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COVID-19

Williamsburg Farm Show to kick off later this month

The 54th Annual Williamsburg Community Farm Show will feature new attractions, — including tractor pulls and a celebrity milking contest — when it kicks off Aug. 22. Unable to secure a carnival for fair week due to staffing issues, the Farm Show Association scrambled and got creative planning for other forms of entertainment. Jeffrey Walason, association president, said this year’s show won’t be “a typical farm show.” Vendors will be set up each day selling fair food and drinks along with a variety of other items. On Thursday, they’ll be joined by 13 additional ...

Nursing home overhaul would boost staffing, oversight, pay

WASHINGTON (AP) — Responding to the ravages of COVID-19 in nursing homes, senior Democratic senators Tuesday introduced legislation to increase nurse staffing, improve infection control and bolster inspections. The bill, from a group led by Sens. Ron Wyden of Oregon and Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, is part of a broader overhaul of long-term care just getting started. Separately, President Joe Biden is seeking $400 billion to expand home and cWASHINGTON (AP) — Responding to the ravages of COVID-19 in nursing homes, senior Democratic senators Tuesday introduced legislation to increase ...

COVID-19 eviction moratorium lifted

When the COVID-19 pandemic began, Altoona Housing Authority tenant Andrea Butler took leave from her job to protect her health and that of her son and mother, because she has two autoimmune diseases, her son has one such disease and her mother babysat while Butler worked. It led to financial problems, and Butler fell behind on rent, but the authority reached out, they established a repayment schedule, and Butler caught up within six weeks — because, although there was a moratorium on evictions, her rental obligation remained. Butler’s case represents a favorable outcome for both ...

Licensing waivers set to expire

HARRISBURG — The professional licensing waivers issued under the COVID-19 disaster declaration will begin to expire starting Aug. 17. The Pennsylvania Department of State announced that the waivers will expire in several phases. Under Act 21 of 2021, all waived and suspended regulations initiated because of the COVID-19 disaster emergency declaration will expire on Sept. 30, unless terminated sooner. Licensed professionals and other individuals impacted by these waivers are urged to make every effort to return to compliance as soon as possible. The nearly 100 waivers approved by ...

Delta variant drives COVID-19 spike

About three weeks ago, UPMC hospitals in the region had zero COVID-19 inpatients. Now UPMCs Altoona, Bedford, Somerset and Western Maryland have 21 coronavirus inpatients, reflecting a spike attributable to the highly transmissible delta variant. The unvaccinated status of about 98 percent of people hospitalized for COVID-19 shows that the main antidote to the troubling trend is available to just about anyone, according to information provided Friday by UPMC regional Chief Quality Officer Dr. David Burwell. “Consider getting vaccinated,” he said. Vaccinations are easily ...

Wolf says no mandate for face masks in schools

HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Wolf on Friday ruled out a mask requirement for Pennsylvania schools as the academic year is about to begin, saying he will leave the decision to school districts. The Philadelphia Inquirer said the Democratic governor told reporters outside a church in Philadelphia that the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention aren’t mandating masks and neither is he. “I think the school districts in Pennsylvania have to decide what they want to do,” Wolf said. “I think the CDC guidelines strongly recommend that schools do that. They’re not mandating ...