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Coronavirus category, Page 96

Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff, dies at 88
Lawsuits contend Gov. Wolf has no authority to issue new restrictions
A Butler County attorney who previously won a federal lawsuit against the Wolf administration over the spring covid-19 shutdown orders filed two new suits over the governor’s most recent orders. The lawsuits — one filed by the Butler Area School District and the other by two indoor water parks —...
More than 30% of Westmoreland County covid cases, deaths have come in December
December continues to become the worst month of the pandemic statistically in Westmoreland County. With Tuesday’s new reported covid cases and deaths, there have been 5,541 cases and 105 deaths reported so far this month. The December figures make up 37% and 34% of totals, respectively. There were 542 new...
Pittsburgh International Airport to offer on-site covid-19 testing
Travelers passing through Pittsburgh International Airport can soon opt to pay for a covid-19 test before or after their flight, joining airports worldwide now offering the tests to passengers, according to airport officials. Testing will be voluntary for ticketed passengers and available from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., according to...
Covid numbers tallied for Penn-Trafford area
The state Department of Health reports there have been 1,067 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the Penn-Trafford area since the start of the pandemic in March. The department on Monday released data on confirmed cases of the virus in the six Penn-Trafford area ZIP codes, showing an increase of 549...
Allegheny County reports more than 1,000 new covid cases for 6th time this month
Allegheny County reported 1,059 new covid cases Tuesday, marking the sixth time 1,000 or more cases have been announced by the county 15 days into December. There were 10 new coronavirus-related deaths reported, as well. Total cases and total deaths in the county are now 41,933 and 675, respectively. There...
Moderna vaccine found safe, effective ahead of key FDA review
Moderna Inc.’s vaccine is safe and effective for preventing covid-19, U.S. regulators said, clearing the way for a second shot to quickly gain emergency authorization and add to the country’s sprawling immunization effort. The Food and Drug Administration’s staff said in a report on Tuesday that the experimental vaccine is...
Pittsburgh Irish Festival instrumental in the virtual ‘An Irish Christmas Concert’
Go green on Wednesday. At 8 p.m. the Association of Irish and Celtic Festivals will host “An Irish Christmas Concert,” with support from the Embassy of Ireland and Irish festivals in the U.S., including the Pittsburgh Irish Festival. The virtual performance will be a livestream event of seven acts from...
Where do you fit in line for the coronavirus vaccine?
Health care workers on the frontlines battling the coronavirus are getting the covid-19 vaccine first. So will first responders, teachers, other “essential” workers and adults with covid health risks. But, if you aren’t one of those, where do you fit in line? The New York Times developed a tool in...
Germany demands EU agency approve vaccine before Christmas
BERLIN — Germany on Tuesday increased the pressure on European regulators to speed up their review of a coronavirus vaccine, with its health minister, a hospital association and several lawmakers urging that the vaccine be given the stamp of approval by next week. “Our goal is an approval before Christmas,”...
London faces tightest restrictions; sees new covid strain 
LONDON — London and its surrounding areas will be placed under Britain’s highest level of coronavirus restrictions beginning Wednesday as infections rise rapidly in the capital, the health secretary said Monday, adding that a new variant of the virus may be to blame for the spread. Health Secretary Matt Hancock...
Post-Thanksgiving covid spike continues at Norwin schools
Norwin’s coronavirus cases increased over the weekend, with the school district reporting 14 more cases among students and staff, boosting the post-Thanksgiving total to about 79 cases. Eleven of the 14 cases were among staff: six at Hillcrest Intermediate, three at the high school and one each at Sheridan Terrance...
Penn-Trafford closes middle school, Harrison Park Elementary for the week
Penn Middle School and Harrison Park Elementary in the Penn-Trafford School District will be closed through Friday after students at each school tested positive for the coronavirus. Students will receive remote instruction during that time. Penn-Trafford Superintendent Matthew Harris said Monday the closures are in keeping with covid-19 pandemic guidelines...
Who is next in line to get the covid vaccine?
Some health care workers at UPMC received Pittsburgh’s first doses of the newly approved covid-19 vaccine, but widespread availability is still months off. State Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said Monday the state will receive 97,500 doses of the Pfizer vaccine this week, and the allocations to hospitals and...
U.S. covid-19 deaths top 300,000 just as vaccinations begin 
The U.S. death toll from the coronavirus topped 300,000 on Monday just as the country began dispensing covid-19 shots in a monumental campaign to conquer the outbreak. The number of dead rivals the population of St. Louis or Pittsburgh. It is equivalent to repeating a tragedy on the scale of...
Greater Pittsburgh Food Bank celebrates 40 years of feeding the hungry
Since its inception, the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank has evolved beyond emergency food assistance and providing non-perishable food items to distributing more than 12 million pounds of fresh produce in 2020. This month marks the 40th year of operation for the Food Bank, which opened its doors in Pittsburgh’s...
Pa. corrections department tells officer with covid symptoms to return to work early
Spotlight PA is an independent, non-partisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — The state Department of Corrections defied federal guidelines and a doctor’s order last week, demanding that an officer who...
Scientists focus on bats for clues to prevent next pandemic
Night began to fall in Rio de Janeiro’s Pedra Branca state park as four Brazilian scientists switched on their flashlights to traipse along a narrow trail of mud through dense rainforest. The researchers were on a mission: capture bats and help prevent the next global pandemic. A few meters ahead,...
Canada administers first doses of covid-19 vaccine
TORONTO — Canada administered its first doses of a covid-19 vaccine Monday, becoming one of the first countries to do so in the effort to beat back the pandemic. Five front-line workers in Ontario were among the first Canadians to receive the vaccine at one of Toronto’s hospitals. Anita Quidangen,...
Excela plans to begin vaccine distribution to staff on Friday
Excela Health officials plan to administer their first doses of Pfizer’s covid-19 vaccine to staff in Westmore­land County on Friday, officials said. “We have requested 6,000 doses,” Excela spokesperson Robin Jennings said. Excela officials have conducted an internal survey among staff about the vaccine. Employees will not be required to...
Covid cases on the rise at Westmoreland County Prison
Coronavirus cases continue to mount at Westmoreland County Prison, with eight additional inmates testing positive for the virus Saturday, bringing the total number infected to 114, according to interim Warden George Lowther. Lowther said two units at the Hempfield facility remain in lockdown in an attempt to limit the virus...
Dr. Rachel Levine: ‘Today is a great day,’ but vaccine’s arrival doesn’t end pandemic
As Pennsylvania officials on Monday celebrated the first vaccinations of health care workers against covid-19 , Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine reiterated warnings this is the first step in a long road to the end of the pandemic. “Today is just a great day, when we start immunizing people,”...
Turkey announces 4-day curfew over New Year’s to fight virus
ISTANBUL — Turkey’s president has announced a four-day lockdown starting New Year’s Eve to curb the spread of covid-19. Speaking after a cabinet meeting Monday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the curfew would begin the evening of Dec. 31 and go until the morning of Jan. 4 The government this...
London faces tightest restrictions; sees new virus variant
London and its surrounding areas will be placed under Britain’s highest level of coronavirus restrictions beginning Wednesday as infections rise rapidly in the capital, the health secretary said Monday, adding that a new variant of the virus may be to blame for the spread. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the...
Westmoreland County adds 666 new covid cases over 2 days
Officials with the Pennsylvania Department of Health said there were 666 new cases of covid-19 in Westmoreland County over the past two days. Monday’s report from the department said 371 new cases were added Sunday, 285 confirmed through PCR tests. Of Monday’s 295 new cases, all were confirmed. Westmoreland County’s...
With over 18,000 new covid cases, Pennsylvania nears 500K mark
Health officials reported Monday there were 18,646 new cases of covid-19 in Pennsylvania over the past two days. The Department of Health reported 10,684 of those cases Sunday and 7,962 on Monday. The new cases bring the state’s seven-day average of daily cases to 10,474, while its seven-day case total...


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