Local category, Page 2523
‘Hail to Pitt’ trending as Twitter users praise potential vaccine development
Praise for the University of Pittsburgh has dominated social media after the institution announced it was close to developing a vaccine for the novel coronavirus. Scientists at Pitt’s School of Medicine announced Thursday that the vaccine, when tested in mice, produces antibodies that could fight off the virus. Testing the...
EPA: Do not flush anything other than toilet paper to help keep sewage systems running efficiently
With increased sanitary measures taking center stage amid the coronavirus pandemic, federal environmental officials are asking Americans to stop flushing disinfecting wipes in an effort to keep sewage systems functioning properly. “Flushing anything other than toilet paper, including disinfecting wipes, can damage internal plumbing, local sewer systems and septic systems,”...
3rd resident of Beaver County nursing home with covid-19 dies
A third resident who tested positive for covid-19 at Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center has died, officials announced Thursday. Two other residents with advanced dementia previously died after contracting the disease, according to Dr. David Thimons, the facility’s medical director. “There are currently 38 in-house residents that have tested positive,”...
Hundreds of Westmoreland County employees to be furloughed Friday
Furloughs of hundreds of Westmoreland County employees will begin at the end of the workday Friday, but the final number of workers who will be off the job still is in flux, officials said. Commissioners last week announced that budget strains caused by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic prompted a suspension...
Drive-up coronavirus testing suspended at Pittsburgh zoo, Aliquippa
The Central Outreach Wellness Center has suspended its drive-up coronavirus testing indefinitely, staff said Thursday. Alexander Young, director of marketing, said that as covid-19 spreads, testing becomes less of a necessity. “As more people become infected, it’s less important to know who has it and who doesn’t and to treat...
High-speed disinfecting process proves invaluable to Western Pa. ambulance crewsVideo
As the coronavirus continues to spread and send many patients to the hospital, ambulance crews are balancing a thorough disinfection process with getting back on the road as quickly as possible. It’s a situation that has led to an uptick in business for cleaning and restoration companies that have a...
Westmoreland checking for covid-19 symptoms at 911 center, may expand to courthouse
Westmoreland County on Thursday started screening public safety employees for coronavirus symptoms and could soon expand the program to include courthouse staff and visitors. Commissioners approved a monthlong contract with Amerisafe Group to furnish trained employees to conduct screenings at the county’s public safety headquarters on Donohoe Road in Hempfield,...
UPMC nurse opens up about front-line battle against coronavirusVideo
There is no doubt that Western Pennsylvanians are indebted to the people on the front lines in the fight against covid-19. They include Jonathan Crossett, a nurse clinician who is part of the covid-19 response team at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Oakland. Crossett, a married father of a 4-month-old boy,...
Monroeville firefighter accused of involvement with 14-year-old
A Monroeville dispatcher and volunteer firefighter is accused of involvement with a 14-year-old girl during a fire training event in early March. Gregory Allen Lauffer, 23, of Monroeville was charged with unlawful contact with a minor, a felony, and corruption of a minor and indecent assault, both misdemeanors. Allegheny County...
Philips Respironics ramping up ventilator production, soon to include a lower-cost unit
A Dutch manufacturer says it hopes to triple the production of hospital ventilators being assembled in Murrysville and Carlsbad, Calif., between now and the end of September. “In March, our production capacity was 1,000 ventilators per week. In two months, we hope to double that … and by the end...
Pittsburgh Youth Chorus students create ‘virtual choir’ video performanceVideo
The children of the Pittsburgh Youth Chorus aren’t interested in waiting until the coronavirus pandemic is over to begin making music again. And while all 223 members of the organization’s six choirs weren’t able to fit, 18 students had a chance to be part of its first “virtual choir,” performing...
Coronavirus crisis postpones Latrobe’s Rabbit Race, closes playgrounds
Latrobe’s 20th annual Rabbit Race 5K won’t happen Saturday morning. With Pennsylvanians under a state order to stay at home except for essential needs until at least April 30, the fundraising race at Latrobe’s Memorial Stadium is tentatively rescheduled for May 16. The new deadline to register online for the...
Westmoreland County adds 12 new coronavirus cases as total hits 84
Westmoreland County reported 12 new coronavirus cases on Thursday as the statewide total jumped by more than 1,200 cases, Pennsylvania health officials said. There are now 84 patients with covid-19 in Westmoreland County. The case count in Pennsylvania now stands at 7,016. The 1,211 new cases amount to a 21%...
Pennsylvania reports 1,211 new coronavirus cases, 16 more deaths
Pennsylvania reported 1,200 new coronavirus cases Thursday, and deaths now stand at 90, according to state health officials. The 1,211 new cases confirmed from midnight Tuesday through midnight Wednesday bring the statewide case count to 7,016. That’s about a 21% increase over the day prior. Sixteen more people have died,...
Peoples Gas donating $100K to Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank
Peoples Gas will donate $100,000 to the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank to provide community support during the coronavirus pandemic, the utility announced Thursday. Hundreds of people lined up in vehicles on Mondayto receive free boxes of dried goods and meats from the Duquesne-based food bank. The food bank had...
Allegheny County coronavirus cases jump by 63 as total tops 400
Allegheny County reported 63 new cases of the coronavirus Thursday, an 18% increase from Wednesday, bringing the countywide total to 419. Of that total, two Allegheny County residents have died from complications from covid-19. Over the past week, about 500 people have been tested per day, a significant increase over...
Pittsburgh scientists develop possible coronavirus vaccine, hope FDA can fast-track itVideo
A potential vaccine against the novel coronavirus causing the covid-19 outbreak has been created in a University of Pittsburgh lab. Researchers say the first phase of human clinical trials — which would include healthy volunteers in the Pittsburgh area — could start in the coming months. Scientists at the University...
Pittsburgh pizza shop owner stitching facial masks for employees, neighbors
When Martina Hanoglu saw people in her native Czech Republic making homemade facial masks for possible protection against the coronavirus, she pulled out her small sewing machine. For the past two weeks, Hanoglu stitched together cotton masks and distributed them to employees and Downtown Pittsburgh neighbors from her pizza shop...
Full Pint brewery closing, citing debt and market changes
Full Pint Brewery Co., one of the region’s first craft beer makers, said it is shutting down its operations. Full Pint filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November, seeking protection from creditors while hoping to reorganize the brewery’s debt and possibly attract new investors, according to Barrett Goddard of Ligonier,...
Some locks on Allegheny River operating under reduced hours, staff
Allegheny River locks in Harmar and Aspinwall will operate under reduced hours and less staff during the coronavirus pandemic. The move is an effort to minimize exposure to covid-19 for workers and the public, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials said. Changes affect Lock 2 (Highland Park), which sits near...
2 Laurel Highlands school employees test positive for covid-19
Two Laurel Highlands School District employees tested positive for covid-19, according to a letter posted on the district website by Superintendent Jesse Wallace. Neither employee has been inside a school district building in the last couple of weeks, he said. Both employees are assigned to Hutchinson Elementary School. The employees...
AHN turning Pittsburgh auditorium into covid-19 test kit production siteVideo
The Allegheny Health Network is proactively preparing for a local surge in covid-19 cases by producing test kits at its Highmark Health Penn Avenue Place in Downtown Pittsburgh, an AHN official said Thursday. The network aims to produce 20,000 to 30,000 kits in the coming weeks, continuing production through the...
Police looking for man who spit on Edgewood Giant Eagle manager
Allegheny County detectives are asking for the public’s help in identifying a man accused of spitting on an employee at Giant Eagle’s store in Edgewood Wednesday morning. Store manager Aisha Mariner told the Trib’s news partner, WPXI-TV, that the incident happened when she was trying to help a customer who...
FirstEnergy’s $500,000 donation benefits food banks in Westmoreland, Cranberry, elsewhere
Those picking up food from organizations served by the Westmoreland County Food Bank will have their food placed in prepackaged boxes, thanks in part to a $30,000 donation from The FirstEnergy Foundation, linked to West Penn Power Co.’s parent corporation. The donation allowed the Delmont-based food bank to buy more...
Highlands to hold virtual meeting to fill school board vacancy
Highlands School Board will hold a special virtual meeting next week to fill a vacancy on the board, the district said in a legal notice Thursday. The board was previously scheduled to meet in person at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the library at Highlands High School to conduct interviews and...
