April 2, 2020 3:54 am
NEW YORK (AP) – New York is mobilizing thousands of volunteers to help deal with an outbreak that caused the statewide death toll from the coronavirus to double in 72 hours to more than 1,900, while other hot spots flared around the U.S. Spain reported a record 864 deaths in one day, for a total of more than 9,000, while France registered an unprecedented 509 and more than 4,000 in all. In Italy, with over 13,000 dead, the most of any country, morgues overflowed with bodies, caskets piled up in churches and doctors were forced to decide which desperately ill patients would get breathing machines. Experts drew hope though the spread was already slowing in the country, alongside China, where the virus was first detected in December.
April 2, 2020 3:50 am
It has been about two weeks since liquor stores closed across Pennsylvania, and state officials announced they would start selling it online. Customers were directed to FineWineandGoodSpirits.com to purchase liquor and have it delivered. However, the online store was shut down soon after due to “overwhelming demand.” In the release, officials did say that access to the site will be “randomized to avoid overwhelming the site with high traffic, prevent order abuse and prolong access throughout the day, so that order availability isn’t exhausted in seconds or minutes each day.” Customers can purchase up to six bottles per transaction from a reduced catalog. All orders must be shipped to home or non-store addresses, and only one order per address will be fulfilled per day. The PLCB is not considering reopening stores at this time, although the agency continues to monitor the situation in consultation with the Wolf Administration and public health officials.”
April 2, 2020 2:39 am
A Washington County pastor has made national news because he says he plans to organize an outdoor “Woodstock-like” Easter service to protest the stay-at-home orders to prevent coronavirus. Conservative Christian pastor Jonathan Shuttlesworth made the announcement on social media Tuesday. “I’m gonna announce it. We’re gonna hold an outdoor Easter blowout service. Not online. A national gathering. You come from all over, like Woodstock. And we’re gonna gather and lift up Jesus Christ,” Shuttlesworth says. His announcement comes following the arrests of several pastors in the U.S. for violating the stay-at-home orders. Shuttlesworth is a televangelist who co-founded Revival Today TV. Shuttlesworth did not announce where the gathering would be held. The only address listed for him is a post office box in Prosperity. Washington County Commission Chairperson Diana Irey-Vaughan tells WJPA news that she has alerted public safety officials and they are looking into the claims.
April 2, 2020 2:39 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Gov. Tom Wolf on Wednesday placed all of Pennsylvania under an order to stay at home, dramatically expanding the geographic footprint of the quarantine as state officials combat the coronavirus pandemic. In one stroke, Wolf added 34 counties to his stay-home edict, meaning that residents of all 67 of Pennsylvania’s counties must now stay home as much as possible to help slow the spread of COVID-19. With coronavirus infections continuing to rise dramatically in the state, with nearly 1,000 new confirmed cases reported Tuesday, Wolf called a statewide quarantine “the most prudent option.” Residents may leave their homes for a number of reasons that include working at a business that’s still open, going to the grocery store or pharmacy, visiting a doctor, caring for a relative or heading outside to exercise. Police will continue to focus on informing residents of the order rather than on enforcement, according to the governor’s office. The order will last at least through April 30. Separately, schools and nonessential businesses are closed until further notice.
April 1, 2020 5:50 pm
(AP) – Mobile carrier T-Mobile has completed its takeover of smaller rival Sprint, creating a new wireless giant that rivals AT&T and Verizon in size. The deal was announced two years ago and has taken a long time to close because of pushback from state and federal regulators. T-Mobile will sell assets to satellite TV company Dish to try to set it up as a new wireless company. Still, public-interest groups say the consolidated wireless market will cost consumers. T-Mobile says the deal will benefit consumers and had promised regulators not to raise prices for three years.
April 1, 2020 5:45 pm
SYDNEY (AP) – A three-time actor in the “Star Wars” movie series has died of COVID-19. His agent says Andrew Jack died yesterday. He was 76 and his wife says her husband died just two days after being told he had the coronavirus. Jack was in “Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi” as General Ematt, as well as in “Solo: A Star Wars Story” and “Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens.” He also was a dialect coach. Among his clients were Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Hemsworth.
April 1, 2020 4:48 pm
NEW YORK (AP) – More evidence is emerging that coronavirus infections are being spread by people who have no clear symptoms, complicating efforts to gain control of the pandemic. A study by researchers in Singapore is the latest that has estimated that around 10% of infections are sparked by people who were infected but not yet showing symptoms. Reacting to recent research, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday changed how it was defining risk of infection for Americans, saying anyone may be a considered a carrier, whether they have symptoms or not.
April 1, 2020 2:54 pm
(AP) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is telling drugmakers to immediately pull a type of heartburn drug off the market due to contamination with a chemical that may cause cancer. Companies have recalled dozens of lots of Zantac and related drugs due to the issue. And the FDA previously said patients could continue taking the drugs because the risk was low. But regulators said Wednesday that levels of the chemical increase over time, especially when the drugs are stored at higher temperatures. Many companies, including the maker of Zantac, already removed their products from U.S. stores.
April 1, 2020 9:48 am
The Washington County Redevelopment Authority, as promised, has appealed a decision requiring it to provide Local Share Account records to 49th Legislative District Republican State Representative Bud Cook. The State Office of Open Records issued that order back in February. The Authority, however, claims that reproducing material on more than four-hundred projects dating back to 2008 would place an “unreasonable burden’ on the Authority. They also claim it would require some two-thousand man-hours of work. The Authority maintains that Cook has access to the records but must search and copy the records himself. Cook tells WJPA news that the Redevelopment Authority “never kept minutes for twelve years of the process” and that he “understands it may be a burden but people have a right to know where their significant property tax reduction went to”. Cook also questions whether the Authority met its burden in filing its appeal. A hearing date on the matter has not been set.
April 1, 2020 4:05 am
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) – Census Day arrives Wednesday with a nation almost paralyzed by the spread of the novel coronavirus. April 1 is the date used to reference where a person lives for the once-a-decade count. The virus’s spread has forced the U.S. Census Bureau to suspend field operations for a month, from mid-March to mid-April. That’s when the hiring process would be ramping up for tens of thousands of temporary census takers. It also has delayed the start of counts for the homeless and people living in group quarters and has pushed back the deadline for wrapping up the head count to mid-August.
