April 3, 2020 10:46 am
Singer Bill Withers has died. He wrote and sang a string of soulful songs in the 1970s that have stood the test of time, including “Lean On Me,” “Lovely Day” and “Ain’t No Sunshine.” áAccording to a statement released from his family to The Associated Press, the 81-year-old died in Los Angeles from heart complications. “Lean On Me,” was performed at the presidential inaugurations of both Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. Lately, people have posted videos of their versions of the song as inspiration during the coronavirus pandemic.
April 3, 2020 7:27 am
Freedom Transit is making more changes as they deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. Beginning Monday, April 6 fares will no longer be collected for any of the ‘Fixed Route’ or ‘Shared Ride’ programs. The move is being made to limit interaction between the driver and riders boarding the vehicle. In addition, on Tuesday, April 7 the Pittsburgh Metro route will undergo further service reduction. The runs will be limited to; Inbound, Run 3; 5:45 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. Outbound, Run 4; 7:45 a.m. to 9:10 a.m. Inbound, Run 15; 2:20 p.m. to 3:40 p.m. and Outbound, Run 16; 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. At this time, the ‘Local A’, ‘Local B’, Local Saturday, and Metro Saturday routes will operate as normal.
April 3, 2020 5:11 am
The spread of the coronavirus caused rescheduling of Washington City Council meetings this week. The agenda meeting normally scheduled for Monday night was cancelled and the Thursday evening regular meeting was moved to 3PM, but if you went to city hall, no one was there. City council held their regular meeting Thursday, virtually. The public was able to participate by emailing staff before the meeting began. Council unanimously approved a declaration of emergency as it pertains to the public health associated with the Covid 19 pandemic. The declaration will run through July 2020 or until Governor Tom Wolf lifts his emergency disaster resolution. Councilman Ken Westcott alerted council that PennDot will be starting work on Maiden Street this Monday, Councilman Joe Manning directed business owners to the city website for information about loans and other programs from the state and federal government to assist during the current shutdown. Mayor Scott Putnam made council aware that everyone must work hard to keep to budget as revenues to the city are expected to be much lower this year due to business shut downs and unemployment associated with those shut downs.
April 3, 2020 3:55 am
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) – New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio asked New Yorkers to wear a face covering when they go outside and will be near other people. He cited research showing asymptomatic people could be spreading the virus without realizing it. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo warned Thursday that the state’s supply of ventilators could be exhausted in six days if the number of people becoming critically ill with the coronavirus maintains its rate. The number of New Yorkers killed by the virus soared again to over 2,300. In some instances, veterinarians are giving up their ventilators to help humans.
April 3, 2020 3:55 am
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) – A cruise ship that had at least two passengers die of coronavirus and others sickened while barred from South American ports has finally docked in Florida. The Zaandam and a sister ship sent to help it, the Rotterdam, were given permission to unload passengers at Port Everglades on Thursday, after days of negotiations with officials who feared it would divert resources from a region with a spike in virus cases. The agreement was reached Thursday by local, state and federal officials and Carnival Corp., which owns the Zaandam and the Rotterdam
April 3, 2020 3:54 am
South Korea has reported 86 new cases of the coronavirus to bring its caseload above 10,000. South Korea’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday said about half of the new cases came from the densely populous Seoul metropolitan area, where infections linked to international arrivals have been rising. China reported 31 new confirmed virus cases, 29 of them from overseas, and four new deaths. North Korea says only around 500 people remain under coronavirus quarantine in the country after authorities in recent weeks released thousands of others who supposedly had no symptoms.
April 3, 2020 3:53 am
NEW YORK (AP) – CNN’s daytime news host Brooke Baldwin says she’s tested positive for the coronavirus. She’s the second on-air personality at CNN to come down with the disease in the past week. Prime-time host Chris Cuomo has also tested positive and did two of his shows remotely from the basement of his home. Baldwin said Friday on Instagram that the fever, aches and chills that are often a sign of COVID-19 came on suddenly Thursday afternoon. Baldwin said she has been social distancing and doing everything that experts say, but “still, it got me.” COVID-19 causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can be fatal.
April 3, 2020 3:52 am
WUHAN, China (AP) – Millions of Chinese workers are streaming back to factories, shops and offices but many still face anti-coronavirus controls that add to their financial losses and aggravation. In Wuhan, the city where the pandemic started in December, police require a health check and documents from employers for returning workers. Chinese leaders have eased travel controls to revive the world’s second-largest economy but they have ordered local authorities to prevent a new spike in infections as businesses reopen. Beijing told companies to keep paying employees during a two-month shutdown, but millions of migrants, day laborers and others without regular jobs need to get back to work to start getting paid again.
April 3, 2020 3:50 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Coronavirus deaths are mounting with alarming speed in Spain, Italy and New York, the most lethal hot spot in the United States. Also growing is the pandemic’s economic toll, with 10 million Americans thrown out of work in just two weeks in the swiftest, most stunning collapse the U.S. job market has witnessed. In New York City, which has seen 1,500 virus deaths, one funeral home in a hard-hit neighborhood had 185 bodies stacked up – more than triple normal capacity. Worldwide the number of reported infections reached another gloomy milestone – 1 million, with more than 53,000 deaths.
April 3, 2020 2:51 am
Researchers and doctors from UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh announced Thursday that there is a potential vaccine for COVID-19. The vaccine, which is delivered through a fingertip-sized patch, produces what is thought to be enough antibodies to neutralize the virus. Researchers said viruses closely related to the new coronavirus show that spike proteins are important when it comes to inducing immunity. The potential vaccine works like the current flu vaccine in that it uses lab-made pieces of viral protein to build immunity. The potential vaccine is being called PittCoVacc, short for Pittsburgh Coronavirus Vaccine. The fingertip-sized patch increases the potency of the vaccine through the use of 400 tiny needles that deliver the spike protein pieces into the skin, where the immune reaction is strongest, officials said. It goes on like a Band-Aid and the needles dissolve into the skin because they’re made up of sugar and the protein pieces. “It’s actually pretty painless. It feels kind of like Velcro,” said Louis Falo, M.D., Ph.D., professor and chair of dermatology at Pitt’s School of Medicine and UPMC. The process of applying for an investigational new drug approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has been started, with anticipation of starting a phase I human clinical trial in the next few months. “Testing in patients would typically require at least a year and probably longer,” Falo said.
