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TIMELINE: Pennsylvania coronavirus updates April 11

PITTSBURGH — Channel 11 News is committed to keeping you informed about the coronavirus, the impact on our community and your lives. Below you’ll find all of today’s updates, including the latest numbers and information from local and state officials.

We’re also covering positive stories in our communities. You can find the most recent ones HERE.

Have questions about the spread of the coronavirus? We have an entire section dedicated to coverage of the outbreak. CLICK HERE for more.

Remote learning for all Pittsburgh Public Schools students to begin April 22

Remote learning for Pittsburgh Public Schools will begin April 16 with a soft launch as the district transitions all 23,000 students to remote learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. All students will begin remote learning by April 22.

Officials said following the distribution of laptops, all high school seniors will be ready to begin online instruction on April 16. All families who will be using a personal technological device for instruction should log on beginning April 16 to ensure access and begin the use of online tools.

Families without a device can pick up grade-specific instructional packets from April 16 through April 21, based on the grade-level schedule below:

Thursday, April 16

  • Early Childhood Education (PreK & Early Head Start)
  • Kindergarten
  • First Grade
  • 2nd Grade

Friday, April 17

  • 3rd Grade
  • 4th Grade
  • 5th Grade

Monday, April 20

  • 6th Grade
  • 7th Grade
  • 8th Grade

Tuesday, April 21

  • 9th Grade
  • 10th Grade
  • 11th Grade

2 residents at Concordia at the Orchard die after positive coronavirus tests

UPDATE 9:10 p.m.: Two residents at Concordia at the Orchard, a personal care facility in Butler County, have died after testing positive for coronavirus.

Officials did not specify if they died as a result of complications from the virus, but they both were being treated at Butler Memorial Hospital when they passed away.

Residents at the facility remain in isolation, and there are no other confirmed positive cases at that facility.


Two residents at South Hills senior living center test positive

UPDATE 6:05 p.m.: Two residents at Friendship Village of South Hills, a senior living center in Upper St. Clair, have tested positive for COVID-19.

Officials announced the positive cases on their website. They said one of the residents is in isolation at the facility’s health center, while the other is being treated at a local hospital.

The specific hospital was not released, and no other confirmed cases have been reported at that facility.


Second inmate at Allegheny County Jail tests positive

UPDATE 5:30 p.m.: There are now two inmates at the Allegheny County Jail who have tested positive for coronavirus.

According to numbers released on the jail’s website, two inmates and one staff member have tested positive for COVID-19 as of Friday.

Officials said there are six pending tests: one inmate and five staff members.


Resources for families, older Pennsylvanians

UPDATE 12:20 p.m.: The Pennsylvania Department of Aging has launched an online COVID-19 resource guide to help older adults easily find useful information related to their health, safety and well-being.

The guide is housed on the department’s website under “COVID-19 Resource Guide for Older Adults” and provides older adults, their families and caregivers with information on a variety of subjects, including meals, prescriptions, protective services, scams, and how to stay active and connected.


New numbers from PA Health Secretary

UPDATE 12:00 p.m.: According to Dr. Levine, there are now 21,655 positive cases of coronavirus across all 67 counties in the state. There have been 78 more deaths due to the virus. There are 98,498 patients who have tested negative.

Of those cases, 1,067 health care workers have tested positive. 1,049 cases are in long term care facilities including nursing homes and personal care facilities. 494 deaths across state have been from COVID-19 and all people who died were adults.

As of 10 a.m. Saturday, 2,189 people were hospitalized due to coronavirus, which about 10% of all cases. 617 patients required the use of ventilators.

Additionally, 46% of hospital beds, 38% of ICU beds and nearly 70% of ventilators are still available.

Locally, here is the breakdown of cases:

  • Allegheny Co.: 836 cases, 19 deaths
  • Butler Co.: 128 cases, 3 deaths
  • Beaver Co.: 143 cases, 13 deaths
  • Lawrence Co.: 46 cases, 4 deaths
  • Washington Co.: 66 cases
  • Greene Co.: 23 cases
  • Fayette Co.: 50 cases, 3 deaths
  • Westmoreland Co.: 218 cases, 11 deaths
  • Indiana Co.: 40 cases
  • Armstrong Co.: 26 cases, 1 death
  • Clarion Co.: 15 cases
  • Forest Co.: 5 cases
  • Venango Co.: 6 cases
  • Mercer Co.: 38 cases

Deaths from coronavirus continue to increase in Allegheny Co.

UPDATE 11:00 a.m.: Deaths and confirmed cases of coronavirus continue to trend upward in Allegheny County.

According to the county health department, there are 836 positive cases. 130 people have been hospitalized since the first case was reported back in March. This is an increase of 48 positive cases over Friday’s number.

Also, there are 19 deaths due to the coronavirus. All deaths have been people who were over the age of 65.

County officials are also now tracking coronavirus infections related to race. Health Department Director Dr. Debra Bogen said monitoring COVID-19 data by race is important because the Health Department knows that communities of color already have poorer health outcomes in Allegheny County, and it is critical to know if COVID-19 is affecting those communities to a greater degree.

More than half of COVID-19 test results that come to the Health Department through the PA National Electronic Disease Surveillance System do not contain information on race. To respond to this limitation in the data, the Health Department recently started to ask about race during case investigation interviews.

Through its case investigations, the Health Department staff has been able to determine the race of a majority of the people hospitalized due to COVID-19 and all of the people who have died due to complications from the disease.

As of April 11, hospitalizations and deaths by race are as follows:

Hospitalizations by Race:

RaceNumber
White80
Black22
Other5
Unknown23
Total130

Deaths by Race:

RaceNumber
White18
Black1
Other0
Unknown0
Total19

Millvale Volunteer Fire Department limiting station access

UPDATE 9:08 a.m.: The Millvale Volunteer Fire Department is now limiting access to the fire station to better keep firefighters and the public safe during the coronavirus pandemic.

Officials with the department said they have also cancelled weekly drills and meetings. But, department leaders want the public to know they are still there to keep everyone safe during emergencies.

Public Service Announcement: We at the Millvale Volunteer Fire Department would like let the borough and visitors to our...

Posted by Millvale Volunteer Fire Department (Station 191) on Friday, April 10, 2020

Drive-thru pet food distribution

UPDATE 8:20 a.m.: Officials with Animal Friends announced they are holding a drive-thru pet food distribution Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The event will take place at 562 Camp Horne Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15237.

Animal Friend said many families are struggling to feed themselves and their pets during this coronavirus pandemic. Their Chow Wagon Pet Food Bank has seen an increase of five times the typical number of requests for help. The facility is distributing 200-400 pounds of pet food every day now.

Our Chow Wagon Drive-Thru Pet Food Distribution event begins at 11 a.m. We look forward to helping as many pets and...

Posted by Animal Friends on Saturday, April 11, 2020

Port Authority says bus driver who works out of East Liberty is 4th employee to test positive

UPDATE 6:50 a.m.: The Port Authority has announced that another employee, the fourth so far, has tested positive for coronavirus.

According to a release, the employee was a driver who worked out of the East Liberty garage.

The employees last shift was early in the morning on April 9.

“After the employee reported they had tested positive for COVID-19, Port Authority mobilized a maintenance crew to perform a deep cleaning of the East Liberty garage and the buses the employee would have been in contact with," the release said.


Pa. starts processing extra $600 unemployment benefits

UPDATE 6:30 a.m.: Pennsylvania residents collecting unemployment can expect to see an extra $600 per week starting with their next payment.

Gov. Wolf announced Friday that this extra money, which was included as part of the CARES Act, the federal COVID-19 stimulus bill, will begin being disbursed early next week.

A release from the governor’s office included the reminder if you have federal tax taken out of your regular unemployment check that money will also be withheld from these payments.

In the same release, it was announced that the state is building a new system for people who are self-employed, contractors or gig workers to file for unemployment assistance.

This system is expected to be online within the next two weeks.

This is because the relief bill requires these claims and payments be tracked separately from traditional unemployment.