Coronavirus category, Page 277
Official: White House didn’t want to tell seniors not to fly
NEW YORK — The White House overruled health officials who wanted to recommend that elderly and physically fragile Americans be advised not to fly on commercial airlines because of the new coronavirus, a federal official told The Associated Press. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention submitted the plan as...
Anxiety grips companies across the world as virus spreads
WASHINGTON — Since breaking out of China, the coronavirus has breached the walls of the Vatican. It’s struck the Iranian holy city of Qom and contaminated a nursing home in Seattle. And around the world, it’s carrying not just sickness and death but also the anxiety and paralysis that can...
Travel chaos erupts as Italy quarantines north to halt coronavirus
ROME — Italy announced a sweeping quarantine Sunday for its northern regions, igniting travel chaos as it restricted the movements of 16 million people — more than one quarter of its population — in a bid to halt the relentless march of the new coronavirus across Europe. Confusion reigned from...
Behind the scenes, scientists prep for coronavirus vaccine test
WASHINGTON — A team of scientists jostled for a view of the lab dish, staring impatiently for the first clue that an experimental vaccine against the new coronavirus just might work. After weeks of round-the-clock research at the National Institutes of Health, it was time for a key test. If...
Florida: 2 dead who tested positive for coronavirus
MIAMI — Two people who tested positive for the new coronavirus have died in Florida, marking the first deaths on the East Coast attributed to the outbreak in the U.S., health officials said Friday. Helen Aguirre Ferre, a spokeswoman for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, confirmed the deaths on Twitter, writing...
What’s Happening: Cruise ship tests, Prisons sanitized
As cases of the new coronavirus surpassed 100,000 worldwide, people on a cruise ship tested positive, Tokyo Olympics organizers are adjusting for the torch’s arrival in Japan, migrants headed to Europe are facing added hardships and shoppers around the globe continue stocking up. These are some of the latest developments...
Why shutting down schools to prevent coronavirus spread could actually make it worse
SEATTLE — The University of Washington announced Friday it was moving all instruction online for the next two weeks, keeping more than 50,000 students out of classrooms as the death toll from COVID-19 continued to rise. At least 16 public elementary and secondary schools in the state have also closed,...
Trump defends administration’s coronavirus approach in CDC visit
ATLANTA — President Donald Trump almost didn’t make the trip to Atlanta to address his administration’s response to the coronavirus. But when he arrived at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s main Atlanta campus, he didn’t seem to want to leave. After initially scrapping the trip, the president...
21 positive for coronavirus on cruise ship off California
SAN FRANCISCO — Twenty-one people aboard a mammoth cruise ship off the California coast tested positive for the new coronavirus and 19 of them are crew members, Vice President Mike Pence announced Friday, amid evidence the vessel was the breeding ground for a deadly cluster of more than 10 cases...
Coronavirus concerns hurting Asian restaurants in Pittsburgh, some owners say
Asian restaurants and markets across Pittsburgh are hurting because of misinformation surrounding how the new coronavirus spreads, community leaders and officials said Friday. To combat the anti-Chinese sentiment, local politicians gathered for lunch at Oakland’s Night Market Gourmet to encourage patronage of Asian restaurants and quash myths. “In the Marines...
South by Southwest canceled as coronavirus concerns rise
South by Southwest has been canceled, the arts festival announced Friday. “The City of Austin has cancelled the March dates for SXSW and SXSW EDU. SXSW will faithfully follow the City’s directions,” according to a statement on the festival’s website. The festival has been called off amid growing fears about...
Allegheny County Jail prepares for coronavirus possibilities
Allegheny County Jail officials are working with the county health department and emergency services to prepare for a potential coronavirus outbreak at the jail, Warden Orlando Harper and Chief Deputy Warden Laura Williams said during a Jail Oversight Board meeting. “As we know, a confined environment is something where we...
Pittsburgh airport ramps up sanitizing efforts as coronavirus spreads
As travelers worldwide place their plans on hold because of the growing threat of the coronavirus, officials at Pittsburgh International Airport said Friday that things there are business as usual. Bob Kerlik, a spokesman for the Allegheny County Airport Authority, said the airport has not received notice of flight reductions....
Penguins release statement on coronavirus
As the world and the United States continue to grapple with the threat of coronavirus, the Pittsburgh Penguins publicly addressed the potential pandemic that has spread to Pennsylvania. The team released a statement Friday afternoon, hours after Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf and Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine held a...
U.S. job market looked robust before coronavirus outbreak escalated
WASHINGTON — Hiring in the United States jumped in February as employers added 273,000 positions, evidence that the job market was in strong shape before the coronavirus began to sweep through the nation. The Labor Department said Friday that the unemployment rate fell to 3.5% last month, matching a 50-year...
At sea: Passengers off California await virus test results
SAN FRANCISCO — Passengers on a cruise ship off the California coast were instructed to stay in their cabins as they awaited test results Friday that could show whether the coronavirus is circulating among the more than 3,500 people aboard. A military helicopter crew lowered test kits onto the 951-foot...
2 with presumed positive cases of coronavirus quarantined in Eastern Pa.
Two people with presumed positive cases of the coronavirus are under quarantine in Delaware and Wayne counties, Gov. Tom Wolf and Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said during a news conference Friday. “We have two individuals with presumed positive cases of covid-19,” Levine said. “They are both at home....
Vatican confirms 1st virus case as pope recovers from cold
VATICAN CITY — The Vatican confirmed the walled city-state’s first case of the new coronavirus Friday and closed some offices as a precaution while Pope Francis continued recovering from a cold. Vatican City’s health clinic, which is used by Vatican employees and their families, was shuttered for sanitizing following the...
Trump CDC visit back on after false coronavirus scare there
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s trip to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, briefly scuttled Friday because of unfounded fears that someone there had contracted the coronavirus, was back on, giving the president another chance to calm growing alarm about the spread of the virus in America. “Be calm....
Trump signs $8.3B bill to combat coronavirus outbreak in U.S.Video
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Friday signed an $8.3 billion measure to help tackle the coronavirus outbreak that has killed 12 people in the United States and infected more than 200. The legislation provides federal public health agencies with money for vaccines, tests and potential treatments and helps state...
Individuals’ exposure to coronavirus shuts 5 Central Bucks schools
Central Bucks School leaders, “out of an abundance of caution,” decided to close five schools Friday for all students and employees after being made aware of individuals in the district who were exposed to a confirmed case of the coronavirus. After consulting with local and state health authorities, school district...
Pittsburgh events to carry on, with precautions, despite coronavirus spreadVideo
Events across the country are being canceled because of the growing threat of the coronavirus, but it’s business as usual in Western Pennsylvania. While precautions are being taken at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh and at the Monroeville Convention Center, event leaders are monitoring the spread of...
Rick Santelli of CNBC says giving every American coronavirus would settle the marketsVideo
Rick Santelli apparently wants many people to perish so the stock market will stabilize. Santelli, an on-air editor at CNBC, said Thursday on the network’s “The Exchange” that every person in the country should be administered the coronavirus so the “global and domestic economies” would be “better off.” As the...
U.S. labs await virus-testing kits promised by administrationVideo
WASHINGTON — Trump administration officials doubled down on their promise to deliver 1 million tests for the coronavirus this week as states reported limited testing supplies and federal lawmakers expressed doubts about the government’s timeline. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told reporters Thursday that a private manufacturer authorized...
Pittsburgh group provides cleaning equipment for coronavirus protection
With the anticipated arrival of the coronavirus in Western Pennsylvania, businesses and families are looking for ways to keep employees and loved ones safe. A group called Women for a Healthy Environment wants to help. The group, based in Pittsburgh, addresses environmental concerns that impact public health. It has developed...
