Coronavirus category, Page 259
Coronavirus to impact more than 500,000 jobs across the Pittsburgh region
Government directives to close businesses and restrict people’s activities in an effort to stem the spread of coronavirus infections and deaths will impact more than a half-million workers in the Pittsburgh region, a top local economist predicts. And the pain will be spread across virtually all industries in the seven-county...
Election limbo as coronavirus outbreak upends U.S. primaries
ATLANTA — U.S. elections have been upended by the coronavirus pandemic. At least 13 states have postponed voting and more delays are possible as health officials warn that social distancing and other measures to contain the virus might be in place for weeks, if not months. The states that have...
Coronavirus world glance: Nearly 5,000 new infections in a day in Spain
MADRID — Spain has recorded almost 5,000 new coronavirus infections in 24 hours as it climbed into third place in the global ranking of infections behind China and Italy. Health authorities said Saturday that virus infections have reached 24,926, up from 19,980 the day before. Total deaths were 1,326, up...
Trump’s ‘coup de grâce’? Coronavirus tests a divided America
LARGO, Fla. — As restaurants across the country stacked chairs on tables and shut their doors to try to contain the deadly coronavirus, what would be the final visitors streamed into the Conservative Grounds coffee shop in Largo, Fla. Fox News played on the televisions. Patrons posed for photos in...
Virus outbreak poses massive challenges for US charities
NEW YORK — With its global scope and its staying power, the coronavirus outbreak poses unprecedented challenges for charities and nonprofit groups that rely on donations. The American Red Cross faces a severe blood shortage due to the cancellation of nearly 2,700 blood drives. The Girl Scouts’ annual cookie sale...
AP Photos: Public places stand abandoned in time of virus
These are places meant for people. New York’s Grand Central Terminal — a common metaphor for “busy” in much of the English-speaking world — dotted with only scattered commuters. The Grand Place in Brussels at twilight, its cobblestones so devoid of foot traffic that the streetlight reflections sprawl for yards...
Worry and anxiety while planning for birth of baby during coronavirus outbreak
The world can change a lot in nine months. Last fall, everything seemed normal. Summer was drawing to a close. Work was good. My family took a short trip to Lake Erie. Football season was starting. Relatives visited. And my wife and I found out there was an addition to...
Couples scramble to revamp wedding, honeymoon plans amid coronavirus pandemic
After their August engagement, Greensburg couple Gregory Mertz and Janelle Stayt planned a dream wedding. They were going to marry March 21 in Montgomery County, host their reception at Stateside Vodka Bar in Philadelphia and then depart on a European honeymoon. As the fast-spreading coronavirus raced around the globe, the resulting...
US tourists stranded abroad don’t know when they’ll return
Linda Scruggs and Mike Rustici trained for months to hike the winding trails leading to Machu Picchu’s complex of Inca ruins. So they were thrilled when their flight landed last Friday in the Peruvian capital. They managed to do part of their trek but now they are trapped in a...
Western Pa. colleges orchestrate student departures with eye on safety
As colleges and universities in the region transition to online-only classes in an attempt to stop the spread of the coronavirus, students who haven’t done so already are being asked to move out and gather their belongings from residence halls. A small number of students will remain on campus. Here’s...
Westmoreland restaurants scramble to survive state dining ban, coronavirus restrictionsVideo
Rizzi DeFabo stood behind the counter inside his family’s popular Rizzo’s Malabar Inn, a 450-seat restaurant in rural Crabtree. Instead of being packed with hungry customers, DeFabo offered take-out meals only — following the governor’s order for restaurants in an effort to slow the spreading coronavirus. “This is the first...
Possibly ill passengers from cruise ship land in Atlanta; some travelers allowed to head home
ATLANTA — At least 300 cruise ship passengers who had been stranded at sea due to the coronavirus were flown to Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on Friday. But it wasn’t known late Friday whether any of those passengers would be quarantined or allowed to travel home. Several people aboard the...
Hospitals stockpile malaria drug Trump says could treat covid-19
NEW YORK — Hospitals have been rushing to stockpile a decades-old antimalarial drug touted by President Donald Trump and others as a treatment for the new coronavirus. Hydroxychloroquine is being snapped up by medical systems at more than twice the typical pace as U.S. hospitals seek to build large inventories...
Environmental groups urge Americans to eat more fish while hunkering down against virus
Environmental groups have long fought for animal rights, rallied against pollution and pushed back on overfishing, but a new message this week urged the nation to eat more seafood as it hunkers down during the coronavirus pandemic. Specifically, many are asking you to please buy American-caught seafood. “Over the past...
Business Fallout: Starbucks limits access, Target raises pay
Less than three months ago came the first reports of cases of pneumonia related to a virus first detected in Wuhan, China. The outbreak of the virus that causes COVID-19 has caused unprecedented disruptions that have brought an unparalleled shock to the global economy. Following are developments Friday related to...
Drive-thru covid-19 testing to begin Monday at the Pittsburgh Zoo
Drive-thru testing for covid-19 will be available next week at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium. Starting Monday morning, testing by the Central Outreach Wellness Center will be available at the zoo’s main parking lot in Pittsburgh’s Highland Park neighborhood, zoo officials announced Friday night. Referrals or prescriptions are not...
Ben Roethlisberger on ‘lockdown,’ urges others to stay homeVideo
Ben Roethlisberger gave the world a glimpse of what his life has been like the past week while he and his family are voluntarily quarantined during the coronavirus pandemic. The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback was seen in a tweet shared Friday afternoon by the official team account that showed an intimate...
Small businesses scramble to survive amid Pa.’s partial shutdown over coronavirus pandemic
A day after Gov. Tom Wolf imposed an order on all but “non-life-sustaining” businesses to close to thwart the spread of covid-19, local business owners across Western Pennsylvania are scrambling to gauge how the state’s unprecedented shutdown will impact them and navigating how to survive it. Wolf announced Friday night...
USA Swimming urges USOPC to ask for delay of Tokyo GamesVideo
DENVER — The head of USA Swimming urged the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee to push for a 12-month postponement of the Tokyo Games, signaling the first fissure between powerful American factions attempting to maneuver the U.S. team through the coronavirus crisis. CEO Tim Hinchey sent a letter Friday to...
Emergency medical providers fear information gap in local cases of coronavirus
As covid-19 cases continue to rise in Allegheny County, so do worries among some emergency personnel who fear being exposed to the virus without knowing it. “Basically, it is frustrating at this time that the Allegheny County Health Department has no system in place to provide municipalities with a confirmed...
Pitt allows students to convert classes to pass/fail grading
The University of Pittsburgh is allowing students to convert their courses to pass/fail grading when classes resume online next week. In a letter to faculty members, Provost Ann Cudd said all undergraduate and graduate students can convert any of their courses to pass/fail grading after the semester ends. Passing grades...
Gov. Wolf delays shutdown order; authorities unclear about enforcement
Western Pennsylvania authorities are seeking clarification on how they are supposed to enforce a mandate from Gov. Tom Wolf ordering myriad businesses across the state to shut down. The order affects all businesses deemed non-life-sustaining, and enforcement begins Monday at 8 a.m. It was supposed to start at 12:01 a.m....
Borrowers get a 2-month grace period on interest rates for federal student debt
Millions of borrowers with federal student loan debt will get a brief break on interest rates for the next 60 days. U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos Friday afternoon announced the terms of the student debt relief President Trump promised last week. For the next two months, all borrowers with...
Westmoreland business community weighs in on coronavirus restrictions, closuresVideo
In addition to coal production and car dealerships, law offices also were targeted for closure in Gov. Tom Wolf’s edict for non-life-sustaining businesses as part of efforts to slow the coronavirus pandemic. Some local firms, however, say they are needed — and aren’t closing. “I don’t think (Wolf) has the...
Pandemic highlights digital divide, inequality of internet access
Carrie Richards tested positive for Type A Influenza more than a week ago. She’s been in quarantine ever since. “It feels like it’s been a month,” she said. With no internet and no computer at her home in Vandergrift, there is little for Richards, 44, to do to occupy her...
