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Coronavirus

District’s COVID rules step down again

Warren County School District is stepping down its COVID plans. On Monday, the school board approved a modified health and safety plan. In it, students who are COVID-positive, who are symptomatic, and those who are identified as close contacts and will not wear masks for the next five days will be denied entry. There was a motion to move the needle even farther. Board member Arthur Stewart asked that recommended motion be changed to deny entry to only those students who must be denied entry by law. “Right now, we’re going above and beyond the law,” Stewart said. “I think ...

Nursing homes near national turnover averages

The pandemic has been tough on everyone. But health care workers, like those in nursing homes, have had it particularly rough. Evidence of that can be seen in the number of care givers who left their jobs. Nationwide, the turnover rate among nurses in nursing homes was about 50 percent in 2021, according to medicare.gov. The site rates nursing homes on health inspections, quality measures, and staffing. In Warren County, Kinzua Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center (five stars in health inspections and quality measures, two stars in staffing) and the Rouse Warren County Home (five ...

Group to offer cash prizes for newly vaccinated

A local vaccine promotion group is now offering the chance at three $1,000 cash prizes for those in the community who get vaccinated against COVID-19. It’s an effort of the WarrenVAX Team, a collaboration between the Warren County Development Association, Warren General Hospital and many ...

New York lets broad mask mandate expire, but not in schools

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Wednesday that the state will end a COVID-19 mandate requiring face coverings in most indoor public settings, but will keep masking rules in place in schools. The mandate requiring face coverings in most indoor public settings, like ...

COVID falling in 49 of 50 states as deaths near 900,000

With the brutal omicron wave rapidly loosening its grip, new cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. are falling in 49 of 50 states, even as the nation's death toll closes in on another bleak round number: 900,000. The number of lives lost to the pandemic in the U.S. stood at over 897,000 as of midday ...

County unemployment rate continues to drop

The unemployment rate in Warren County continues to drop — and it’s showing. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, the seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate in the county was 4.5 percent in December. That’s down from the 4.9 percent in November, and 5.4 percent in October. It is much lower than the figure of 6.8 percent from December 2020. “We have seen an increase in the response rates to job postings across the county and region as well,” Warren County Chamber of Business and Industry President and CEO Jim Decker said Tuesday. “There remains a ...