Top Stories category, Page 1533
Enclosed portion of Pittsburgh Mills mall closes indefinitely over coronavirus outbreak
The Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills will close at 6 p.m. Tuesday and remain closed “until further notice,” the mall announced on its Facebook page. The closure applies to the enclosed mall only. The mall advised shoppers to check with other stores outside the mall about their status. “In response to...
Pittsburgh Brookline, Milliones schools to get deep cleaning after possible exposure
Pittsburgh Brookline and Milliones schools will receive deep cleaning this week after the district announced students at the school may have come in contact with the coronavirus. A relative of students who attend Pittsburgh Brookline is believed to have covid-19, Pittsburgh Public Schools announced Tuesday. The district notified families of...
UPMC shuns health experts’ calls to cancel elective surgeriesVideo
Pittsburgh-based health giant UPMC on Tuesday rejected calls from county and state health experts to stop doing elective surgeries at its hospitals. While acknowledging that some elective surgeries can be postponed, UPMC said they “cannot be delayed for long.” “This is not the time for UPMC to diminish services to...
Blood donations at critical shortage because of coronavirus pandemic
Blood banks are asking healthy donors to turn out “in full force” as donations drop in the face of the spreading coronavirus. “If we don’t have enough blood to meet the sick patients’ needs, we’ll have another public health crisis on top of the pandemic,” said Kristen Lane, spokeswoman for...
Pa. health secretary: ‘Would not surprise us’ if coronavirus cases start increasingVideo
Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said no hospitals are strained under the weight of the coronavirus right now, but she expects numbers to continue rising as the month goes on. “It would not surprise us if we do start to see increasing numbers – probably next week and...
Outer Banks closed to visitors as coronavirus pandemic spreads
The Outer Banks area of North Carolina closed to visitors starting at 2 p.m. Tuesday as the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread, Dare County officials said in a news release. “While there are currently no individuals who have tested positive for covid-19 in Dare County, officials weighed the potential benefits...
As part of $850 billion coronavirus response, Trump wants checks sent to public in 2 weeks
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is asking Congress to unleash a torrent of emergency economic aid to help people through the financial pain of the coronavirus crisis, with sizable checks directly to Americans as part of the deal. Trump wants checks out to the public within two weeks, Treasury Secretary...
Pittsburgh Marathon canceled over coronavirus pandemic
The Pittsburgh Marathon is canceled for 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic. Race organizer P3R announced Wednesday that it was following Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto’s executive order that banned gatherings of more than 50 people. “All of us at P3R are disappointed and frustrated that this year’s Dick’s Sporting Goods...
Here’s what a drive-by coronavirus test looks likeVideo
Want to see what a test for the coronavirus entails? Photojournalist Lauren Petracca of The Post and Courier newspaper in Charleston, S.C., can show you. It’s essentially the same as a test for the flu. Here’s a video of her getting tested at a drive-by center similar to the one...
Rolling Stones postpone Pittsburgh show, ‘No Filter’ tour
The Rolling Stones won’t be playing Pittsburgh, for now. AEG Presents/ Concerts West announced Tuesday that the Rolling Stones “No Filter” tour is being postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Stones were set to play Heinz Field on June 23. pic.twitter.com/d6lbhVdXzK— The Rolling Stones (@RollingStones) March 17, 2020 “We’re...
Trump moves to blunt coronavirus’ heavy impact on U.S. economy
WASHINGTON — Ahead of an expected surge in coronavirus cases, President Donald Trump on Tuesday moved to blunt the impact of the pandemic on the U.S. economy, fundamentally altered by a push for a nation to stay home. As the global markets fluctuated amid fears of a recession, the president...
Airlines cut flights out of Pittsburgh International Airport as coronavirus spreads
Airlines are cutting flights out of Pittsburgh International Airport in response to the spreading coronavirus, airport officials said Tuesday. Delta has decided to cut 1% of its capacity at Pittsburgh International, trimming flights to Atlanta starting in April, according to a report in BlueSky, the airport’s news outlet. American Airlines...
State Supreme Court Justice Wecht self-quarantines family after son has presumed coronavirus
An Indiana Township man is recovering from a presumed case of the coronavirus, while officials in Fox Chapel Area School District are warning that two of the man’s siblings were at the high school Monday after being in contact with him. Pathologist Dr. Cyril Wecht identified the man as his...
Highlands settles former principal’s federal lawsuit
Highlands School District has settled one of two federal lawsuits accusing the district and its superintendent of violating employees’ leave rights. The school board approved a settlement with Heather Bigney, former principal of Highlands Early Childhood Center, at a meeting Monday. A lawsuit filed by former fourth-grade teacher Jason Smith...
Allegheny County confirms 1 new coronavirus case, 3 presumptive positives
Another new case and three presumptive positive cases of covid-19 have been confirmed in Allegheny County, officials announced Tuesday morning. This brings the total number of confirmed cases in Allegheny County to seven. The new confirmed case is a patient in their 60s who is hospitalized. The health department said...
Portable toilets replace public restroom facilities along Pa. Turnpike
Travelers on the Pennsylvania Turnpike on Tuesday discovered no public toilets or fast food at any of the 17 service plazas along the 360-mile toll road. As of midnight, the commission locked the restrooms at all service plazas in response to the coronavirus pandemic, in an effort to safeguard employees...
1 killed, 1 hurt in Parkway North crash
A Pittsburgh man was killed in a one-vehicle crash Monday on the Parkway North in Ross, according to state police. Michael Mario Steven Smith, 27, was traveling north at 5 p.m. when the vehicle he was in lost control, hit an embankment and became airborne before landing on its roof,...
Distilleries using high-proof alcohol to make hand sanitizer
NEW TRIPOLI, Pa. — A Pennsylvania distillery owner who grew increasingly angry as he saw the skyrocketing price of hand sanitizer has decided to do something about it: He’s temporarily converting his operation into a production line for the suddenly hard-to-find, gooey, alcohol-based disinfectant. Eight Oaks Farm Distillery filled its...
Ohio scraps Democratic primary, Florida workers a no-show
WASHINGTON — The Democratic presidential primary is consumed with uncertainty after leaders in Ohio called off Tuesday’s election just hours before polls were set to open, citing the need to combat the new coronavirus. Officials in Florida, Arizona and Illinois said they would move forward with the vote — but...
Latest on coronavirus: More than half of local adults could be infected; Cars line up around block for drive-by testing; Greensburg closes city facilities
More than half of adults in Western Pennsylvania could be infected by the coronavirus before the pandemic runs its course, Allegheny County Health Director Dr. Debra Bogen estimated Tuesday night. “Sadly, eventually, everyone in this room, or at least half of us in this room, probably will get this infection,”...
Pittsburgh doctor discusses attempts to avoid coronavirus ‘nightmare’Video
The director of the World Health Organization is calling the covid-19 pandemic the “defining global health crisis of our time.” Western Pennsylvania municipalities are entering their first week of widespread school closures and restrictions on bars, restaurants, entertainment venues, and other businesses in an effort to prevent the spread of...
Superintendent believes 1st Beaver County coronavirus case is part of Aliquippa School District
Beaver County officials confirmed Monday night that a resident has been diagnosed with covid-19, and the person is believed to be a member of the Aliquippa School District community, Superintendent Peter Carbone said. In an alert posted on the school district website, Carbone said he has “reliable information” that the...
Gyms, day cares among nonessential businesses closing; banks, repair shops, convenience stores stay openVideo
The Legends of Pittsburgh bustled Monday with hand sanitizer-armed gym rats sweating through one more hard workout before the coronavirus pandemic cut off access to their club indefinitely. Monday marked their last chance to do so for at least the next two weeks. The fitness center anchoring a corner of...
Westmoreland County first responders safeguard against coronavirus
The coronavirus may be relatively new, but Penn Township Ambulance’s director of operations believes anyone calling for help will notice very little, if any, change in response from emergency workers. “The term coronavirus is certainly new, but we’ve responded to contagious diseases before … hepatitis, tuberculosis cases to name a...
Dow dives 2,997 points on fears coronavirus will cause recession
NEW YORK — The U.S. stock market plunged more than 12% Monday for its worst day in more than three decades as voices from Wall Street to the White House said the coronavirus is likely dragging the economy into a recession. The S&P 500 has plummeted nearly 30% since setting...
