Department of Health Provides Update on COVID-19, 451 Positives Bring Statewide Total to 68,637

Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Health today confirmed as of 12:00 a.m., May 26, that there are 451 additional positive cases of COVID-19, bringing the statewide total to 68,637. All 67 counties in Pennsylvania have cases of COVID-19.

There are 5,152 total deaths attributed to COVID-19, an increase of 13 new deaths. County-specific information and a statewide map are available here.

“As Pennsylvania continues to move forward in the process to reopen, we need to remember that the threat from COVID-19 has not gone away,” Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said. “As counties move into the yellow and green phases, we must take personal responsibility to protect others. Wearing a mask, continuing to maintain social distancing, and washing your hands frequently are all steps we can take to help protect others, including our most vulnerable Pennsylvanians, our essential workers and our healthcare system.”

Locally in Beaver County we are up 2 cases since yesterday to 570 cases. 3413 people have tested negative and the county remains at 72 deaths.

There are 551 patients who have a positive serology test and either COVID-19 symptoms or a high-risk exposure, which are considered probable cases and not confirmed cases. There are 339,835 patients who have tested negative to date. Of the patients who have tested positive to date the age breakdown is as follows:

• Nearly 1% are ages 0-4;
• Nearly 1% are ages 5-12;
• Nearly 2% are ages 13-18;
• Nearly 6% are ages 19-24;
• Nearly 37% are ages 25-49;
• 25% are ages 50-64; and
• Nearly 29% are ages 65 or older.

Most of the patients hospitalized are ages 65 or older, and most of the deaths have occurred in patients 65 or older. More data is available here.

In nursing and personal care homes, there are 14,857 resident cases of COVID-19, and 2,505 cases among employees, for a total of 17,362 at 594 distinct facilities in 44 counties. Out of our total deaths, 3,395 have occurred in residents from nursing or personal care facilities. A county breakdown can be found here.

Approximately 5,159 of our total cases are in health care workers.

For the latest information for individuals, families, businesses and schools, visit “Responding to COVID-19” on pa.gov.

Non-life-sustaining businesses in the red phase are ordered to be closed and schools are closed statewide through the remainder of the academic year. Currently, 49 counties are in the yellow phase of reopening. Eight additional counties will move to yellow and 17 to green on May 29. All remaining red counties are expected to move to yellow by June 5.

Gov. Wolf Thanks Pennsylvanians for Their Part to Slow the Spread of COVID-19, Centre County to Move to Green 

Harrisburg, PA – As part of a COVID-19 briefing, Governor Tom Wolf today thanked Pennsylvanians, including the Pennsylvania National Guard, for the many contributions to the pandemic response. He also announced that Centre County will move to green on Friday.

“I personally want to thank our National Guard members and their families for their work, especially during these trying times,” Gov. Wolf said. “Just like other families across the commonwealth, I know our military families are facing new challenges. Some are overcoming these challenges while coping with one parent being away from home due to a deployment to a COVID-19 site. That’s really showing the strength of these dedicated, courageous Pennsylvanians.”

He also thanked Pennsylvanians for their contributions that helped to move us toward a broader reopening of the state.

“We’re able to make this progress toward safely reopening our economy because people are taking precautions and keeping themselves and their communities safe – whether it is a person wearing a mask or a business changing their operations to protect employees and customers,” Gov Wolf said. “I thank each and every one of you for doing your part.”

On Friday, Gov. Wolf announced eight additional counties will move to yellow and 17 to green, effective at 12:01 a.m., this Friday. All remaining counties in red are expected to move to yellow by June 5 at 12:01 a.m.

The counties moving to yellow on Friday include Dauphin, Franklin, Huntingdon, Lebanon, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike and Schuylkill.

The 17 counties moving to green, also on Friday, include Bradford, Cameron, Clarion, Clearfield, Crawford, Elk, Forest, Jefferson, Lawrence, McKean, Montour, Potter, Snyder, Sullivan, Tioga, Venango and Warren. Centre County is eligible to move to green on May 29, so county officials chose to vote today to decide to move ahead and Centre will now be the 18th county to move to green on Friday.

Counties that remain in red on May 29 and are expected to move to yellow by June 5 include Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lehigh, Northampton, Montgomery, and Philadelphia.

The Wolf Administration released Summer Camp Guidance on Friday in the form of frequently asked questions for parents, summer camp operators, public bathing places, part-day school-age programs, and other entities that provide necessary child care and enrichment and recreational activities for children and youth during the summer months. This guidance is especially helpful as most counties are moving to yellow or green.

“Because of our collective commitment to actions that reduce COVID-19 spread, several counties will be moving into the green phase on Friday,” Gov. Wolf said. “We’re continuing to ramp up testing and contact tracing across the state to help ensure we can identify cases and eliminate outbreaks even as we reopen our economy.

WHO warns that 1st wave of pandemic not over; dampens hopes
By ELAINE KURTENBACH and MENELAOS HADJICOSTIS Associated Press
BANGKOK (AP) — As Brazil and India struggle with surging coronavirus cases, a top health expert is warning that the world is still smack in the middle of the pandemic. Those comments from Dr. Mike Ryan of the World Health Organization are dampening hopes for a speedy global economic rebound. A U.S. travel ban takes effect Tuesday for foreigners coming from Brazil. On top of that, the South American country got a warning from the U.N. health agency not to reopen its economy before it can perform enough tests to control the spread of the coronavirus. India reported a record single-day jump in new infections for the seventh straight day and Russia had a record number of daily coronavirus deaths.

(Beaver,Pa.) The Beaver County Commissioners released a Statment on an employee in the Assessment office who tested positive for the COVID-19 and the controversial circumstances surrounding it below is the the press release from the Commissioners.

On May 24th County Officials were informed an employee at the Courthouse has tested positive
for COVID-19. Officials have spent the last two days attempting to confirm the results of the
test and are reviewing video in an attempt to identify anyone this employee has come in close
contact with.
The employee was at work the week of May 11th through May 15th. The employee did not
come into work May 18th, May 19th, or May 20th. On May 21 they came into work, but left
halfway through the day. They did not work on May 22nd. We are being told a test was
administered on May 22nd and the results obtained on May 24th. Prior to May 24t,  County
Officials were not aware this individual was being tested or was ill. Over the last 10 days, this
employee has physically been in the Courthouse approximately 4 hours.
Beginning tomorrow, County Officials will be doing temperature checks of employees in that
department where this employee worked. We have been in contact with the Department of
Health and awaiting further instruction from them.
It is disappointing knowing for months we have consistently emphasized to our employees that
if you are sick, stay home. We have allowed liberal use of our time off policies for that very
reason. We want to reinforce to our employees and to the public in general now that the the court house is open, when in doubt, don’t put others at risk, stay home.

Trump deems churches ‘essential,’ calls for them to reopen
By JILL COLVIN and ZEKE MILLER Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says he has deemed churches and other houses of worship “essential” and is calling on governors to allow them to reopen this weekend despite the threat of the coronavirus. He says: “Today I’m identifying houses of worship — churches, synagogues and mosques — as essential places that provide essential services.” Trump made the announcement during a hastily arranged press conference Friday at the White House, where he didn’t take questions. He says if governors don’t abide by his request, he will “override” them, though it’s unclear what authority he has to do so.

Gov. Wolf Adds Eight Counties to Yellow and 17 to Green on May 29, Remainder to Yellow on June 5 

Harrisburg, PA – Furthering his plan for reopening Pennsylvania, Governor Tom Wolf today announced eight additional counties will move to yellow and 17 to green, effective at 12:01 a.m., May 29. All remaining counties in red are expected to move to yellow by June 5 at 12:01 a.m.

The counties moving to yellow on May 29 include Dauphin, Franklin, Huntingdon, Lebanon, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike, and Schuylkill.

The 17 counties moving to green, also on May 29, include Bradford, Cameron, Clarion, Clearfield, Crawford, Elk, Forest, Jefferson, Lawrence, McKean, Montour, Potter, Snyder, Sullivan, Tioga, Venango and Warren.

Counties that remain in red on May 29 and are expected to move to yellow by June 5 include Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lehigh, Northampton, Montgomery, and Philadelphia.

“We know not only that we succeeded in slowing case growth, but that our actions, our collective decisions to stay at home and avoid social contact – we know that saved lives,” Gov. Wolf said. “My stay-at-home order did exactly what it was intended to do: It saved lives and it bought us valuable time.”

Gov. Wolf referred to a study by Drexel University that indicates that in Philadelphia alone, 60 days of staying at home resulted in more than 7,000 lives saved and prevented more than 68,000 people from needing hospitalization.

Yellow Metrics
In deciding which counties to move to yellow, the state used risk-based metrics from Carnegie Mellon University combined with contact tracing and testing capability and a sustained reduction in COVID-19 hospitalizations. While the 50 new cases per 100,000 population was considered, it did not weigh any more heavily than other factors.

Over the past two weeks:

• The state has seen sustained reductions in hospitalizations. From May 8 when the first counties moved to yellow to yesterday, the number of COVID-19 patients hospitalized dropped by nearly one thousand – from 2,618 to 1,667.
• The number of COVID patients on ventilators shrank by about a third, from 505 to 347.
• New cases continue to decline: From May 8 to May 15, the state added 6,384 cases and from May 15 to 21, added 4,770.
• The current COVID-19 incidence rate in the state is 83.4 cases per 100,000 people. Two weeks ago, it was 113.6 per 100,000. Most other states are seeing their new case rate continue to increase or remain flat. Pennsylvania is one of just 19 states with new case-rate declines.

Green Metrics
Counties that have been in the yellow phase for the requisite 14 days have been closely monitored for the risk associated with transitioning to the green phase.

In the green phase, we will continue to take precautions, including reducing building capacity, encouraging teleworking, limiting visitation in certain high-risk environments, and preventing large entertainment gatherings.

The guidelines for moving to green are available here, and include specifics for employers, large events, and social gatherings.

Moving Forward
“We continue to increase testing every day and are continuing to build our contact tracing capacity, as well,” Gov. Wolf said. “We are able to do these things, to be successful, to reopen in this manner because of the Pennsylvanians who have made tremendous sacrifices since the virus emerged in our state,” Gov Wolf said. “Thank you.

“I want to remember and honor all of those who we lost and give solace to their family and loved ones. The last two months have been trying and they have tested each of us, and I want to thank and acknowledge all the people of our commonwealth who have been called upon to upend their lives to keep their neighbors, friends and family safe.”

LAMB FIGHTS TO PROTECT NATIONAL GUARD DEPLOYED TO MEET COVID-19 CRISIS

 

(PITTSBURGH, PA) – Today, Representative Conor Lamb (PA-17) joined Representative Jimmy Panetta (CA-20) and a bipartisan coalition of Members to introduce the National Guard COVID-19 Earned Benefits Guarantee Act.  The bill directs the Secretaries of Defense and Veterans Affairs to treat a full-time National Guard COVID-19 activation as not shorter than 90 days, a threshold that ensures servicemembers qualify for certain retirement and educational benefits.  The legislation is in response to recent reporting that most National Guard COVID-19 activations will expire one day short of achieving the 90-day benefit qualifying threshold.  More than 40,000 National Guard members have been deployed across the country since the start of the Coronavirus public health crisis.

“In Pennsylvania, more than 1,100 National Guard members have been deployed to help communities struggling to address this public health crisis, including the COVID-19 outbreak at Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center in Beaver County.  We have a responsibility to these servicemembers to provide them with the benefits they have earned and deserve,” said Lamb.

In addition to cosponsoring the National Guard COVID-19 Earned Benefits Guarantee Act, Lamb also joined a bipartisan coalition of Members on two letters advocating for support of the National Guard.  On May 20, more than 80 House members sent a letter to Department of Defense Secretary Mark Esper to urge an extension of the Title 32 activation in coordination with state governors and asked for an explanation for the June 24 “hard stop” for the COVID-19 response.  Lamb also joined Representative Jason Crow (CO-6) and a group of bipartisan Members in a letter to the President, Secretary Esper, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Peter T. Gaynor requesting they urgently provide the health care, leave benefits and status certainty to the National Guard

AP-NORC poll: Many in US won’t return to gym or dining out
By JOSH BOAK and EMILY SWANSON Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Much of the country remains unlikely to venture out to bars, restaurants, theaters or gyms anytime soon, despite state and local officials increasingly allowing businesses to reopen. That’s according to a new survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Just 42% of those who went to concerts, movies, theaters or sporting events at least monthly before the coronavirus outbreak say they’d do so in the next few weeks if they could. Only about half of those who regularly went to restaurants, exercised at a gym or traveled would go back if they could. That hesitancy could muffle any recovery from the sharpest and swiftest economic downturn in U.S. history.

More of Pennsylvania emerges from coronavirus shutdowns
By MICHAEL RUBINKAM and MARC LEVY Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Residents of 12 more Pennsylvania counties are allowed to freely leave their homes, and other parts of the shutdown have been lifted, as Gov. Tom Wolf prepares to announce which counties have made sufficient progress against the new coronavirus to join them. Wolf announced last week that the 12 counties would leave the so-called “red phase” and joining the “yellow” phase on Friday. They join 37 other counties that have already moved to yellow. In addition, Wolf has suggested that he could announce that he’s easing practically all of the state’s pandemic restrictions in some other counties.

Kail to Cancel Events Because of COVID-19

 

CENTER – As the governor prohibits events with more than 25 people even in the yellow phase of reopening, Rep. Josh Kail (R-Beaver/Washington) was forced to cancel three events: Donuts and Discussion events on Friday, May 22, and Friday, June 5, as well as a REAL ID event on Friday, May 29.

 

Washington County moved into the yellow phase of reopening on Friday, May 15. Beaver County won’t move into the yellow phase until Friday, May 22.

 

“Unfortunately, with our counties still barred from gatherings in excess of 25 people, we’re not allowed to host these events. While I hope to hold events later in the summer, Gov. Tom Wolf and his administration haven’t released any information – despite repeated requests – about the metrics a county needs to meet to move to green. At this point, we’re waiting,” Kail said.

 

Residents are encouraged to contact Kail’s office with any state-related questions or concerns they have by calling 724-728-7655. Kail and his staff continue to serve residents throughout the pandemic.

 

“I share in the frustration that many residents are feeling because the governor has so much control over our lives,” Kail added. “The representation they usually have in their state legislators has truly been silenced as the governor is making all the rules without considering input from other elected officials. Our government was designed to have checks and balances to avoid any single person having absolute power, but that’s not how it’s working now.”