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COVID-19

Bill OK’d to improve reporting of virus deaths

HARRISBURG — The state Senate passed legislation Tuesday by a 39-10 vote that will improve transparency and eliminate inconsistencies in how COVID-19 deaths are being reported in Pennsylvania. State Sen. Judy Ward, R-Blair, sponsored Senate Bill 1164 in April. The bill will ensure that county coroners are notified of all suspected deaths in their jurisdiction caused by the coronavirus and other contagious diseases that constitute a health emergency. State law requires county coroners to investigate the facts and circumstances surrounding any death — including those due to ...

Panel reviews emergency code

HARRISBURG — A House committee on Wednesday examined the scope of gubernatorial emergency powers invoked during snowstorms and other natural disasters, man-made catastrophes, terrorist at­­tacks and health emergencies, like the opioid crisis and, of course, the COVID-19 pandemic. The Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee heard testimony from the executive director of the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, two emergency management agencies and two business advocacy groups during an information-gathering meeting. Those testifying raised issues concerning ...

Schools finding ways to feed students

Local schools with hybrid learning models have faced another health-related challenge over the past months: how to continue to get kids lunches and breakfasts. According to 2018 numbers from Feeding America, between 17% and 20% of children in Blair, Huntingdon, Bedford and Cambria counties ...

AASD misses balanced budget

The pandemic has dashed the Altoona Area School District board members’ hopes of a nearly balanced budget for 2020-21. Board Secretary Camilla Houy said at Monday’s board meeting that the district would have been close to balancing the budget based on its “pre-COVID” numbers. It now estimates a $3.2 million loss in revenue due to the pandemic. However, Houy said this year’s “post-COVID” deficit — about $5.7 million — was still an improvement over prior years, a decrease of about $300,000 from that of the approved budget for 2019-20. Superintendent Dr. Charles ...

State launches coronavirus tracer app

The state Department of Health on Tuesday launched its version of a contact tracing app for smartphones that can inform participants when they come into “close contact” with other participants who later test positive for the coronavirus, so those who have been exposed can protect themselves and others, in case they too become infected. COVID Alert PA is free from the Apple App store or the Google Play store, and had been downloaded more than 28,000 times by 7:45 p.m. Tuesday. The Apple-Google system creates anonymized digital keys that are exchanged through Bluetooth technology ...

Wolf vetoes school sports bill

Gov. Tom Wolf on Monday vetoed a bill that would give school districts the sole ability to make decisions on sports, including whether and how many spectators to allow, and lawmakers in the GOP-controlled General Assembly said they would try to override it. The Wolf administration’s limits on gatherings of 25 people indoors and 250 people outdoors currently apply to youth sports, capping attendance at football games and other school sporting events and extracurricular activities. The vetoed legislation sought to empower schools to make their own rules about the number of spectators ...