Coronavirus category, Page 59
Brazil’s Bolsonaro ignores calls for lockdown to slow covid deathsVideo
RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said on Wednesday there would be “no national lockdown,” ignoring growing calls from health experts a day after the nation saw its highest number of covid-19 deaths in 24 hours since the pandemic began. Brazil’s Health Ministry registered 4,195 deaths on Tuesday,...
Wolf in McKeesport: Every resident wanting vaccine should receive dose by May
Gov. Tom Wolf on Wednesday said he believes every Pennsylvanian who wants to receive the covid-19 vaccine will be able to get at least one dose by the middle of May. “We’re figuring that sometime toward the second week in May we should reach the point where we have reached...
AHN, UPMC to vaccinate 25,000 people at drive-thru clinics
About 25,000 people will receive a covid-19 vaccine at multiple drive-thru clinics throughout Western Pennsylvania in the coming week. Allegheny Health Network and UPMC, the region’s two largest health systems, announced partnerships Wednesday with the Allegheny County Health Department to provide Johnson & Johnson shots to the public. AHN and...
CDC says British covid variant is now the most common strain in U.S.
WASHINGTON — A variant of the coronavirus first identified in Britain is now the most common strain circulating in the United States. The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, says the strain, formally known as B.1.1.7, is “now the most common lineage circulating in...
Westmoreland County surpasses 30,000 covid cases
Westmoreland County became the 12th county in Pennsylvania to pass 30,000 coronavirus cases. The 119 additional cases — 37 confirmed and 82 probable — reported Wednesday by the Pennsylvania Department of Health put Westmoreland County’s total at 30,005. Westmoreland reached 20,000 cases on Jan. 4; 10,000 cases on Dec. 3;...
Officials: Covid surge at Pitt ‘endangering our campus and surrounding communities’
The University of Pittsburgh is “sounding the alarm” and adjusting its testing strategy amid a surge in covid-19 cases. The university reported 48 new infections on the Pittsburgh campus Tuesday, including 46 students and two employees. Twenty-eight of the student cases were recorded Friday alone — the highest single-day case...
U.S. Treasury says 156 million coronavirus relief payments issued
WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department said Wednesday it has issued more than 156 million payments as part of President Joe Biden’s coronavirus relief plan, including 25 million payments that were primarily to Social Security beneficiaries who hadn’t filed 2019 or 2020 tax returns. The direct payments of as much as...
Nearly half of new U.S. virus infections are in just 5 statesVideo
Nearly half of new coronavirus infections nationwide are in just five states — a situation that is putting pressure on the federal government to consider changing how it distributes vaccines by sending more doses to hot spots. New York, Michigan, Florida, Pennsylvania and New Jersey together reported 44% of the...
Official: EU agency to confirm AstraZeneca blood clot linkVideo
ROME — A top official at the European Medicines Agency says there’s a causal link between AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine and rare blood clots, but that it’s unclear what the connection is and that the benefits of taking the shot still outweigh the risks of getting covid-19. Marco Cavaleri, head of...
Westmoreland County, Walmart to host vaccination clinic at Seton Hill University
Westmoreland County officials announced Tuesday the county will open a coronavirus vaccine clinic this week at Seton Hill University in Greensburg. The clinic, with vaccines provided by Walmart, is set to vaccinate up to 1,400 residents over three days, starting Friday, according to Public Safety Director Roland Mertz. “We’re trying...
‘Pennsylvanians owe a debt of gratitude’: Wolf salutes grocery employees as pandemic heroes
Gov. Tom Wolf on Tuesday recognized grocery store employees, hundreds of thousands of whom found themselves thrust to the front lines of the covid-19 pandemic, going to work in order to supply what the rest of the state needed to stay home. Such employees have had access to covid-19 vaccine...
Viral thoughts: Why covid-19 conspiracy theories persist
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Daniel Roberts hadn’t had a vaccination since he was 6. No boosters, no tetanus shots. His parents taught him inoculations were dangerous, and when the coronavirus arrived, they called it a hoax. The vaccine, they said, was the real threat. So when the 29-year-old Tennessee man got...
Pa. officials encourage more covid testing as cases rise
As covid cases and hospitalizations rise in Pennsylvania, the Department of Health on Tuesday described a renewed push for expanding testing. Despite the increase in infections, officials said the demand for testing has decreased. Acting Health Secretary Alison Beam said continued testing is imperative as the virus continues to spread....
Study: Moderna vaccine lasts at least 6 months
BOSTON — New research suggests the protection the Moderna vaccine gives against covid-19 lasts for at least six months. The report Tuesday in the New England Journal of Medicine echoes what Pfizer said last week about its vaccine, which works in a similar way. Both reports were based on follow-up...
Pa., Allegheny County covid hospitalizations up more than 20% week to week
Recent covid hospitalizations continue to be a story in the commonwealth. Pennsylvania and Allegheny County hospitalization levels have consistently gone up since late March, and hospitalization totals now rival counts seen in February. Hospitalizations For the 17th consecutive day, the number of people hospitalized for covid-19 in Pennsylvania has increased,...
Biden says states should open shots to all adults by April 19
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said Tuesday that he wants all American adults to be eligible for a coronavirus vaccine by April 19, citing a target date all but two states are already set to meet. “By no later than April 19 in every part of this country, every adult...
Illinois bar event caused 46 covid-19 cases, school closureVideo
CHICAGO — An indoor event at a bar in rural Illinois triggered 46 cases of covid-19, the hospitalization of a resident of a long-term care facility and a school shutdown, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report released Monday. Attendees of the bar opening event in February...
Coronavirus cases slow at Westmoreland County Prison
Two additional inmates at the Westmoreland County Prison tested positive for coronavirus over the weekend, but the number of infections decreased at the facility over the last week. Warden Bryan Kline said Monday there were 20 active cases among the 495 inmates lodged in the Hempfield lockup, down about 47%,...
Pennsylvania revises school reopening guidelines
The Pennsylvania Department of Education and Department of Health on Monday announced new recommendations for schools — suggesting most should reopen for some degree of face-to-face instruction. The new recommendations bring the state into alignment with recent guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which in mid-March...
Vaccine skepticism runs deep among white evangelicals in U.S.
The president of the Southern Baptist Convention, America’s largest evangelical denomination, posted a photo on Facebook last week of him getting the covid-19 vaccine. It drew more than 1,100 comments — many of them voicing admiration for the Rev. J.D. Greear, and many others assailing him. Some of the critics...
Nebraska officials pushing back against ‘vaccine hesitancy’
OMAHA, Neb. — Nebraska cleared a path Monday for adults of all ages to sign up for a coronavirus vaccination, but state officials said they’re still trying to overcome “vaccination hesitancy,” especially in some minority communities. Gov. Pete Ricketts said state officials have ramped up their vaccination outreach efforts to...
U.K. to ease lockdown next week, will test vaccine passports
LONDON — Britain’s slow but steady march out of a 3½-month lockdown remains on track even as coronavirus cases surge elsewhere in Europe, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced Monday, as he confirmed that businesses from barbers to bookstores will be allowed to reopen next week. Johnson said it’s too soon...
Have an idea to improve masks? Biden administration holds $500K contest
President Joe Biden’s administration is looking for ways to improve face masks — and will give out $500,000 in prizes to help do it. The Mask Innovation Challenge invites Americans to submit ideas to make masks more comfortable to wear and to eliminate “barriers to use,” such as discomfort, contact...
Covid cases continue to rise, but the pace appears to be easing
As Pennsylvania loosens its covid-19 mitigation restrictions, the spike in new cases of the virus is showing slight signs of slowing. Over the past two days, the Pennsylvania Department of Health reports there were 6,651 new cases added, bringing the total cases since the pandemic began to 1,045,400. While the...
Some businesses want masks on, even as states drop mandates
NEW YORK — Although Texas no longer requires people to wear masks to protect against covid-19, customers do need them to enter De J. Lozada’s store. “We cannot afford to take chances with the lives of my staffers. They’re young people and their parents have entrusted me with their care,”...
