April 20, 2020 4:03 am
Transit agencies are asking riders to cover their face while on the vehicle. That includes Freedom transit here in Washington County and Allegheny County Port Authority. “The state’s order clearly means riders should wear face coverings while on transit vehicles,” said Port Authority CEO Katharine Kelleman. “We want to do our part to uphold this statewide order and protect both our customers and employees.” Children ages two or under will also not be required to wear masks. Officials said the change will help keep both passengers and employees safe. (PHOTO: Freedom Transit Twitter)
April 20, 2020 4:00 am
You now won’t be able to go into a pharmacy or grocery store in Pennsylvania if you aren’t wearing a mask. Customers who have a medical condition that prevents them from wearing a mask can enter the store without a mask. Employers are also required to provide masks for workers to wear during their shift. Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said customers who enter a business without a mask can be turned away. She said some stores may have masks to give out and she is confident people will follow these new guidelines. Business found in violation of the order could face tickets, fines or license suspensions. The new order went into effect at 8 p.m. Sunday night.
April 20, 2020 2:47 am
WASHINGTON, Pa. — Six employers in Washington County are getting emergency loan relief totalling more than $585,000 through a new program created to help small businesses deal with the challenges brought by the COVID-19 Pandemic. State Senator Camera Bartolotta announced the funding that will be awarded through the COVID-19 Working Capital Access Program which is administered by the Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority and the Department of Community and Economic Development. The loans will be issued to Big G Tire Company, Fenerb LLC, Dr. Webb and Associates, Model Apparel LLC, Model Dry Cleaners LLC and Michael Scarton DCPC. The program provides the low-interest loans to companies with less than 100 full-time employees. Payments and interest are waived during the first year of the loan. More than $10 million was awarded state-wide in the first round of funding. A total of $60 million will be awarded in the weeks ahead.
April 19, 2020 9:02 am
AMMERSCHWIHR, France (AP) – A region in France’s far east, which has been struck particularly hard by coronavirus deaths, has ordered tests for all nursing home residents and staff. The elderly residents have been confined to their rooms since mid-March to protect against infection, and officials in the Haut-Rhin region are hoping that mass testing will allow them to recover a degree of freedom. In France, more than a third of France’s 17,000 coronavirus victims died in nursing homes. The elderly make up a disproportionate amount of global coronavirus victims, and nursing homes are one of the pandemic’s epicenters. Results from the Haut-Rhin are expected next week.
April 19, 2020 9:01 am
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) – A federal judge has blocked Kansas from limiting attendance at in-person religious worship services or activities to 10 or fewer congregation members to check the spread of the coronavirus. The decision Saturday from U.S. District Judge John Broomes in Wichita signaled that he believes there’s a good chance the policy violates religious freedom and free speech rights. Broomes’ ruling prevents the enforcement of an order issued by Gov. Laura Kelly on April 7. His decision will remain in effect until May 2. He has a hearing set for Thursday in a lawsuit filed against Kelly by two churches and their pastors.
April 19, 2020 9:00 am
SAN MARCOS, Texas (AP) – Authorities in Texas say one police officer is dead and two others were wounded after a gunman “ambushed” them with a rifle at an apartment complex. Saturday’s shooting happened in San Marcos, a fast-growing city between San Antonio and Austin. The city said in a statement that the suspect died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. The two wounded officers were transported to a hospital but their condition wasn’t immediately known. A news conference was scheduled for Sunday.
April 19, 2020 8:59 am
AUBURN, Calif. (AP) – The Sacramento Bee reports that the former mayor of a Northern California city who stepped down after he harshly criticized President Donald Trump and his supporters died Saturday in a plane crash. Officials told the Bee that Dr. Bill Kirby, who was the mayor of Auburn, died in the crash Saturday morning near the Auburn Municipal Airport. Kirby, a urologist, was the pilot of the plane that crashed shortly after 11 a.m. A passenger in the plane suffered minor injuries and was taken to a hospital. Kirby gained notoriety last week after social media posts criticizing Trump’s response to the coronavirus pandemic and comparing the president’s supporters to KKK members.
April 19, 2020 8:58 am
NEW YORK (AP) – The wife of Tony Award-nominated actor Nick Cordero says her husband has had his right leg amputated after suffering complications from the coronavirus. Amanda Kloots on Instagram wrote late Saturday that Cordero “made it out of surgery alive and is headed to his room to rest and recover.” Cordero had been treated with blood thinners to help with clotting in his leg, but his doctors had to stop the treatment because it was causing internal bleeding. Cordero entered the intensive case unit at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on March 31 and has been on a ventilator and unconscious.
April 19, 2020 8:56 am
BANGKOK (AP) – South Korea has reported just eight more cases of the coronavirus, the first time a daily increase has dropped to single digits in about two months. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the additional figures on Sunday took the country’s total to 10,661 with 234 deaths. South Korea’s caseload has been waning in recent weeks since it recorded hundreds of new cases every day between late February and early March, mostly in the southeastern city of Daegu and nearby areas. Officials in Bangladesh are investigating how some 100,000 people were able to attend the funeral of a popular Islamic preacher on Saturday, as the country struggles to enforce a ban on large gatherings.
April 19, 2020 8:55 am
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Across an arc of vital swing states, the coronavirus has put politics on an uneasy pause. Political fights are raging among state leaders from Iowa to Pennsylvania over the handling of the pandemic’s impact. Protecting public health versus restarting the economy, along with arguments about the limits of executive authority, have taken the place of the national political debate that’s typical of presidential campaigns at this point. Meanwhile, presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden has built little campaign structure across the region. President Donald Trump is relying on state GOP headquarters for his operations, though they too have been largely empty.
