wounded by a customer who was angry that the restaurant’s dining area was closed because of the coronavirus pandemic, police said. A female suspect was in custody after the Wednesday night shooting, but police have not yet released...
Westmoreland coronavirus death toll rises by 1 to 32
A man died from the coronavirus in Westmoreland County, bringing the death toll to 32, officials said Thursday. Coroner Ken Bacha is keeping a running total on his website because he is being notified of the deaths sooner than the state health department, which is tracking the virus across Pennsylvania....
Spain daily virus death toll trends downwardVideo
MADRID — Spain is maintaining its positive evolution of its coronavirus outbreak a day after its government succeeded in securing parliamentary support for a new two-week extension of its lockdown measures despite losing some important support from political rivals. Spanish health authorities reported about 200 new fatalities on Thursday, taking...
Pittsburgh Parking Authority lays off 36 enforcement officers, cites revenue decline
The Pittsburgh Parking Authority has laid off 36 enforcement officers because of declining meter and garage revenues during the coronavirus pandemic, an official said Thursday. David Onorato, the authority’s executive director, said revenue from parking meters and authority-owned garages was down by more than 90% in April. He said the...
Pittsburgh Food Bank responding to covid-19 needs in variety of ways
Since mid-March, images of long lines of cars waiting for boxes of food being distributed by the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank have become a common sight. “I know that in March our pantry network contributed a million more pounds of food than it did the previous March,” said food...
‘Sewing for Angels’ makes and delivers masks beyond Western Pennsylvania
A new Rosie the Riveter is in town. Today, the cultural icon from the World War II era, symbolizing women stepping up to work in factories and shipyards, has taken a different form: a group of more than 1,000 men, women and children – connected through social media – banded...
California to get $247M refund as masks face delivery delay
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California will get a $247 million refund amid delayed delivery of protective masks it ordered under a deal with a Chinese manufacturer. The N95 respirator masks, made in China by electric vehicle manufacturer BYD, failed to meet an April 30 certification deadline from the National Institute for...
NFL sets protocols for reopening of team facilitiesVideo
The NFL has set protocols for reopening team facilities and has told the 32 teams to have them in place by May 15. In a memo sent by commissioner Roger Goodell and obtained Wednesday night by the Associated Press, several phases of the protocols were laid out. The first phase...
Dallas salon owner jailed for defying virus shutdown order
DALLAS — Texas’ Republican governor and top law enforcement officer Wednesday came to the defense of a Dallas hair salon owner who was jailed for keeping her business open in defiance of the governor’s restrictions meant to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Shelley Luther was booked in the Dallas...
Taiwan baseball league set to allow fans back in ballparksVideo
TAIPEI, Taiwan — Fans will be allowed to enter baseball stadiums for games in Taiwan for the first time this season as part of a gradual easing of restrictions amid the coronavirus pandemic. The China Professional Baseball League said up to 1,000 people would be permitted to enter ballparks from...
Gov. Wolf signs order granting civil immunity to health care providers during covid-19 pandemic
Gov. Tom Wolf signed an executive order Wednesday that could shield health care workers from potential lawsuits while confronting the covid-19 pandemic. The order grants civil immunity to individual licensed, certified and registered health care workers acting in “good faith” across all types of state-defined health care facilities — among...
Federal court bans ‘church’ from selling bleach as miracle covid-19 cure
BRADENTON, Fla. — A Bradenton organization that peddles drinking industrial-grade bleach as a cure for 95% of the world’s known illnesses — including HIV/AIDS, autism, Alzheimer’s, leukemia and, most recently, covid-19 — was openly defiant after a federal court issued a temporary restraining order on the sale of its products....
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey accused of firing scientists who say he shouldn’t reopen the stateVideo
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey is being accused by health experts of firing scientists who warned him of reopening the state from threats of coronavirus too soon. Ducey, a Republican, recently extended his stay-at-home order until May 15, but on the day before President Trump visited the state and toured a...
Many new Allegheny County coronavirus cases linked to long-term care facilities
Nearly half of recent cases of the coronavirus reported in Allegheny County are linked to long-term care facilities, Allegheny County Health Department officials said Wednesday. Between April 20 and May 5, county health department staff started investigations on 352 new cases of covid-19. Of that total, 123 people, or 35%...
Senate bill would mandate safety protocols for Pennsylvania nursing homes
Long-term care facilities that have become the epicenter of Pennsylvania’s covid-19 fatalities would be subject to new safety protocols during emergency disaster declarations under a measure state Sen. Kim Ward is promoting. Pennsylvania has recorded 3,106 deaths from covid-19, with about two thirds of those coming from 495 nursing homes...
Big ‘thank you’: Cheswick resident and pizza shop owner feeds health care workers during National Nurses Week
Arslan “Allen” Ovezgylyjov came to the U.S. from Turkmenistan, central Asia, in 2008 in search of a better life. “I can’t say thanks enough to be living in the United States and to have my business and my family here,” said the Cheswick resident. “I have made a life here,...
