Coronavirus category, Page 256
Port Authority to reduce bus, light rail service by 25%
Bus and light rail service will be cut back because of decreasing use during the coronavirus pandemic, Port Authority of Allegheny County officials said Monday. The service will be decreased by about 25% starting Wednesday. The reduction comes after Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf announced Monday that Allegheny County was among...
South Africa to go into nationwide lockdown over coronavirus
JOHANNESBURG — South Africa, Africa’s most industrialized economy and a nation of 57 million people, will to go into a nationwide lockdown for 21 days starting Thursday to try to contain the spread of the new coronavirus, the president said Monday. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the measures in...
Hempfield couple who tested positive for covid-19 after cruise describe what it’s like to have virus
Lisa Duffy thought the cigarette smoke in the casino of the Norwegian Breakaway cruise ship was responsible for the nagging cough she developed late in her trip to the Caribbean. When the ship docked March 14 in Port Canaveral, Fla., she felt great, with none of the fatigue she usually...
Long line of people in cars at Kennywood wait to get food donations
Kennywood Park was closed, but a long line of cars snaked their way into its parking lot Monday. Normally, when this many people show up at the West Mifflin amusement park, they are anticipating a day of fun. Instead, on a dreary Monday morning, they were here for food. For...
Westmoreland police departments begin ‘non-life-sustaining’ business checks
are enforcing Gov. Wolf’s order similar to all the other Westmoreland County Departments. Local police investigated a small number of reports of non-life-sustaining businesses still operating after Gov. Tom Wolf ordered enforcement of their closures starting at 8 a.m. Monday to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Wolf’s order prohibits...
JCC of Greater Pittsburgh works to fight blood shortage during covid-19 outbreak
The Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh is responding to the need for blood donations during the covid-19 outbreak by holding nine blood drives at its Squirrel Hill and South Hills locations in the coming weeks. The blood drives will be held in cooperation with Vitalant Pittsburgh, formerly known locally...
Penn Hills native describes situation in Italy as ‘tragic, depressing and emotional’
Italy is in complete lockdown with residents confined to their towns and prohibited from venturing farther than 200 meters (about 650 feet) from their homes, according to a Penn Hills native who has lived in the country for more than 10 years. James Zanella, who lives in the northern Italian...
Dr. Paul Carson: Why coronavirus pandemic is worse than the film ‘Contagion’
Paul Carson, M.D., is a Pittsburgh physician. I rewatched Steven Soderbergh’s 2011 film “Contagion” last night starring Gwyneth Paltrow. The film goes like this: When Paltrow returns to Minnesota from a Hong Kong business trip, she attributes the malaise she feels to jet lag. However, two days later, she is...
Italy records smaller increase in virus cases for 2nd dayVideo
ROME — Italy has recorded a smaller day-to-day increase in new coronavirus cases for the second straight day, officials said while cautioning it was too soon to know if the worst is behind the country with the world’s second-biggest caseload. Data released by Italy’s Civil Protection agency on Monday showed...
Western Pa. teachers posting motivational, inspirational selfies for studentsVideo
Teachers in the region have taken to self-portraiture to let their students – or “kids” – know they care for them through the coronavirus pandemic. The teachers’ selfies have appeared in compilation videos made by staff at Deer Lakes and Mars Area school districts, and Penn Hills School District is...
PLCB: Wine, liquor sales set record day before state stores closed
Pennsylvania’s decision to close its Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores on March 17 because of the coronavirus pandemic triggered the highest single-day sales in at least a decade, according to the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. The PLCB reported about $29.9 million in sales on March 16, the day the...
UN chief urges immediate global cease-fire to fight covid-19Video
UNITED NATIONS — U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called Monday for an immediate cease-fire in conflicts around the world to tackle the coronavirus pandemic. The U.N. chief said: “It is time to put armed conflict on lock-down and focus together on the true fight of our lives.” Guterres said the world...
Gov. Wolf issues stay-at-home order for Allegheny, 6 other counties; school closures extended
Gov. Tom Wolf on Monday ordered residents in Allegheny and six other Pennsylvania counties to stay at home unless “someone’s life depends on your leaving.” The order, which also affects Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Monroe, Philadelphia and Montgomery counties, is an effort to staunch the spread of the coronavirus in the...
Lack of details on local coronavirus cases frustrates Westmoreland officials
Westmoreland County officials are frustrated with the lack of specific information disseminated about local coronavirus cases from the state health department. “We learn more from the media than from anywhere else,” Roland “Bud” Mertz, public safety director, said Monday. Mertz said he’s asked but has been unable to get any...
Peduto seeks support from state, federal government
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto on Monday called on state and federal government officials to approve financial aid for workers, small business and cities struggling to deal with the coronavirus pandemic. Peduto, who has been in self-quarantine since March 14, signed letters asking Congress to provide $250 billion in relief for...
Carnegie Mellon, Carlow, Cal U and Slippery Rock cancel spring commencement
Carnegie Mellon, California, Carlow and Slippery Rock universities joined the growing list of colleges and universities across the country canceling or postponing spring commencement ceremonies. Those decisions follow growing urgency in pronouncements from public health experts cautioning against public gatherings of 10 or more people. Carnegie Mellon Monday morning announced...
6 deaths reported in Pa. from coronavirus pandemic; state cases jump to 644
Deaths from the coronavirus in Pennsylvania jumped to six statewide, health officials said Monday, the same day the state saw its highest one-day increase in positive cases. In addition to one death in Allegheny County, a second person has died in Northampton County. Monroe, Montgomery and Lackawanna counties have each...
Klobuchar says husband hospitalized with coronavirusVideo
MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar announced Monday that her husband, John Besser, has tested positive for the coronavirus. The former Democratic presidential candidate said in a statement that Besser began feeling sick when she was in Minnesota and he was in Washington, D.C., and he immediately quarantined himself. She...
Merkel negative in 1st virus test; more to be doneVideo
BERLIN — Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman says the German leader has tested negative for the new coronavirus. Spokesman Steffen Seibert told news agency dpa on Monday that “further tests will be conducted in the coming days.” Merkel went into quarantine at home on Sunday evening after being informed that a...
Oakmont Bakery hosts 10,000 free sandwiches giveawayVideo
Kindness filled the air during a rainy Monday morning in Oakmont as free sandwiches made their way into trunks and passenger seats, destined for churches, nursing homes and hungry families’ kitchens. In all, 10,000 sandwiches made from 2,500 pounds of deli meat and 400 pounds of cheese were handed out...
Allegheny County reports 8 new cases of covid-19, total now at 48; 6 people hospitalized
There are 48 confirmed cases of covid-19 in Allegheny County, according to figures released Monday by the Allegheny County Health Department. Of those cases, six people are hospitalized. The county recorded its first coronavirus death Saturday, a person in their late 60s who was being treated at Jefferson Hospital. The...
Toilet paper calculator: How long will your stash last?Video
Toilet paper — it’s just about the most prized commodity these days. Or is that commode-ity? Anyway, you’re likely guarding your stash of TP carefully. But how do you know if you have enough? How do you know how long your rolls will keep you in business. Well, enter howmuchtoiletpaper.com....
Pa. state parks, forests extend facilities closure
Facilities at Pennsylvania’s parks and forests will be closed until the end of April in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources announced Monday that an initial 14-day closure instituted on March 17 will be extended until April 30. Trails,...
Fauci says he can’t stop Trump from talking at briefings
WASHINGTON — Dr. Anthony Fauci says he can’t jump in front of the microphone to stop President Donald Trump from speaking at daily White House briefings on the coronavirus outbreak. The nation’s top infectious disease expert tells Science magazine in an interview that Trump listens “even though we disagree on...
Pittsburgh Diocese offers parishioners virtual updates
With weekday and Sunday Masses canceled due to the spread of the coronavirus, Bishop David Zubik and other priests of the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh are turning to YouTube and social media to update parishioners on events taking place in their churches. “This is going to be an important week...
