Megan Guza stories, Page 30
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...
‘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...
Dozens of Allegheny County Jail inmates, employees test positive for covid-19
A covid-19 outbreak in the Allegheny County Jail is now affecting more employees along with dozens of those housed in the jail awaiting trial or serving sentences, officials said Tuesday. Two weeks after Warden Orlando Harper announced that 10 ACJ employees had tested positive for the virus, the number of...
Families, friends mourn Port Authority drivers who died of covid
Patrick Hazlett and Marlon J. Lucas had a combined three decades of service with the Port Authority of Allegheny County, and they both leave behind wives and children and a union family grieving its first losses to covid-19. Hazlett, a 34-year-old bus driver who’d worked for eight years with the...
No new covid restrictions for Pa., but possibility looms
Gov. Tom Wolf on Monday issued his most dire warning yet as covid-19 mitigation efforts fail to stem the rising tide of cases, and he hinted that more drastic, targeted measures could be on the horizon if the situation remains grim. He pointed to the warning he and Secretary of...
2 Port Authority drivers, ages 34 and 57, dead from covid
Two Port Authority of Allegheny County employees have died from covid-19, officials said Monday. One man was 57, and the other was 34. Both worked as bus drivers. “Today, our hearts are broken,” said Port Authority CEO Katharine Kelleman. The 57-year-old driver tested positive for the virus on Friday and...
Pa. Department of Corrections reports 3 covid deaths in 2 days
Prison officials in Pennsylvania reported three inmate deaths in two days as the active covid-19 case count in state correctional facilities neared 1,800. The Department of Corrections reported two deaths Friday, at SCIs Mercer and Smithfield and one on Saturday at SCI-Pine Grove. Two of the incarcerated individuals were in...
South Hills boy among those honored as superhero by Harrison-based groupVideo
A Harrison-based nonprofit rolled out the red carpet for a South Hills hero Sunday, one who has stared death in the face twice and whose crusade earned him a spot in the 2021 Superheroes Believe in Miracles calendar. Sean Rovers, at 12, has gone through two brain surgeries to remove...
Nashville nurse, a Butler County native, shot and killed along Tennessee highway
A Butler County native was shot and killed in Nashville on Thursday as she drove to her shift as an intensive care nurse, authorities and family members said. Caitlyn Marie Kaufman, 26, was found dead in her SUV along the shoulder of I-440 west shortly before 9 p.m., according to...
Pa. health officials bring quarantine guidance in line with shortened CDC timeframe
The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Friday updated guidance for residents who might have been exposed to covid-19, retooling the quarantine timeframe to fall in line with new measures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC earlier this week indicated that those potentially exposed to the virus...
AHN donors may have been exposed to data breach, officials say
Donors to Allegheny Health Network might have had their personal information exposed during a ransomware attack earlier this year on an IT company used by hundreds of hospitals, universities and other nonprofits, officials said Friday. Blackbaud, a global tech company, provides cloud computing services to a slew of institutions including...
Eastern Pa. companies partner in development of ingestible vaccine
Two Eastern Pennsylvania companies are working on creating ingestible covid-19 vaccines in drinkable and capsule forms, and leaders hope they could be on the market sometime next year. The vaccine work comes from a partnership between VaxForm and U.S. Specialty Formulations, the latter of which plans to expand its Allentown...
Staffing shortages threaten Western Pa. hospitals
More than one-third of hospitals in Southwestern Pennsylvania anticipate staffing shortages in the coming week. It’s a threshold that, if paired with a further surge in hospital admissions, could force a cutback in elective surgeries. Secretary of Health Rachel Levine noted the rising number of covid-19 hospital admissions across the...
Covid surge overwhelms Allegheny County case investigation efforts
A staggering rise in new covid-19 cases in Allegheny County means fewer people will receive calls from case investigators who have been overwhelmed with the rapid increase, Allegheny County Health Director Dr. Debra Bogen said Friday. On Thursday and Friday, the county recorded a combined 1,642 new cases – more...
Pa. sending covid-19 alerts on cell phones
The first covid-19 alert sent via the national Wireless Emergency Alert system landed on cellphones Wednesday, interrupting a live briefing by Allegheny County officials on the local rise in covid-19 cases. “In PA, covid-19 rates are rising and hospitals could soon be at capacity,” the alert read. “Stay home if...
As covid cases rise, overwhelmed case investigators and contact tracers forced to adaptVideo
The rapid influx of new covid-19 cases in Allegheny County has resulted in changes to the health department’s case investigation procedure, as overwhelmed case investigators and contact tracers work to keep up with the pace of the virus. “They haven’t been able to reach every case, and they’re spending less...
Allegheny County certifies 2,300 mail-in ballots without dated envelopes
The Allegheny County Board of Elections certified roughly 2,300 remaining ballots on Wednesday, the same day the state Supreme Court declined to reconsider its ruling that the votes be counted. The roughly 2,300 ballots at issue had been challenged by Republican state Senate candidate Nicole Ziccarelli of Lower Burrell, who...
Commonwealth Court orders pause to further certification of Pa. election results
A Pennsylvania judge on Wednesday ordered a pause to any election certification proceedings still pending in the state as part of a lawsuit brought by a number of Republican candidates and legislators, including Rep. Mike Kelly and candidate Sean Parnell. The judge’s action does not affect the outcome of the...
TSA agents catch 2 guns in 1 hour at Pittsburgh International
Security screeners at Pittsburgh International Airport caught two guns in one hour Tuesday, leading to charges against one woman for carrying a gun in her purse without a license, authorities said. Transportation Security Administration agents found the first firearm, a loaded .25-caliber handgun, about 5:30 p.m. in a woman’s purse...
Pa. officials urge people with covid to cooperate with contact tracing
The Pennsylvania Department of Health, in step with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will begin prioritizing covid-19 contact tracing and case investigation efforts as cases surge and fewer people cooperate with tracers and investigators. Pennsylvania’s positivity rate rose to 11% this week, with more than 34,700...
Pennsylvania certifies election; Biden wins by 80K votes
President-elect Joe Biden has been certified the winner of Pennsylvania’s Nov. 3 election. Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar and Gov. Tom Wolf signed and certified the election results Tuesday morning, a day after all 67 counties certified their respective results. The certification ends a three-week process and awards the state’s...
Munhall neighbors’ dispute ends in gunfire
A dispute between neighbors in Munhall over a water leak ended Sunday with one man shot and another in jail facing attempted homicide charges, police said. The shooting happened about 10:30 a.m. at a house on Shady Avenue near Superior Street, police said. According to the criminal complaint, the argument...
Pa. to ban alcohol sales at bars, restaurants for 1 night
State officials laid out new covid-19 mitigation efforts but stopped short of issuing a statewide stay-at-home order, instead advising Pennsylvanians to stay home and putting a one-night ban on alcohol sales Wednesday. New orders also scale back the maximum capacity for indoor and outdoor gatherings, capping outdoor limits for the...
Allegheny County Board of Elections certifies election results
The Allegheny County Board of Elections certified the results of the Nov. 3 election in 2-1 vote Monday morning, but excluded some ballots that are part of pending litigation. County Councilman Sam DeMarco cast the lone “no” vote. Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, the board chair, and county Councilwoman Bethany...
Why a vaccine won’t end the covid pandemic
With vaccine distribution likely weeks away, spirits have been buoyed at the thought of a literal shot in the arm after months of covid-19 anxiety and fatigue. While that optimism is just fine, experts say, many states face months of continued mitigation measures before vaccination becomes a reality. “Though these...
