Apr. 2--As a public service, The Inquirer is making this article and other critical public health and safety coverage of the coronavirus available to all readers. For the first time in a century -- since the 1918 influenza that killed millions around the world -- Philadelphia is facing the prospect of hastily putting up field hospitals, some in tents, to save victims of a pandemic. The ... Read More

If you were to have wandered around Exposition Park before the city's coronavirus closures, you would have come across a construction site next to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum: yellow and red cranes, rows of trailers and a raised metallic hulk that looked like the damaged Millennium Falcon undergoing repairs before it rejoins the rebel fleet. By now many Angelenos are aware that this ... Read More

On the day that Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf expanded his stay-at-home order statewide, the reported coronavirus death count climbed past 350 on Wednesday in New Jersey, and plans were in the works to set up makeshift hospitals in Philadelphia for the first time since the catastrophic flu outbreak of 1918. Perhaps hoping to offer some relief from the relentless anxiety generated by the pandemic, ... Read More

Apr. 2--ALBANY -- On March 27, New York state expanded its list of businesses not considered essential and therefore required to cease operation during the coronavirus pandemic. It included all construction projects that did not involve fixing essential infrastructure. But work is continuing on Gov. Andrew Cuomo's project to build 350 miles of new bike and hiking trails to create the Empire ... Read More

So you’re stuck at home, sheltering in place, and wondering how you’re going to get through the coronavirus pandemic without going nuts or putting on 10 pounds. Here’s a suggestion: Go out for a stroll and take in some architecture. It might be a brightly colored Victorian festooned with gingerbread, a bungalow crowned by a green tile roof, a spire-topped Gothic Revival church or a ... Read More

As the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Illinois climbed to more than 5,000 on Monday, work began on converting McCormick Place into a medical facility that could handle a potential crush of COVID-19 cases and help ease growing concerns about a possible bed shortage in the Chicago area. Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced the lakefront convention center will have 500 beds available by week’s ... Read More

Mar. 31--Working at home, it turns out, is not the same as working alone. When companies began closing their offices earlier this month in response to the coronavirus crisis, and instructing employees to work from home, we thought that meant finally getting away from the overly chatty colleague in the next cubicle. We could sit down at our laptops without showering and no one would be the ... Read More

Mar. 30--After most of its permitting staff went into self-isolation because of multiple coronavirus cases within their ranks, Miami-Dade is suspending construction inspections and telling builders to hire their own engineers to review work for safety and code compliance. The measure, outlined in an emergency order from Mayor Carlos Gimenez, means the idling of the county arm responsible for ... Read More