PITTSBURGH — Pennsylvania has more than 4,000 cases of the novel coronavirus and 49 people have died. Keep checking back for the latest COVID-19 updates throughout the day.
Have questions about the spread of the coronavirus? We have an entire section dedicated to coverage of the outbreak. CLICK HERE for more.
- SCHOOL/BUSINESS CLOSINGS
- PA CORONAVIRUS MAP: See the number of cases in each county
- LIVE UPDATES: Latest national, world coronavirus news
- TIMELINE: Pennsylvania coronavirus updates March 29
UPDATE 10:45 p.m.: President Donald Trump has approved Pennsylvania’s request for a major disaster declaration.
Gov. Tom Wolf requested the designation Sunday, and on Monday it was granted.
The order opens federal assistance for the state to supplement local recovery money.
Read the full declaration here.
UPDATE 8:22 p.m.: Pittsburgh Public schools leadership says the district is getting ready to deliver at home education.
Teachers will attend training Tuesday to learn more about this, and students will begin their learning on April 16, after the district’s scheduled Spring Break.
Students orientation and distribution of materials will take place Monday, April 14 and Tuesday April 15.
“The number of teachers who have registered to train for this new way of work is evidence of their eagerness to get back to school once again and continue student learning,” said Superintendent Anthony Hamlet, Ed.D. “Shifting instruction for 23,000 students from brick and mortar classroom settings to remote at-home learning takes significant planning to meet the instructional needs of all students equitably and effectively. Our blended model of remote learning will ensure we are meeting the varying needs of our students.”
Part of the process for this has been conducting home technology surveys, in which the district said it discovered that 41 percent of students don’t have access to the necessary equipment. An additional five percent of families said they do not have access to the internet.
The District is set to purchase 5,000 new laptops to add to the 2,500 currently available. An additional 599 devices from the University of Pittsburgh will increase the District’s inventory. The District will continue to work to secure additional devices.
UPDATE 7:50 p.m.: The death toll due to COVID-19 has risen to over 3,000 Monday evening according to John Hopkins University.
Earlier this evening, President Trump announced that more than 1 million Americans have been tested.
Click here to read more national updates.
UPDATE 5:05 p.m.: Two patients died after contracting coronavirus as the Brighton Rehab Center. Both patients had advanced dementia, according to officials.
Patients in the coronavirus unit at the facility are seeing progress, however.
WATCH: 2 people from Beaver County nursing home die from coronavirus
UPDATE 4:50 p.m.: Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey joined officials with several organizations to help get personal protective equipment to places that need it most.
“The way that they should be treated and respected is on the same level as soldiers in a war,” Senator Casey said.
One local nurse said she is scared to go to work and the PPE she does have is not adequate and does not work.
UPDATE 2:04 p.m.; Gov. Tom Wolf announced Monday that four more counties in the eastern part of the state are added to the stay at home order. Additionally, the governor extended the stay at home order for the affected counties to April 30.
Also, schools across the entire state will stay closed until further notice. There is no timetable provided by the governor’s office as to when or if schools will open again for this current school year.
Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures to protect everyone’s health and safety.
— PA Department of Education (@PADeptofEd) March 30, 2020
We’ll share information very soon on the collection of resources available to support school communities in this new environment. pic.twitter.com/UWONLVtV2V
UPDATE 1:27 p.m.: Officials with the St. Baranabas Nursing Home in Gibsonia confirmed to Channel 11 that two patients have been quarantined and have the coronavirus.
There are no cases of the virus at any other locations in Allegheny, Beaver or Butler counties.
Staff who had contact with the infected patients have been screened and tested. Those individuals were found to have no related symptoms.
UPDATE 1:00 p.m.: A huge line of cars has gathered as people try to get help from the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank.
The Pittsburgh Parrot saying hello as @PghFoodBank hands out over 1000 boxes of food to many Pittsburghers who need it the most. Some we spoke with say they lost they’re out of work. @Pirates helped out w a 50k donation to the food bank in March. #wpxi pic.twitter.com/zscQ8quFxI
— Joe Arena (@WPXIJoe) March 30, 2020
UPDATE 12:05 p.m.: There are 693 additional positive cases of the coronavirus in Pennsylvania, bringing the total to 4,087, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
In addition to the new cases, 11 more deaths have been reported.
The statewide death total is now at 48.
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Here is a breakdown of cases in western Pennsylvania counties:
- Allegheny County: 290
- Fayette County: 11
- Washington County: 24
- Beaver County: 44
- Butler County: 49
- Lawrence County: 10
- Westmoreland County: 47
- Mercer County: 7
- Greene County: 7
- Armstrong County: 3
- Indiana County: 2
- Venango County: 1
There are 33,777 patients who have tested negative, the Department of Health said.
Of the people who have tested positive, here is a percentage breakdown by age group:
- Less than 1% are aged 0-4;
- Less than 1% are aged 5-12;
- 1% are aged 13-18;
- 10% are aged 19-24;
- 41% are aged 25-49;
- 28% are aged 50-64; and
- 19% are aged 65 or older
#COVID19 Update (as of 3/30/20 at 12:00 am):
— PA Department of Health (@PAHealthDept) March 30, 2020
• 693 additional positive cases of COVID-19
• 4,087 total cases statewide
• 49 total deaths statewide
County-specific information + statewide map: https://t.co/7pzosEXhEX
UPDATE 11:55 a.m.: A statewide inmate quarantine has been implemented at Pennsylvania’s state prisons.
The quarantine went into place at 10 p.m. Sunday, officials announced.
“Quarantining the entire system is in the best interest of our employees and our inmates,” Department of Corrections Sec. John Wetzel said. “This is essentially forced social distancing. We must take this step to contain the virus to one facility and to keep it from spreading throughout the system. I don’t want to wait until we have several cases in our system to act. We’re taking this proactive measure now.”
DOC officials announced Sunday that its first COVID-19 case was confirmed for one inmate at the State Correctional Institution at Phoenix, Montgomery County.
UPDATE 11:35 a.m.: Eighteen more businesses have been given warnings by Pennsylvania State Police for failing to comply with Gov. Tom Wolf’s order for non-life-sustaining businesses to close.
Since last Monday, a total of 96 businesses have been given warnings.
>>STORY: Coronavirus: What businesses are considered ‘life-sustaining,’ ‘essential,’ or ‘non-essential’?
UPDATE 11:05 a.m.: There are now 290 positive cases of the coronavirus in Allegheny County, the Allegheny County Health Department announced. Thirty-eight people have been or are currently being hospitalized, and the number of deaths has remained at two.
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Here is a breakdown of cases by age group:
- 0-4 years: 1
- 5-12 years: 1
- 13-18 years: 5
- 19-24 years: 30
- 25-49 years: 128
- 50-64 years: 81
- 65+ years: 44
Of the cases, 147 are female and 143 are male.
UPDATE 11 a.m.: Neighborhood street sweeping in Pittsburgh has been postponed.
The City of Pittsburgh Department of Public Works was supposed to start street sweeping Wednesday.
“Some street cleaning, as well as catch basin cleaning, will still be performed to help with protections against weather-related events. But with residents staying home and parking enforcement being suspended to help fight against the pandemic, the normal April 1 start to street sweeping season is being postponed until further notice,” a news release said.
UPDATE 10:50 a.m.: The city of Pittsburgh announced more social distancing restrictions that include the closure of its basketball courts and overlooks.
“While Pittsburgh residents have largely been following directives to stay at least six feet from others to stop the spread of the virus, others have not, especially in City parks,” a news release said.
While parks will remain open, Public Works crews will be removing basketball rims from courts and closing off the Mount Washington overlooks.
You can customize your WPXI News App to receive breaking news alerts. CLICK HERE to find out how.
Officials said those areas were commonly filled over the weekend with people who were not following social distancing rules.
The news release went on to say:
“Group sports are not permitted in City parks. In addition to closing basketball courts, Public Safety officials will be monitoring soccer fields and other play areas to make sure social distancing rules are being followed. One soccer field in Riverview Park has already been closed.
“Playgrounds have already been shut down, but some have continued to let children use them: residents are reminded that park equipment and playgrounds may not be safe, as the COVID-19 virus can live on surfaces for days.
“Residents should also maintain social distancing when using park trails, which have been extremely crowded in recent days.”
#BREAKING: @CityPGH says it is closing public basketball courts and overlooks to push for more social distancing. City parks will remain open. In a release, the mayor’s office said @PghPublicSafety will also enforce the restriction of group sports in parks
— Aaron Martin (@WPXIAaronMartin) March 30, 2020
UPDATE 7:30 a.m.: A new drive-thru traffic pattern starts Monday at the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. Drivers will only be able to access RIDC from South Linden Street. There will not be access from Grant Street.
NEW DRIVE-THRU PATTERN FOR FOOD BANK TRAFFIC. Starting today, Drivers can only access RIDC from S Linden - No Access from Grant Street. Police will help direct traffic along Route 837. #PittsburghTraffic #wpxi https://t.co/UyYsfsftyh pic.twitter.com/5EcyZaKO99
— WPXI Traffic (@WPXITraffic) March 30, 2020
UPDATE 6:30 a.m.: There are a lot of questions about who will be getting money from the $2 trillion stimulus bill and when checks will arrive.
First of all, no one needs to sign up for anything. NBC News reported the payments are automatic for people who have recently filed a tax return or received a Social Security benefit.
You can customize your WPXI News App to receive breaking news alerts. CLICK HERE to find out how.
People who have received a tax refund in the last two years via direct deposit will receive the money from the stimulus in the same way. Otherwise, the Internal Revenue Service will mail a check to a person’s last known address, so anyone who has recently moved should make sure the IRS has been notified.
As for people on Social Security, they will get a check -- even if they didn’t file a tax return or pay taxes for 2018 or 2019 -- if they received a 1099 form for 2019.
>>RELATED STORY: Coronavirus: What is in the $2 trillion stimulus bill; the $1,200 check explained
It could be as soon as three weeks when checks start arriving, though that is subject to change. The amount a person gets depends on how much they make.
The payments are not taxable and are considered credits, not loans. That means people will not have to pay back the government.
UPDATE 4:30 a.m.: Confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Pennsylvania reached 3,394 Sunday as Gov. Tom Wolf requested a Major Disaster Declaration.
You can customize your WPXI News App to receive breaking news alerts. CLICK HERE to find out how.
Here is a breakdown of cases and deaths by county in western Pennsylvania:
- Allegheny County: 265 cases, 2 deaths
- Butler County: 47 cases, 2 deaths
- Beaver County: 28 cases
- Lawrence County: 8 cases, 1 death
- Mercer County: 7 cases
- Venango County: 1 case
- Clarion County: 1 case
- Armstrong County: 3 cases
- Indiana County; 2 cases
- Westmoreland County: 47 cases
- Fayette County: 10 cases
- Greene County: 6 cases
- Washington County: 24 cases
A priest in the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh tested positive for the coronavirus, the diocese said. Father Adam Potter had been in isolation after exposure to someone who had the coronavirus.
There are 19 positive cases of COVID-19 at the Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center, officials said.
As the number of cases in Pennsylvania and across the country continues to rise, President Donald Trump announced the voluntary national shutdown has been extended until April 30. The initial 15-day period of social distancing urged by the federal government expires Monday.
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