Photo provided by Gov. Wolf
AP PA Headlines 4/3/20
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania businesses are running out of time if they want an exemption from Gov. Tom Wolf’s shutdown order. Wolf has ordered all “non-life-sustaining” businesses to shutter their physical locations to help slow the spread of the coronavirus but established a waiver process for companies that believe they should be exempt. The deadline to apply is Friday.
The state has received more than 34,000 waiver requests through Wednesday, approving about 5,600 and denying more than 8,600. The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported Thursday that over 1,200 additional people tested positive for the virus, bringing the total to over 7,000. There were 16 new deaths for a statewide toll of 90.
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (AP) — Two men from Johnstown, Pennsylvania, face aggravated assault charges after a confrontation that apparently began over one coughing without covering his mouth led to gunfire. Police say 53-year-old William Suaro drove his car into 56-year-old Guillermo Alvarez on Saturday, after which Alvarez shot at the vehicle. Charging documents say Suaro claimed the incident in a Johnstown convenience store parking lot began when he told Alvarez to cover his cough because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Features
NEW YORK (AP) — Just when Americans need it most, a U.S. newspaper industry already under stress is facing an unprecedented new challenge. Readers desperate for information are more reliant than ever on local media as the coronavirus spreads across the U.S. But newspapers, magazines and digital publishers are feeling the pressure as advertising craters.
They are cutting jobs, staff hours and pay, dropping print editions — and in some cases shutting down entirely. Some researchers warn that the next recession, which has almost certainly begun already, could be an “extinction level event” for newspapers. In Washington, the industry is looking for federal aid that won’t compromise its independence.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is formalizing new guidance to recommend that many Americans wear face coverings in an effort to slow the spread of the new coronavirus. The recommendations are still being finalized, and are expected to apply at least to those who live in areas hard-hit by community transmission of the virus.
A person familiar with the discussion says officials would suggest that non-medical masks, T-shirts or bandannas be used to cover the nose and mouth when outside the home. President Donald Trump is aggressively defending his response to the crisis, blasting Democratic critics and saying states should have done more to stockpile medical supplies before the pandemic.
DOWAGIAC, Mich. (The Herald-Palladium) — Cardboard cutout wedding guests will make for a not-so-cookie-cutter wedding as a Michigan couple prepares to tie the knot during the coronavirus pandemic. After Amy Simonson and Dan Stuglik’s wedding plans were disrupted amid the outbreak, a packaging company donated more than 100 cardboard cutouts .
They will pose as stand-ins for the family and friends who couldn’t attend the wedding this Saturday because of Michigan’s stay-at-home order. The Herald-Palladium reported Menasha Packaging Co. in Coloma, made cutouts to resemble guests tall and short, young and old, with long hair, short hair and ponytails. Stuglik said he’ll forever be thankful to Menasha for helping him do something special for his fiancée.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal government is sitting on a stockpile of ventilators even as states are bidding against each other to obtain the desperately needed medical devices from private manufacturers. FEMA, the agency tasked with coordinating the federal response to the coronavirus outbreak, has nearly 10,000 ventilators sitting idle. And less than half of the 2,000 military ventilators promised by the Pentagon have been deployed. FEMA says states shouldn’t expect shipments until they are within 72 hours of a crisis. It is asking states to answer a series of data-heavy questions to determine where the most urgent needs exist.
MILWAUKEE (AP) — He’s the nation’s top infectious disease specialist. And he’s seen as a calming figure in the wake of the coronavirus crisis. Now, like many other heroes, Dr. Anthony Fauci is getting the bobblehead treatment. The nodding figurine was done by the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum in Milwaukee. It features Dr. Fauci in a suit and making a motion indicating how the nation needs to “flatten the curve” when it comes to the spread of the virus. It isn’t the only star treatment Fauci has gotten lately. His face appears on socks. And a pastry shop in New York State is selling doughnuts with his face on them..
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