U.N. chief urges G20 to adopt ‘wartime’ plan with trillions
UNITED NATIONS — U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged leaders of the world’s 20 major industrialized nations on Tuesday to adopt a “wartime” plan including a stimulus package “in the trillions of dollars” for businesses, workers and households in developing countries trying to tackle the coronavirus pandemic. He said in a...
‘A bullet train’: New York coronavirus peak may come soon, swamp hospitals
NEW YORK — Gov. Andrew Cuomo sounded his most dire warning yet about the coronavirus pandemic Tuesday, saying the infection rate in New York is accelerating and the state could be as close as two weeks away from a crisis that sees 40,000 people in intensive care. Such a surge...
Trump hoping to see economy reopened by Easter amid pandemic
WASHINGTON — With lives and the economy hanging in the balance, President Donald Trump said Tuesday he is hoping the United States will be reopened by Easter as he weighs how to relax nationwide social-distancing guidelines to put some workers back on the job during the coronavirus outbreak. Trump’s optimism...
Coronavirus testing at Pittsburgh Zoo parking lot draws another big crowd
It was, well, a zoo at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium again Tuesday. People in their vehicles lined the parking lot of the zoo in hopes of getting tested for the coronavirus. The Central Outreach Wellness Center is offering drive-thru testing in the lot between 11 a.m. and 4...
Europe eyes smartphone location data to stem virus spreadVideo
Several European nations are evaluating powerful but potentially intrusive tools for fighting the coronavirus pandemic, a move that could put public health at odds with individual privacy. The tools in question are apps that would use real-time phone-location data to track the movements of virus carriers and the people they...
Pennsylvania State Police issue 17 new warnings Tuesday to businesses that failed to close
Pennsylvania State Police issued 17 more warnings Tuesday to businesses deemed “non-life-sustaining” that were still operating, bringing the two-day total to 44. Gov. Tom Wolf on Thursday ordered any Pennsylvania business that does not serve a life-sustaining purpose to close in an effort to slow the spread of covid-19. “As...
Too close for comfort: Belgium agrees to shut hair salonsVideo
BRUSSELS — When the Belgian government announced last week that hairdressers would still be able to operate during the coronavirus epidemics, many in the profession were dumbfounded and furious. Fearing for their health and bereft of the same financial benefits as other businesses which had been forced to close, angry...
Can blood from coronavirus survivors treat the newly ill?
Hospitals are gearing up to test if a century-old treatment used to fight off flu and measles outbreaks in the days before vaccines, and tried more recently against SARS and Ebola, just might work for COVID-19, too: using blood donated from patients who’ve recovered. Doctors in China attempted the first...
Corrections officers push Pennsylvania to stop inmate transfers
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s state corrections officers’ union wants the state prison system to stop all transfers of inmates as a preventative measure against potential spread of the new coronavirus from one institution to another. Meanwhile, more businesses are challenging Gov. Tom Wolf’s order closing the physical locations of businesses determined...
W.Va. stay-home order starts Tuesday amid virus concernsVideo
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Stay home, West Virginia. That’s the message from Gov. Jim Justice as his order for residents to stay inside and close all nonessential businesses takes effect Tuesday night to stem the spread of the coronavirus. The Republican’s executive order goes into effect at 8 p.m. It says...
India’s prime minister decrees 21-day lockdown to curb virusVideo
NEW DELHI — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a “total lockdown” in the country of 1.3 billion people during a televised address Tuesday night, the most extensive stay-at-home order yet in the world’s fight against the coronavirus pandemic. The 21-day lockdown was set to begin at midnight. “To save...
PennDOT reopens 23 rest stops on Pennsylvania interstates
PennDOT has reopened 23 of the state’s 30 rest areas, which had been closed to slow the spread of coronavirus. The department partially reopened 13 facilities last week but kept indoor restrooms closed while providing portable restrooms and handwashing facilities. Those 13 are among the 23 rest areas returned to...
YouTube to limit video quality around the world for a month
YouTube will reduce the quality of videos around the world starting Tuesday, an effort by the world’s most popular video site to ease internet traffic during the coronavirus outbreak. Over the coming days, viewers will at first see YouTube videos in standard definition, the company said. Users will still be...
Mark Cuban unleashes on Twitter, imploring Congress to pass stimulus bill
Pittsburgh-area native and billionaire Mark Cuban unloaded on Congress in a profanity-laced Twitter tirade Tuesday, imploring Democrats and Republicans to come together on a stimulus deal to help save the economy amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Mt. Lebanon entrepreneur and owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks unleashed after a tweet...
Olympics to be postponed until 2021Video
TOKYO — The IOC announced a first-of-its-kind postponement of the Summer Olympics on Tuesday, bowing to the realities of a coronavirus pandemic that is shutting down daily life around the globe and making planning for a massive worldwide gathering in July a virtual impossibility. The International Olympic Committee said the...
$2 trillion U.S. package may be at hand to ease economic pain of coronavirusVideo
WASHINGTON — Congressional and White House officials said Tuesday a deal appears to be at hand to provide sweeping aid to businesses and workers facing ruin from the coronavirus pandemic. Both Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and the top Democrat, Sen. Chuck Schumer, said agreement appeared close on the nearly...
Texas’ lieutenant governor says U.S. should get ‘back to work’
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas’ lieutenant governor said Monday night that the U.S. should get back to work in the face of the global pandemic and that people over the age of 70, who the Centers for Disease Control says are at higher risk for the coronavirus, will “take care of...
Egypt announces 2-week, night-time curfew to slow virusVideo
CAIRO — Egypt will impose a two-week, nightly curfew in the Arab world’s most-populous country in an effort to stop the spread of the new coronavirus, its prime minister announced Tuesday as the International Monetary Fund warned that a shortage of medical supplies could affect the Mideast’s poorest nations. There...
World covid-19 update: Vatican pressured, Czech Republic has experimental drugVideo
Here’s the latest on the coronavirus pandemic, which has infected more than 383,000 people and killed over 16,500. The covid-19 illness causes mild or moderate symptoms in most people, but severe symptoms are more likely in the elderly or those with existing health problems. More than 101,000 people have recovered...
Trump delays deadline for Real ID licenses because of coronavirusVideo
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — With the covid-19 pandemic further stifling the efforts of states to issue Real ID licenses, President Donald Trump on Monday said he would extend the Oct. 1 deadline for people to have the identification cards to board domestic flights in the United States. Trump made the announcement...
Fighting the coronavirus with disinfecting sprays and solutions: What works?
Brand-name disinfectants are flying off store shelves, snatched up by shoppers looking for effective weapons against the novel coronavirus. But some disinfectants are better than others; some probably aren’t necessary at all; and some can actually be harmful, spawning antibiotic-resistant bacteria. We reviewed recommendations for the general population from the...
Quinn on Nutrition: Take care of yourself, now more than ever
My daughter called to tell me she was sent home from work when she told her boss she was not feeling well. “I hope I don’t have the ‘virus’,” she said. (She doesn’t.) Still, in motherly fashion, I reminded her to follow her physician’s instructions to stay home until she...
Long-term benefits and risks of intermittent fasting aren’t yet known
Dear Mayo Clinic: Is intermittent fasting for weight loss safe? What are the risks of short-term diets that are very low-calorie? Answer: Recent research has found that using intermittent fasting for weight loss may have some benefits in the short term. But at this point, the long-term effects of this...
Officials warn against self-medicating for coronavirus after man’s death
PHOENIX — A Phoenix-area man has died and his wife was in critical condition after the couple took chloroquine phosphate, an additive used to clean fish tanks that is also found in an anti-malaria medication that’s been touted by President Donald Trump as a treatment for covid-19. Banner Health said...
Confusion and objections still rampant over Gov. Tom Wolf’s shutdown order
Confusion is the order of the day in businesses across the Pennsylvania seeking clarity on Gov. Tom Wolf’s sweeping order closing non-life-sustaining businesses. Even as State Police prepared to begin enforcing the governor’s order Monday at 8 a.m., many insisted it was ill-constructed and could have unintended consequences. Greensburg lawyer...
