Got to Category

Coronavirus category, Page 38

Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff, dies at 88
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott tests positive for covid-19, in ‘good health’
AUSTIN — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott tested positive for covid-19 on Tuesday, according to his office, who said the Republican is in good health and experiencing no symptoms. Abbott, who was vaccinated in December and has refused calls to reinstate mask mandates as the highly contagious delta variant surges in...
Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh to require masks in school
Masks will be required for the start of the school year at all schools within the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh. The mask mandate applies to all students, faculty and staff, regardless of vaccination status — unless a medical or developmental condition prevents an individual from wearing a mask, the diocese...
AHN covid vaccine clinic canceled in New Kensington
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Tribune-Review learned around noon Wednesday that this scheduled covid vaccine clinic has been canceled. No reason for the cancellation was immediately available. It was not immediately known if the clinic would be rescheduled. Original report follows: Allegheny Health Network will hold a covid vaccination clinic in New...
Amid new virus surge, Florida skeptics reconsider vaccines
CALLAHAN, Fla. — In a rural stretch of northeastern Florida where barely half the people have gotten a coronavirus shot, Roger West had no problem telling others he was “adamantly anti-vaccination.” The co-owner of the Westside Journal weekly newspaper used his voice as a columnist to widely share his doubts...
Americans spent less in July as covid-19 cases surged
NEW YORK — Americans cut back on their spending last month as a surge in covid-19 cases kept people away from stores. Retail sales fell a seasonal adjusted 1.1% in July from the month before, the U.S. Commerce Department said Tuesday. It was a much larger drop than the 0.3%...
Sources: U.S. to recommend covid vaccine boosters at 8 months
WASHINGTON — U.S. health experts are expected to recommend covid-19 vaccine boosters for all Americans, regardless of age, eight months after they received their second dose of the shot, to ensure lasting protection against the coronavirus as the delta variant spreads across the country. Federal health officials have been actively...
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis promotes covid treatment, downplays vaccine effectiveness 
ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis held another event to promote Regeneron treatments for covid-19 on Monday, unveiling a new clinic at Camping World Stadium in Orlando amid the surge in cases and hospitalizations in the state. Asked why he hasn’t been promoting vaccinations with the same enthusiasm he...
CDC: Allegheny, Westmoreland counties now considered to have high spread of covid-19
Allegheny, Westmoreland and several surrounding counties now have a high level of covid-19 transmission, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC defines a “high” covid-19 transmission level as more than 100 cases per 100,000 people or a 10% positivity rate in a particular county over seven...
Western Pa. hospitals, pharmacies offer 3rd dose of covid vaccine
Certain individuals with compromised immune systems are eligible to receive a third dose of the covid-19 vaccine, with UPMC, Allegheny Health Network and Giant Eagle among regional providers offering the shot. The Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week announced that some people...
Pennsylvania to offer weekly covid-19 testing for schools
ENOLA — Pennsylvania will offer voluntary covid-19 testing in all K-12 schools, state health and education officials announced Monday. School districts will have to opt in, and parents must give consent. For participating school districts, the weekly tests will be conducted in classrooms. Students’ nasal swabs will be pooled and...
Tennessee tops 1-month covid hospitalization high in 2 weeks
NASHVILLE — Tennessee’s top health official said Monday that just halfway through August, the state has already shattered its single-month record for new covid-19 hospitalizations. Health Commissioner Lisa Piercey told reporters the surge in covid-19 patients “really tips the scales” in hospitals even if there aren’t as many people currently...
Cardinal who expressed vaccine skepticism hospitalized with covid, breathing with ventilator
MADISON, Wis. — Cardinal Raymond Burke, one of the Catholic Church’s most outspoken conservatives and a vaccine skeptic, said he has covid-19 and his staff said he is breathing through a ventilator. Burke tweeted Aug. 10 that he had caught the virus, was resting comfortably and was receiving excellent medical...
Many Bible Belt preachers silent on shots as covid-19 surges
Dr. Danny Avula, the head of Virginia’s covid-19 vaccination effort, suspected he might have a problem getting pastors to publicly advocate for the shots when some members of his own church referred to them as “the mark of the beast,” a biblical reference to allegiance to the devil, and the...
The world may never reach herd immunity against covid-19, experts say
As covid-19 surged last year, governments worldwide touted the hope of “herd immunity,” a promised land where the virus stopped spreading exponentially because enough people were protected against it. That’s now looking like a fantasy. The thinking was that the pandemic would ebb and then mostly fade once a chunk...
Texas Supreme Court blocks lower-court rulings that allowed mask mandates
AUSTIN — The Texas Supreme Court stepped in Sunday evening to block lower-court orders that had allowed Dallas and San Antonio to impose mask mandates contrary to an executive order by Gov. Greg Abbott. The temporary restraining orders, issued by separate District Court judges and upheld Friday by intermediate appellate...
Virus claims more young victims as deaths climb yet again 
MIAMI — A young mother had just celebrated her first wedding anniversary and was one of six members of a Jacksonville church to die over a 10-day span. Another Florida woman had just given birth to her first child, but was only able to hold the newborn girl for a...
Limited options hamstring vaccine status verification, leaving it up to honor system
Providing — and verifying — proof of covid-19 vaccine status largely comes down to the honor system. And this could prove problematic with calls for proof of vaccination status growing among employers, entertainment venues, restaurants and colleges. There is no national database of vaccine recipients. Record keeping varies from state...
Covid-stricken Oregon deploys National Guard to hospitals
PORTLAND, Ore. — Oregon’s governor said Friday she will send up to 1,500 National Guard troops to hospitals around the state to assist healthcare workers who are being pushed to the brink by a surge of covid-19 cases driven by the delta variant. Gov. Kate Brown, a Democrat, said the...
Biden eyes tougher vaccine rules without provoking backlash
WASHINGTON — When the pace of vaccinations in the U.S. first began to slow, President Joe Biden backed incentives like million-dollar cash lotteries if that’s what it took to get shots in arms. But as new coronavirus infections soar, he’s testing a tougher approach. In just the past two weeks,...
27 people aboard Carnival cruise test positive for covid-19
Twenty-seven people aboard a Carnival cruise tested positive for covid-19 just before the ship made a stop in Belize City this week, according to the Belize Tourism Board. The positive cases were among 26 crew members and one passenger on the Carnival Vista, which is carrying over 1,400 crew and...
Extra covid vaccine OK’d for those with weak immune systems
WASHINGTON — U.S. regulators on Thursday said transplant recipients and others with weakened immune systems can get an extra dose of the covid-19 vaccine to better protect them as the delta variant continues to surge. The announcement by the Food and Drug Administration applies to millions of Americans who are...
Westmoreland commissioners pressed to take public opinion into account when spending relief funds 
Westmoreland commissioners will convene a public hearing to gather recommendations on how the county should spend $105 million in American Rescue Plan funds. No date has been set. Commissioners Doug Chew and Gina Cerilli Thrasher committed to hosting an information session after hearing from dozens of community members who spoke...
Mormon leaders urge members to mask up, get covid-19 vaccine
SALT LAKE CITY — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints renewed its prior calls to members to get a covid-19 vaccine and to wear face masks in public gatherings Thursday. Church leaders said in a statement that available vaccines have proven to be both safe and effective and...
Pennsylvania’s weekly covid cases at highest point in nearly 3 months
In the past week, Pennsylvania has recorded 11,747 cases of covid-19 — the most in nearly three months. The cases — 8,927 of which were confirmed through a PCR test and 2,820 counted as probable — represent a significant increase since as recently as July 1, when a week’s worth...
State prison guards union warns Wolf of legal action over vaccine mandate
HARRISBURG — The union that represents about 10,000 guards in Pennsylvania’s state prisons told Gov. Tom Wolf on Thursday it plans legal action to stop his effort to force them to get covid-19 vaccines over the next month. The president of the Pennsylvania State Corrections Officers Association sent a letter...


Editor's Picks

Front Porch Theatricals’ musical ‘Baby’ is a labor of love

Washington townhouse on the market for $1,225,000
Folk legend Bruce Cockburn gives uplifting performance at City Winery
‘Champagne & Chapeaux’: Westmoreland Symphony’s annual soiree for a good cause
Jimmy Stewart’s P-51 Mustang stops in hometown for museum anniversary
More Editor's Picks >