April 17, 2020 2:11 pm
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania will gradually reopen its economy using a “regional, sector-based approach” and a modeling tool that will help public officials decide when it’s safe. That’s according to a plan obtained by The Associated Press ahead of its release by the governor’s office on Friday. The plan does not include a timetable or many details about the metrics that Gov. Tom Wolf and his administration will use to decide that Pennsylvania can begin emerging from the coronavirus pandemic after weeks of social distancing. Wolf plans to address the plan Friday afternoon. Wolf’s plan comes a day after President Donald Trump, pressing to restart the ravaged U.S. economy, gave governors a road map for economic recovery.
April 17, 2020 12:25 pm
Many families in need left the Canonsburg Food Bank grateful for the opportunity to pick up supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Food Bank’s “Truck to Trunk” event took place at the Canonsburg United Presbyterian Church on West Pike Street Friday morning. Cars lined up as early as 3:30 a.m. in the church parking lot, and the initial line for food extended over a mile down Pike Street. Canonsburg Mayor David Rhome said the event ran very smoothly as two lines branched off to volunteers who would place the food and other items into the trunks of the people who attended. Volunteers say they had a major amount of “walk-ins” who were not already registered with the Food Bank, who was also fulfilling the needs of the Peters Township and Finleyville Pantries, which are closed at this time. In total, Mayor Rhome says they expected to have served 600-700 families in the area throughout the morning.
April 17, 2020 9:32 am
MOSCOW (AP) – An International Space Station crew has been greeted with extra precautions due to the coronavirus after landing safely in Kazakhstan after more than 200 days in space. The Soyuz capsule carrying NASA astronauts Andrew Morgan and Jessica Meir and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka touched down on Friday in central Kazakhstan. Russian officials took stringent measures to protect the crew members amid the pandemic. The recovery team and medical personnel assigned to help the three out of the capsule had been under close medical observation for nearly a month and tested for the new virus. Morgan wrapped up a 272-day mission on his first space flight. Meir and Skripochka spent 205 days in space.
April 17, 2020 9:31 am
LONDON (AP) – A leading public health expert said Friday that “system errors” have led to Britain having likely the highest coronavirus death rate in Europe. Anthony Costello, director of the Institute for Global Health at University College London, said the U.K. “could see 40,000 deaths” by the time the first wave of the country’s outbreak is over. Costello criticized the government for failing to test enough people for the new virus and failing to trace and isolate those who were in contact with infected individuals.. As of Thursday, 13,729 people had died in U.K. hospitals after testing positive for coronavirus. Health Secretary Matt Hancock defended the government, saying “test, track and trace” was part of its strategy.
April 17, 2020 4:01 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump has given governors a road map for recovering from the economic pain of the coronavirus pandemic, laying out a phased approach to restoring normal activity. The new guidelines are aimed at easing restrictions in areas with low transmission of the coronavirus, while holding the line in harder-hit locations. They make clear that the return to normalcy will be a far longer process than Trump initially envisioned. Federal officials warn that some social distancing measures may need to remain in place through the end of the year to prevent a new outbreak.
April 17, 2020 4:01 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The ranks of America’s unemployed are swelling toward Great Depression-era levels. And President Trump is reacting to the pressure on the economy by outlining a phased approach to reopening businesses in parts of the country where the coronavirus is being brought under control. The government says the crisis has thrown at least 22 million Americans out of work in just four weeks – easily the worst stretch of U.S. job losses on record. The losses translate to about 1 in 7 workers. Meanwhile grim economic data from China, which began reopening offices and factories last month, suggest recovery may be longer and harder than thought.
April 17, 2020 3:59 am
BANGKOK (AP) – Shares have advanced in Asia after China’s economic growth data, while bleak, was better than expected. The strong open Friday followed an overnight rally on Wall Street powered by buying of Amazon, health care stocks and other market niches that are thriving in the coronavirus crunch. China reported its economy contracted 6.8% in January-March as the country battled the coronavirus. But that was not as bad as the double-digit declines some analysts had reckoned on. The S&P 500 rose 0.6% after a government report showed that 5.2 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week as layoffs continue to sweep the nation. Markets were expecting even worse, which helped to limit the losses.
April 17, 2020 3:58 am
The central Chinese city of Wuhan has raised its number of COVID-19 fatalities by 1,290, with state media saying the undercount had been due to the insufficient admission capabilities at overwhelmed medical facilities at the peak of the outbreak. Wuhan’s revised death toll of 3,869 is the most in China. Numbers of total cases in the city of 11 million were also raised by 325 to 50,333, accounting for about two-thirds of China’s total 82,367 announced cases. Questions have long swirled around the accuracy of China’s case reporting, with Wuhan in particular going several days in January without reporting new cases or deaths.
April 17, 2020 3:56 am
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) – Tests conducted after a resident of a West Virginia University dormitory complex contracted the new coronavirus show a second resident also has COVID-19. The Monongalia County Health Department says 108 students and workers were tested after the university was told a resident of the Evansdale Residential Complex was confirmed to have the virus. The second individual who tested positive is in self-isolation. Other residents of the complex, known as the Towers, have been released from self-quarantine now that the tests are complete.
April 16, 2020 10:47 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Have you liked or commented on a Facebook post about the COVID-19 pandemic that turned out to be a hoax? The social media company says it’s going to notify users if they liked, reacted or commented on harmful misinformation removed from Facebook’s news feed. Facebook will then direct those users to information about virus myths debunked by the World Health Organization. Facebook says people will start seeing these warning messages in the coming weeks. Conspiracy theories about the origin of the virus and the vaccines being developed to prevent it still pop up daily on social media platforms.
