Coronavirus category, Page 81
Covid contact tracing still challenging in Pennsylvania
Contact tracing remains a challenge in Pennsylvania, officials said Monday. From Jan. 10 to Jan. 16, only 18% of the 46,708 covid cases reported had a case investigation started within 24 hours, according to the Department of Health. An additional 5% had a case investigation started within 48 hours. “We...
Covid cases continue to drop in Pennsylvania, fewer deaths starting to follow
With new coronavirus cases on the decline in Pennsylvania, a report from the state Department of Health shows covid-related deaths are also beginning to slow slightly. Over the past two days, the state added 7,910 new cases of covid-19 — a 21% drop from the same two-day period last week,...
Westmoreland County reports fewer new covid cases, deaths
Westmoreland County added 213 new covid-19 cases over the past two days, according to a report Monday from the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The two-day total — from cases added Sunday and Monday — were just one less than last week’s report (214). It’s the lowest Sunday-Monday tally since Nov....
California lifts virus stay-at-home orders, curfew statewide
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California lifted regional stay-at-home orders across the state Monday in response to improving coronavirus conditions, returning the state to a system of county-by-county restrictions, state health officials announced. The order had been in place in the San Francisco Bay Area, San Joaquin Valley and Southern California, covering...
New coronavirus cases continue to decline in Allegheny County
Over the past two days, another 620 cases of coronavirus were added to Allegheny County’s total, according to a report Monday from the county’s Health Department. The report shows there were 22% fewer new covid cases reported this week than the last Sunday-Monday period (796) in the county, and 30%...
Mt. Pleasant Area students resuming hybrid instruction model
Students in the Mt. Pleasant Area School District are heading back to the classroom this week after more than a month of remote learning. District Superintendent Timothy Gabauer detailed in a letter to parents a plan that the school board approved for students to resume in-person classes Monday varying by...
High covid numbers could delay return to hybrid classes until April for Pittsburgh students
The Pittsburgh Public Schools Board is scheduled to vote this week on a measure to delay the return to partial in-person instruction until at least April 6 because of the high number of people in Allegheny County testing positive for the coronavirus, district officials announced. Delaying the planned return to...
Biden to reinstate covid travel rules, add South Africa
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Monday will formally reinstate covid-19 travel restrictions on non-U.S. travelers from Brazil, Ireland, the United Kingdom and 26 other European countries that allow travel across open borders, according to two White House officials. The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss...
Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador says he’s tested positive for covid-19
MEXICO CITY — Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Sunday he has tested positive for covid-19 and that the symptoms are mild. Mexico’s president, who has been criticized for his handling of his country’s pandemic, said on his official Twitter account that he is under medical treatment. “I regret...
Trump’s coronavirus adviser Dr. Deborah Birx says some saw pandemic as ‘hoax’Video
WASHINGTON — Dr. Deborah Birx says when she was coordinator of President Donald Trump’s coronavirus task force, she had to grapple with covid-19 deniers in the White House and that someone gave the president “parallel” streams of data that conflicted with hers. Defending her tenure, Birx told CBS’ “Face the...
‘The plane is in a nosedive,’ HHS secretary nominee Xavier Becerra says of covid outbreak
The covid-19 pandemic is out of control, President Biden’s nominee for secretary of Health and Human Services said Sunday, echoing the commander-in-chief’s recent prediction about the months ahead. “The plane is in a nosedive, and we’ve got to pull it up and you’re not going to do that overnight,” Xavier...
Getting vaccinated: What you need to know
How many people have been vaccinated? In Pennsylvania, nearly 520,000 people — mostly health care workers — had received at least one vaccine dose as of Saturday. Of those people, 106,000 are fully vaccinated, state data show. However, those figures don’t include long-term care residents and staff being vaccinated via...
How do physicians verify patients’ vaccine eligibility?
Health care workers administering covid vaccines will rely mostly on the honor system to verify that new patients outside of their hospital systems are eligible to get the shot. Pennsylvania officials have expanded eligibility of those who can move to the front of the vaccination line. The top priority group,...
Frustration grows with Pennsylvania’s ‘confusing’ vaccine rollout
In the hours after the big announcement, the region’s health systems were inundated with phone calls and emails to clinics, physicians and call centers. Thousands of people were suddenly eligible to get the covid-19 vaccine. They wanted it fast. But the announcement by Pennsylvania officials — expanding the vaccination eligibility...
Westmoreland County vaccine plan remains shot in the dark for now
As neighboring counties take steps to coordinate local covid vaccinations, Westmoreland commissioners say they are awaiting further direction from the state before crafting a distribution plan. County officials insist there has been little direction from state health and emergency management staff, a situation that has left local leaders in the...
Greater Latrobe School District starts vaccinating staff, sees ‘light at the end of the tunnel’
The Greater Latrobe School District staff members who lined up Saturday to get covid vaccines said the shots gave them a glimmer of hope that the pandemic could be nearing its end. “I was thrilled,” said Renee Gyory, a secretary and one of the first district employees to be vaccinated....
Hospitalizations related to covid continue to fall in Pa.
For the third consecutive day, Pennsylvania on Saturday reported a significant drop in the number of patients who are hospitalized with covid-19, according to the state Department of Health. The state reported that 3,997 patients are hospitalized with the virus. That’s down from 4,882 on Wednesday. The number of newly...
Westmoreland County records 140 additional covid cases, 5 new deaths
Five more people in Westmoreland County died from covid-19, according to the latest information from the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Since the pandemic struck in Western Pennsylvania in March, 565 people in Westmoreland County have died from coronavirus, according to state data released Saturday. The county also had 140 newly...
Covid hospitalizations in Allegheny County fall while cases tick upward
The number of newly reported coronavirus cases in Allegheny County ticked upward Saturday, while the number of covid-19 patients hospitalized in the county fell, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The county reported 464 additional cases of the coronavirus — up from 343 a day earlier. But the seven-day...
Monroeville clinic to start vaccinating people 65 and older; supply ‘extremely limited’
People age 65 and older can sign up to get a covid-19 vaccine at a Monroeville clinic starting next week, Allegheny County health officials announced Friday night. An “extremely limited” number of appointments to receive the first dose of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine will be available as soon as Monday...
Florida governor walks back claim over 1 millionth shot
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis had a made-for-TV moment: A 100-year-old World War II veteran getting a vaccine against the coronavirus. “An American hero,” the governor proclaimed Friday, would be the 1 millionth senior in his state to get a lifesaving shot in the arm. As it turned...
UK chief scientist says new virus variant may be more deadly
LONDON — There is some evidence that a new coronavirus variant first identified in southeast England carries a higher risk of death than the original strain, the British government’s chief scientific adviser said Friday — though he stressed that the data is uncertain. Patrick Vallance told a news conference that...
Lucky few hit covid-19 vaccine jackpot for rare extra doses
Fortune struck one man in the bakery aisle at the supermarket. Two others were working the night shift at a Subway sandwich shop. Yet another was plucked from a list of 15,000 hopefuls. With millions of Americans waiting for their chance to get the coronavirus vaccine, a lucky few are...
Allegheny Health Network suspends vaccine appointments as hospitals struggle with supply
Allegheny Health Network has paused scheduling covid-19 vaccine appointments because of a supply issue, hospital leaders said Friday, as other health systems in the region faced increased demand for the shots. Excela Health officials said they are unable to expand vaccine distribution to people who are not health care workers....
Pittsburgh doctor wants pregnant women included in covid vaccine trials
Dr. Kacie Kidd is doing her best to protect her unborn child. The 33-year-old mom-to-be decided to get the covid-19 Pfizer vaccine, despite lack of conclusive research concerning its safety for pregnant women. Kidd, an adolescent medicine fellow at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh in Lawrenceville, is 26 weeks pregnant....
