Story by Mark Peterson

(Beaver County, PA) The Corona Virus has many  symptoms that are well known and documented like a high fever and breathing difficulties.  However, the Covid -19 pandemic also has has an undesirable side effect that isn’t quite as apparent, isolation.  For most people, being shut in and stuck in the house for weeks, as part of quarantine efforts to stop the spread of the disease, is merely an inconvenience.  But, for someone experiencing bouts of domestic violence, the stay at home orders can mean being trapped with an abuser and having the feeling like they have no options. In the final segment of a weekly three part series, Beaver County Radio spoke to Ann Murray from the Beaver County Women’s Center about this important issue, and the court advocacy services that Women’s Center has available to help people in crisis during this unique situation.

Again, The Women’s Center helpline continues to be available 24 hours a day and can help provide options and support to anyone involved with domestic violence. The number once again is 724-775-0131.  For more Information, a link to the Women’s Center of Beaver County is available at beavercountyradio.com.

Department of Human Services Reassures Pennsylvanians that Help is Available, Provides Update on Public Assistance Data Trends

Harrisburg, PA – Today, Department of Human Services Secretary Teresa Miller reminded Pennsylvanians of public assistance programs available to help families meet basic needs, such as affording groceries and accessing healthcare. Several new programs launched in recent weeks to help Pennsylvanians overcome the economic strains of the COVID-19 crisis.

“Together, Pennsylvanians have slowed the spread of the coronavirus and flattened the curve. We have made incredible personal sacrifices for the greater good. And while some parts of the commonwealth are beginning to reopen, we must still heed aggressive mitigation strategies so we can keep the virus under control,” DHS Secretary Teresa Miller said. “Pennsylvania will get through this and public assistance is one of the most important ways of making sure that everyone gets through.”

Last week, the department announced the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance (LIHEAP) Recovery Crisis Program, which launched Monday. DHS is working with utility companies and deliverable fuel vendors to help Pennsylvanians at risk of losing access to electricity, natural gas, or deliverable fuels such as oil. The program has been funded with $34.9 million Pennsylvania received from the federal CARES Act, and it will run through August 31 or until all budgeted funding is expended. Families may be eligible for a benefit of up to $800, and eligibility guidelines will be the same as those used during the 2019-2020 LIHEAP season.

DHS is also helping families get through this crisis with the new, federally funded Emergency Assistance Program (EAP). EAP provides a one-time cash benefit to families who have experienced a significant income reduction or complete job loss due to COVID-19. Since the program launched May 11, DHS has received more than 7,000 applications and disbursed more than $1.28 million to families in need. DHS has funded the program with existing Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds. EAP is open to families with a child under age 18 or a woman who is currently pregnant. Eligible families will receive a one-time payment equal to two months of TANF benefits for their household size – or about $800 for a family of three.

The Wolf Administration also recently received approval from the United States Department of Agriculture to extend additional support to families with children who participate in the National School Lunch Program. The Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer program (P-EBT) is designed to help families feed their children while schools are closed. In total, P-EBT will support the families of about 958,000 Pennsylvania children.

Pennsylvanians can apply for each of these programs at www.compass.state.pa.us.

Secretary Miller also encourages Pennsylvanians struggling with food costs to consider applying for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps. Anyone without health coverage can apply for Medical Assistance, or Medicaid, at www.compass.state.pa.us. The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) is affordable health coverage for children up to age 19, and it is available to every child regardless of family income. Pennsylvanians can apply for CHIP at www.chipcoverspakids.com.

To date, Pennsylvania has not experienced a significant surge in applications for SNAP or Medicaid. However, enrollment is steadily increasing.

Enrollment for SNAP has increased by about 123,000 people since February, for a total enrollment of about 1.86 million in April — a 7.1 percent increase.

DHS not currently terminating anyone from Medicaid or CHIP, unless they voluntarily withdraw, pass away or move to another state. Medicaid is available even if a person has other health coverage but needs additional assistance. Enrollment for Medicaid has increased by about 62,000 people since February, for a total enrollment of about 2.89 million in April — a 2.2 percent increase. CHIP covered about 186,000 Pennsylvania children in March. Today, CHIP enrollment is just over 200,000 children.

Application processing times remain consistent with pre-pandemic rates. DHS is actively monitoring these data trends and is working with the University of Pittsburgh to survey newly unemployed individuals and identify any barriers that exist to applying for benefits.

“Our goal is to make sure that people who could be helped by these services know we are here and what is available,” Secretary Miller said. “These programs exist to help people meet basic needs, such as affording groceries and accessing healthcare. Every single one of us could find ourselves in that position one day, and there should be no guilt or shame in asking for or accepting that help.”

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Department of Health Announces CDC Teams to Assist in Pennsylvania COVID-19 Response

Harrisburg, PA – Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine today announced that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has sent three teams to Pennsylvania to assist with the COVID-19 response.

“We are so pleased to have this level of collaboration and assistance from the CDC to help our teams working in the field in Pennsylvania,” Dr. Levine said. “COVID-19 is a particularly challenging situation for congregate settings, including large workplaces, food industries and long-term care facilities. These teams are assisting us in our response in these hardest-hit areas as we work to protect the public health and safety of Pennsylvanians.”

These teams arrived in Pennsylvania on Thursday, May 14. Since then, they have been working to become familiar with the situation across the state so they can begin providing assistance to locations in need. There are two teams assisting long-term care facilities and one team assisting food facility outbreaks.

The CDC teams will be onsite in Pennsylvania for two weeks to help in the response using their expertise. These teams will help assess the situation, teach infection control practices, and offer training on personal protective equipment (PPE) and outbreak response at the facilities they visit. They will also assist with developing a testing strategy for the nursing homes they visit and use their expertise to help cohort residents.

As of 12:00 a.m., May 18 p.m., there were 63,056 positive cases of COVID-19 statewide in 67 counties and 4,505 confirmed deaths. Most of the patients hospitalized are 65 or older, and most of the deaths have occurred in patients 65 and older. More data is available here.

The Wolf Administration stresses the role Pennsylvanians play in helping to reduce the spread of COVID-19:

• Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available.
• Cover any coughs or sneezes with your elbow, not your hands.
• Clean surfaces frequently.
• Stay home to avoid spreading COVID-19, especially if you are unwell.
• If you must go out for a life-sustaining reason, please wear a mask.

Updated Coronavirus Links: Press Releases, State Lab Photos, Graphics

• Daily COVID-19 Report
• Press releases regarding coronavirus
• Latest information on the coronavirus
• Photos of the state’s lab in Exton (for download and use)
• Coronavirus and preparedness graphics (located at the bottom of the page)
• Community preparedness and procedures materials
• Map with the number of COVID-19 cases

All Pennsylvania residents are encouraged to sign up for AlertPA, a text notification system for health, weather, and other important alerts like COVID-19 updates from commonwealth agencies. Residents can sign up online at www.ready.pa.gov/BeInformed/Signup-For-Alerts.

Harrisburg, PA – Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) Secretary Jerry Oleksiak today announced the launch of Pennsylvania’s Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) program to provide an additional 13 weeks of benefits to people who exhaust their regular unemployment compensation (UC).

PEUC is included in the new federal unemployment compensation benefits provided by the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Pennsylvania has implemented all programs under the new CARES Act and paid out nearly $7.4 billion in total unemployment benefits since mid-March.

Important information about the extended benefits program follows and has also been emailed or mailed via the United States Postal Service to all individuals who potentially qualify for PEUC.

Eligibility  

You are eligible for PEUC if you:

• Are unemployed between March 29 through December 26, 2020;
• Have exhausted your regular state or federal benefits with week ending July 6, 2019 or later;
• Are currently not eligible for state or federal unemployment benefits; and
• Are able and available to work and actively seeking work, except for COVID-19-related reasons including illness, quarantine, or “stay at home” orders.

How to Receive PEUC​

• ​If you have an open UC claim but exhausted all of your benefits, the 13 additional weeks will automatically be added to your existing claim. Log in this week to file biweekly claims for prior weeks, back through the week ending April 4 (if applicable).
• If your benefit year has expired then you must submit an application online.
• If you don’t have access to computers or the internet, you can have a loved one or friend print the paper application for you to complete and submit via mail. We are also in the process of mailing paper copies of the application to individuals who might need it.
• Biweekly claims and payments work the same way as for regular UC benefits.

PEUC Weekly Benefit Amount: 

• Your PEUC weekly benefit amount is the same as your regular UC weekly benefit rate.
• Your weekly benefit rate is based on your reported earnings during the base year (the first four of the last five completed quarters). You must also have over 18 credit weeks (weeks during which you earned $116 or more) in your base year to be eligible for UC.

Extra $600 on PEUC: 

• You will receive an additional $600 per week from the federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) program. Anyone collecting any type of UC, including PEUC, will receive the extra $600 per week in addition to your weekly benefits as calculated.
• FPUC payments began the week ending April 4, 2020 and will end July 25, 2020. These payments will be backdated for eligible individuals and paid in one lump sum.
• You will receive the extra $600 FPUC payments the week after your PEUC payments.

Pennsylvania’s UC Payments  

Since March 15, the department has made 15.7 million payments to claimants totaling nearly $7.9 billion in benefits:

• $4.8 billion from regular UC
• $2.85 billion from the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) program (extra $600 per week)
• $290 million from Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program since, May 7

​Regular UC claim statistics are available here and the breakdown of that data by industry and county is here. PUA claim statistics are available here.

Visit the commonwealth’s Responding to COVID-19 guide for the latest guidance and resources for Pennsylvanians or the Pennsylvania Department of Health’s dedicated coronavirus webpage for the most up-to-date information regarding COVID-19.

‘COVID toes,’ other rashes latest possible rare virus signs
By LAURAN NEERGAARD AP Medical Writer
Skin doctors suddenly are looking at a lot of toes as concern grows that for some people, a sign of COVID-19 may pop up in an unusual spot. They’re being called “COVID toes”— red, sore and sometimes itchy swellings on toes. The American Academy of Dermatology says don’t race to the emergency room if toes are the only worry. It issued advice earlier this month that a telemedicine check is the first step for people wondering if they have “COVID toes” and who have no other reason for urgent care.

Department of Health Provides Update on COVID-19, 623 Positives Bring Statewide Total to 62,234

Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Health today confirmed as of 12:00 a.m., May 17, that there are 623 additional positive cases of COVID-19, bringing the statewide total to 62,234. All 67 counties in Pennsylvania have cases of COVID-19.

Today, the state is reporting 4,418 total deaths, an increase of 15 new deaths. County-specific information and a statewide map are available here.

“As counties move from red to yellow, we need all Pennsylvanians to continue to follow the social distancing and mitigation efforts in place,” Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said. “We must continue to protect our most vulnerable Pennsylvanians, which includes our seniors, those with underlying health issues, our healthcare workers and our first responders. I am proud of the work that Pennsylvanians have done so far, but we cannot stop now, we must continue to take the necessary steps to protect ourselves from COVID-19.”

Locally in Beaver County we are at 517 positive cases of COVID-19. 2,710 people have tested Negative and the county is at 83 deaths.

In the 3 Nursing Homes in the county reporting cases there are 341 people have tested positive for the COVID-19. 26 Employees have also tested Positive and there have been 76 deaths reported.

There are 270,670 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 aged 0-4;
• Nearly 1% are aged 5-12;
• Nearly 2% are aged 13-18;
• Nearly 6% are aged 19-24;
• Nearly 37% are aged 25-49;
• Nearly 26% are aged 50-64; and
• Nearly 29% are aged 65 or older.

Most of the patients hospitalized are aged 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 13,447 resident cases of COVID-19, and 2,091 cases among employees, for a total of 15,447 at 558 distinct facilities in 45 counties. Out of our total deaths, 3,057 have occurred in residents from nursing or personal care facilities. A county breakdown can be found here.

Approximately 4,451 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, 37 counties are in the yellow phase of reopening; 12 more will move to the yellow phase on May 22.

Pennsylvania nurse union alleges continued rationing of PPE
By MICHAEL RUBINKAM Associated Press
One of Pennsylvania’s largest nurses’ unions alleges that hospitals have “resorted to severe rationing” of personal protective equipment even as they resume elective surgeries.  The 8,400-member Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals says that Pennsylvania state health officials are “being misinformed” about the availability of PPE inside hospitals. The union said in a letter to the state health secretary that working conditions inside hospitals remain unsafe because of lax COVID-19 guidance issued by the state Health Department and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Health Department says it has sent vast quantities of medical-grade face masks, gloves, gowns and other supplies in nearly 500 shipments to hospitals statewide.