Coronavirus category, Page 273
Trump administration: $1.3M for fast coronavirus test development
President Donald Trump’s administration announced Friday it is awarding $1.3 million to two companies trying to develop rapid covid-19 tests that could detect whether a person is positive for the new coronavirus within an hour. The Department of Health and Human Services said it is awarding $679,000 to DiaSorin Molecular,...
Latest on coronavirus: Gov. Wolf explains measures taken in Pa.; state cases rise to 41
Over the course of just a few hours Friday, cases of the novel coronavirus in Pennsylvania jumped from 33 to 41 — including the first patient to test presumptive positive from Western Pennsylvania. The Washington County case was announced during a 5 p.m. update by the state Department of Health....
Big city, big worry: New Yorkers fret as bustling city slows as coronavirus spreads
NEW YORK — New Yorkers will awake Friday to find the coronavirus has left their famously bustling city with no Broadway, no basketball games, no big gatherings, and a populace unnerved by an ever-worsening crisis. A dizzying series of temporary coronavirus-related closures announced Thursday included some of the city’s cultural...
Pa. state prisons suspend all visits amid covid-19 concerns
State prisons in Pennsylvania have suspended all visits for at least two weeks, the Department of Corrections announced late Thursday. Corrections Secretary John Wetzel also said enhanced screenings of staff, vendors, chaplains and other contractors will begin at all state correctional institutions. Wetzel had announced Wednesday that only SCI-Phoenix, which...
Holy Cross Academy in Ross closed Friday over fear of coronavirus exposure
Holy Cross Academy in Ross is closed Friday after officials learned that a student may have been exposed to the coronavirus, the Pittsburgh Catholic Diocese announced this morning. Officials said the student was possibly exposed to the virus from a relative outside the school. They stressed that nobody in the...
Spain orders 1st mandatory lockdown for 60,000 amid coronavirus pandemic
The Latest on the world’s coronavirus pandemic: Spain’s has ordered its first mandatory lockdown, confining over 60,000 people to four towns as infections for the new coronavirus increase sharply. The rise is straining health services and putting more pressure on the government to act faster to fight the pandemic. The...
Disney World closes theme parks for rest of March as coronavirus concerns swell
ORLANDO, Fla. — Throughout its nearly 50-year history, Walt Disney World has closed briefly a handful of times from looming hurricanes and the 9/11 terrorist attacks, but late Thursday, the company announced it would shut down for nearly two weeks starting Sunday because of the coronavirus pandemic — an unprecedented...
Tim Benz: Path to coronavirus sports cancellations confused, confounded and contradicted
I’m not a huge fan of “The Office.” It’s OK. Not great. The humor is forced. The characters became two-dimensional characterizations of themselves after the third season. And I found the plot lines repetitive. There. I said it. Unpopular TV hot take for you. But I ran through five episodes...
3 Alle-Kiski Valley districts on 2-hour delay so staff can prep for possible closings due to coronavirus
Students in the Leechburg Area, Allegheny Valley and Riverview will be on a two-hour delay Friday so staff can develop plans to continue educating students if a decision is made to shut down school buildings to curb the spread of the coronavirus, district officials announced. The delay is for students...
Reba show at PPG Paints Arena rescheduled over coronavirus concerns
Reba McEntire’s March 26 show at PPG Paints Arena has been postponed as coronavirus concerns continue to stretch across the country, the singer/songwriter announced Thursday night. She will now be coming to Pittsburgh July 16. All tickets purchased for the March 26 show will be honored. The nationwide arena tour,...
Fox Chapel schools closed after student’s ill parent raises concerns about coronavirus exposure
The Fox Chapel Area School District will close all schools Friday after officials learned that the parent of a high school student is ill and concerned about potential exposure to coronavirus. While the student’s parent has not traveled to any areas known to have the virus, the district said it...
How a Trib reporter is coping with inability to visit mother during coronavirus uncertainty
My darkest fear is the Pittsburgh-area personal care home where my mom is living will be a death trap if the coronavirus finds its way in. My second fear — which has arrived — is that I won’t be able to visit her. Is the reality that she is simply...
Coronavirus brings entertainment world to a standstill
NEW YORK — The entertainment industry prepared Thursday for an unprecedented shutdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus, canceling upcoming movies, suspending all Broadway performances and scuttling concert tours until it’s safe to welcome crowds back. To accommodate calls for social distancing, Hollywood moved to pause the normal hum...
PSO and Cultural Trust set to go on this weekend, while some theaters pull back
Editor’s note: Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Pittsburgh Symphony announced Friday morning it is postponing concerts scheduled for the next two weekends. There is an old saying in show business: “The show must go on.” And that’s what is happening in parts of Pittsburgh, at least for now. With...
Greensburg St. Patrick’s Day events to continue despite coronavirus concerns
Greensburg area bars say coronavirus won’t prevent them from celebrating St. Patrick’s Day Weekend. All Saints Brewing, Mr. Toad’s and the Parkwood Inn are among the local establishments planning parties, and they say their events will go on as scheduled. “As far as I know, all the bars are still...
Disneyland closing for rest of month amid coronavirus fears
Disneyland has announced that it’s shutting down its California theme parks Saturday over concerns about the coronavirus outbreak. The company said in a statement Thursday that Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park will be closed through the end of the month though there have been no reported cases of...
Lori Falce: Antidote to panic is information
My son is at home today, no doubt ignoring his vocabulary and the math homework he should be getting done in favor of battling zombies on his PlayStation. I did not keep him home because of coronavirus. Well, not because I am afraid of coronavirus. No, he is home because...
Westmoreland County schools planning for worst-case coronavirus scenario
As coronavirus cases continue to grow in eastern Pennsylvania and other areas of the country, school officials across Westmoreland County are preparing plans for how to educate students in a worst-case scenario. Principals in Greater Latrobe School District planned to meet Friday with their staffs to discuss plans for responding...
Patrons keep gambling as casinos prepare for coronavirus pandemic
Editor’s note: Because of the coronavirus pandemic, Rivers Casino Pittsburgh announced it will temporarily suspend operations effective Sunday. Rivers Casino Pittsburgh regular Sandra Painter has little concern about the coronavirus. Painter said she gambles at the casino about three times a week. The Mt. Washington resident will continue to visit...
NCAA cancels men’s, women’s basketball tournaments
March Madness came to a screeching halt before a bracket could even be filled out. The NCAA canceled its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments Thursday because of the spread of coronavirus, putting an abrupt end to the season less than a month before champions were to be crowned. The unprecedented...
ACC suspension of all spring athletic activities will impact Pitt athletes
The ACC has decided to suspend all athletic activities, which will significantly impact Pitt teams on several fronts, including participation in the NCAA Wrestling Tournament, which was subsequently canceled by the NCAA. Also, spring football practice, games and recruiting will be discontinued for the duration of the spring. The ban...
Big Ten, Penn State scrap all sports through the end of academic year
Penn State has canceled all spring sports, including the April 18 Blue-White football game, due to coronavirus outbreak. In a release disseminated early Thursday afternoon, Penn State announced it had postponed all football-related activities — practice, recruiting and media availability — indefinitely. That included pro day workouts for NFL-bound players,...
Allegheny County officials disclose ‘bottleneck’ in coronavirus testingVideo
There is a “bottleneck” in testing Allegheny County residents for the novel coronavirus because of strict guidelines, Allegheny County health officials said Thursday, at the same time working to quell panic among the public. There are still no known cases of covid-19 in the county, officials said, noting that because...
When it comes to coronavirus, here’s what ‘social distancing’ actually means
Public health and government officials are urging residents to practice social distancing over the next few weeks, but what does that actually mean? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention define it as the practice of staying out of mass gatherings and other congregate settings and keeping at least 6...
Wilkinsburg closing 2 schools because of potential coronavirus exposure
Wilkinsburg School District announced Thursday it is closing Kelly Primary School and Turner Intermediate School on Friday and Monday due to a potential exposure to covid-19. Wilkinsburg Superintendent Linda J. Iverson said the district became aware that a staff member was in contact with a staff member at Colfax K-8...
