Coronavirus category, Page 262

The Pittsburgh region’s top state and federal law enforcement authorities announced Thursday they are teaming up to form the Western Pennsylvania Covid-19 Fraud Task Force to investigate and prosecute those committing fraud during the coronavirus outbreak. “Our goal is simple: We seek to ensure there is no gap between the...

The Oslo-based Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) is investing $4.9 million in a partnership with the University of Pittsburgh and others to develop a covid-19 vaccine. The consortium that includes Pitt is led by the Pasteur Institute in Paris and includes Themis, an Austrian bioscience company. CEPI funding will...

Small businesses that have lost revenue as a result of the coronavirus will be able to apply for low-interest loans now that Pennsylvania has received a disaster declaration from the U.S. Small Business Administration. The action came a day after Gov. Tom Wolf asked for the declaration for all 67...

Jerry Kennedy has been selling hot dogs on Grant Street in Downtown Pittsburgh for a dozen years. He’s never seen the streets so deserted on a weekday. Kennedy, owner of Newman & Marley’s, who parks his stand outside the Steel Plaza T Station on Grant Street, said his business has...

As coronavirus cases continue to rise rapidly across Pennsylvania, the state is seeing “significant hospitalization rates,” Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said Thursday. “It really is varying day to day,” Levine said during a daily covid-19 update. The reported average hospitalization rate is about 10%. Levine said Pennsylvania’s rate...

After four days of public criticism, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission reversed course Thursday and announced it will reopen all 17 of its service plazas beginning at 7 a.m. Friday In a news release, the agency said restrooms inside all service plazas will be open 24 hours. The outdoor portable toilets...

The fear and anxiety that is gripping the nation as coronavirus cases soar is not necessarily a bad thing, a top UPMC doctor leading preparations at the Pittsburgh-based health giant said Thursday. “Fear can be a very healthy thing,” Dr. Don Yealy, UPMC’s chair of emergency medicine, told the Tribune-Review....

Call it stocking up or panic-buying, the first wave of coronavirus-driven shopping seems to have subsided. While toilet paper is still on the endangered species list, a survey of Greensburg-area supermarkets, big box stores and pharmacies reveals limited supplies of paper towels, napkins and facial tissue. The demand for canned...

The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) Thursday moved to acknowledge sweeping changes that have forced colleges to shutter classrooms and move to online instruction due to coronavirus fears. Thursday, the agency’s board of directors moved to loosen the restrictions on about a half-dozen grant programs that affect about 210,000...

TORONTO — The Canadian government said Thursday the Canada-U.S. border will be closed to all non-essential travel in both directions Friday night. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also said it will take “weeks to months” for social-distancing measures in his country to be lifted amid the coronavirus pandemic. Both the U.S....

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Thursday the government should take an equity stake in some companies that need bailouts because of devastating effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the U.S. economy. Trump told a briefing he has executive authority to curb the impact on businesses. “There’s a lot of...

Census officials are limiting face-to-face contact with people residing in nursing homes and those who utilize soup kitchens and shelters as the coronavirus continues to spread. In an effort to keep the public safe while obtaining a complete count, census officials are asking nursing home administrators to help residents reply...

WASHINGTON — Celebrities, politicians and professional athletes faced a backlash this week as many revealed that they had been tested for the coronavirus, even when they didn’t have a fever or other tell-tale symptoms. That’s fueling a perception that the wealthy and famous have been able to jump to the...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The West Virginia governor’s lavish resort, which served as a secret Cold War-era bunker for the federal government, closed Thursday over concerns about the coronavirus pandemic. The Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs said on its website that it shut down at noon Thursday and plans to...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — As worries about the spread of the coronavirus confine millions of Californians to their homes, concern is growing about those who have no homes in which to shelter. Gov. Gavin Newsom estimates up to 60,000 homeless could end up infected. California has more than 150,000 homeless people,...

Westmoreland County has its first two confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus, the state Department of Health announced Thursday. The cases were among 52 new confirmed positives reported statewide, bringing the total number of Pennsylvania cases to 185. It’s an increase of 39% over the previous day and comes as...

NEW YORK — With iPhones and Skype, Conan O’Brien is going back on the air. The late-night host said he will resume putting out new episodes of TBS’ “Conan” on March 30. His staff will remain at home, and the show will be cobbled together with O’Brien on an iPhone...

For the first time in its 48-year history, the Christian Businessmen’s Connection Good Friday breakfast is canceled over concerns about the coronavirus. “We’re considering maybe a fall event. We’re not going to walk away from it until all options are depleted,” said Boice Bailey, chairman of the Greensburg Christian Businessmen’s...

Point Park University postponed graduate hooding and commencement ceremonies scheduled for April 25. School President Paul Hennigan announced the decision Thursday morning. “I understand this news will disappoint many people, and I wish circumstances were different, but we must make the responsible decision to postpone the ceremonies,” Hennigan said in...

Carnegie Mellon University is allowing students to convert any of their online courses to pass/fail grading. “The decision to allow this flexibility is a direct acknowledgement of this unprecedented situation,” Provost Jim Garrett wrote in a letter to campus this week. Normally, according to the CMU website, students may take...

If the coronavirus pandemic spreads as predicted, Western Pennsylvania hospitals will be woefully underprepared, according to a recent study. But one regional hospital system, UPMC, is confident it can handle the volume. “We anticipate that most patients with suspected or confirmed covid-19 will not need to be admitted and will...