Trump tweets order to destroy harassing Iranian gunboats
By DARLENE SUPERVILLE, JON GAMBRELL and ROBERT BURNS Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says he’s ordered the Navy to “shoot down and destroy” any Iranian gunboats that harass U.S. ships. His directive comes a week after the Navy reported a group of Iranian boats made “dangerous and harassing approaches” to American vessels in the Persian Gulf. Trump isn’t citing a specific Iranian provocation in his tweet and he’s not providing details beyond the tweet. Senior Pentagon officials are giving no indication that Trump has directed a fundamental change in military policy on Iran. A spokesman for Iran’s armed forces accuses Trump of “bullying” and says Trump should focus on taking care of U.S service members infected with the coronavirus.

Department of Health Provides Update on COVID-19, 1,156 Positives Bring Statewide Total to 35,684

Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Health today confirmed as of 12:00 a.m., April 22, that there are 1,156 additional positive cases of COVID-19, bringing the statewide total to 35,684. All 67 counties in Pennsylvania have cases of COVID-19.

The department is continuing to work to increase the types of cases that are being added to our death case counts. Today, 58 new deaths are reported among positive and probable cases, bringing the statewide total to 1,622. County-specific information and a statewide map are available here. All people are either in isolation at home or being treated at the hospital.

Locally in Beaver County we have increased by 14 positive cases to 317 of the COVID-19.  1638 people have tested negative so and the county is up 4 deaths to a total of 47.

In the Nursing Homes in the County 3 are reporting that they have had a positive cases during the Pandemic. Today there was an increse of 10 cases to 191 and still only 11 employee cases. There has also been an additonal 4 deaths  bringing the total up to 38 of the counties 47 deaths.

“As we see the number of new COVID-19 cases continuously change across the state that does not mean we can stop practicing social distancing,” Sec. of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said. “We must continue to stay home to protect ourselves, our families and our community. If you must go out, please make as few trips as possible and wear a mask to protect not only yourself, but others. We need all Pennsylvanians to continue to heed these efforts to protect our vulnerable Pennsylvanians, our health care workers and frontline responders.”

There are 136,272 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;
• 1% are aged 13-18;
• Nearly 6% are aged 19-24;
• Nearly 39% are aged 25-49;
• Nearly 28% are aged 50-64; and
• 25% 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. There have been no pediatric deaths to date. More data is available here.

In nursing and personal care homes, there are 5,337 resident cases of COVID-19, and 617 cases among employees, for a total of 5,954 at 407 distinct facilities in 39 counties. Out of our total deaths, 845 have occurred in residents from nursing or personal care facilities. A county breakdown can be found here.

All non-life-sustaining businesses are ordered to be closed and schools are closed statewide through the remainder of the academic year. Currently the entire state is under a stay-at-home order.

County Case Counts to Date

Department of Agriculture Confirms Pennsylvania’s First Spotted Lanternfly Hatch, Encourages Residents to be Vigilant 

Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture today reported the first confirmed Spotted Lanternfly hatch of the year. The first-instar nymph was located by a USDA employee yesterday in the University City section of western Philadelphia, near the University of Pennsylvania/Drexel University.

“Let’s use this time at home to make a positive impact on Spotted Lanternfly this season; scrape and destroy any remaining egg masses you find and band your trees now,” said Agriculture Secretary Redding. “We need every Pennsylvanian to keep their eyes peeled for this bad bug, we can’t let our guard down.”

The majority of Spotted Lanternfly hatches begin in southern Pennsylvania in mid to late April and with a lag in timing for Pennsylvania’s more northern counties. As the first instars of Spotted Lanternfly hatch from eggs, they instantly seek tender plant tissue to feed.

The Spotted Lanternfly is capable of decimating entire grape vineyards and damaging fruit orchards, hops, walnuts, hardwoods and decorative trees. In addition to endangering agriculture, this bad bug threatens our ability to enjoy the outdoors during spring and summer months – they’re known to swarm in the air, cover trees, and coat decks and play equipment with their excrement, known as honeydew. Honeydew, along with sap from weeping plant wounds that result from feeding of Spotted Lanternfly, can attract bees and other insects and also stimulate the growth of fungi.

Scraping egg masses is the most efficient way to kill 30-50 of the invasive pests at once. If you discover Spotted Lanternfly egg masses, scrape them off, using a putty knife, credit card, or other firm, blunt edged tool. Penn State Extension has a helpful tutorial on how to destroy egg masses. During the nymph stage, tree banding is the most effective method to capture and kill Spotted Lanternfly. It’s a non-toxic, inexpensive technique that can be used on any tree.

Prior to the 2020 spring hatch, twelve counties were added to Pennsylvania’s Spotted Lanternfly quarantine zone. With this addition, the quarantine for this invasive pest is now at 26 counties. Businesses in the quarantine zone must obtain a permit; fines associated with noncompliance can be up to $300 for a criminal citation or up to $20,000 for a civil penalty. Homeowners with questions about treatment are encouraged to contact their local Penn State Extension office or learn about management, including approved sprays, online. Pennsylvanians who live inside the quarantine zone should also review and sign the Compliance Checklist for residents.

If you scrape an egg mass or squash a Spotted Lanternfly, always report your sighting. Sightings can be reported online or via phone by calling 1-888-4BAD-FLY. For more information on Spotted Lanternfly, visit agriculture.pa.gov/spottedlanternfly.

AAA East Central Appoints First Woman President

Teresa Petrick brings healthcare leadership expertise to nearly 120-year-old Club

AAA East Central is announcing the appointment of Teresa “Terri” Petrick to the position of president of AAA East Central, effective April 1, 2020. She becomes the first woman appointed to the role in the Club’s 117-year history.

Petrick previously served as senior vice president, with responsibilities including branch operations, human resources, the member service center, facilities, information technology, along with systems integration and strategic planning.

Petrick spent more than 30 years in the healthcare industry prior to joining AAA East Central in 2013. Her career began at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh as hospital planner. Her time with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) included the roles such as executive vice president of its McKeesport hospital, where she had overall operational responsibility. In 2001, she was appointed to a corporate vice president role for UPMC, with responsibilities encompassing integration and development of care management. She then moved on to president of UPMC Passavant and then UPMC St. Margaret.

“Being chosen to lead such a storied organization is a great honor,” says Petrick. “I look forward to maintaining the high level of service to our AAA members as well as serving the communities throughout the AAA East Central footprint.”

She serves as chairwoman of Excela Health Board of Trustees, and her community service includes board memberships with LaRoche University and The University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg.

Petrick earned her undergraduate degree in business administration from the University of Pittsburgh, and a master’s degree in public management from Carnegie Mellon University.

Pitt-Greensburg honored Petrick in 2014 by awarding her the Alumni Association’s Alumna of Distinction, which recognizes excellence among the Unviersity’s alumni based on their professional achievements, service to the university, and community service. She was also an Athena Award finalist in 2009.

Petrick succeeds James Lehman, who retired after a 42-year career with AAA East Central. He served as president since 2013.

(Lawrenceville,Pa.) A fire that began just before 7 p.m. destroyed three homes in Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville neighborhood Tuesday night

The fire started in one home and quickly spread to two others. The roof collapsed on one of the homes and the other two buildings, which partially collapsed, must be demolished because of the extensive fire damage.

(Pittsburgh,Pa.) Local Healthcare Giant UPMC announced yesterday that it will now test all its patients for COVID-19. UPMC had been testing all symptomatic patients for weeks and will begin to test all patients who are coming to a UPMC facility for any sort of care.

During a press conference on Tuesday Tami Minnier, chief quality officer at UPMC  said “An important question is, what about the asymptomatic person who has COVID-19 and doesn’t even know it?”. “We know from research that some people can have the disease and not even have symptoms.

Testing asymptomatic patients will not only offer peace of mind to patients, but Minnier said it will help healthcare workers better understand the novel coronavirus.

UPMC will continue to screen all folks who enter one of their facilities, and those coming in for a procedure will be tested for COVID-19, whether or not they are experiencing symptoms.

Additionally, Minnier said UPMC has begun using a 3D printer to create swabs used to test for COVID-19.

Through 3D printing technologies, UPMC is able to expand its number of swabs.

“We are not waiting for the problems to be solved by others,” Minnier said. “We are seeking those solutions and creating them ourselves.”

As deaths spike, some areas could see ‘robust’ reopening
By MICHAEL RUBINKAM, MARK SCOLFORO and MARC LEVY The Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Gov. Tom Wolf says regions of Pennsylvania that have a relatively low number of confirmed cases of the new coronavirus might be able to reopen “in a fairly robust” way on May 8. Wolf shed more light on his recovery roadmap even as the state’s death toll rose sharply. He said Tuesday he intends to loosen restrictions on people and businesses in much the same way they were imposed: Gradually, and county by county. More than 34,000 people statewide have tested positive for the virus. The statewide death toll has risen by hundreds in recent days because the state recently changed the way it counts deaths.

SBA reports data breach in disaster loan application website
By JOYCE M. ROSENBERG AP Business Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — The Small Business Administration reports it had a potential data breach last month in its website that handles disaster loan applications. The agency says the personal information of nearly 8,000 business owners applying for economic injury disaster loans was potentially seen by other applicants on the SBA website on March 25. The SBA said only the disaster loan program was affected, not the Paycheck Protection Program, which did not begin until April 3 and which is handled by a separate system. Carol Wilkerson, an SBA spokeswoman, said in a statement the agency has notified the owners whose information may be have been exposed and offered them a year of free credit monitoring.

Wolf: Less-impacted areas of state may reopen soon
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Gov. Tom Wolf says that regions of Pennsylvania that have seen a relatively low number of confirmed cases of the new coronavirus might be able to reopen “in a fairly robust” way on May 8. Wolf said Tuesday he intends to loosen restrictions on people and businesses in much the same way they were imposed: Gradually, and county by county. More than half of all people who have tested positive for the virus statewide live in Philadelphia and its four suburban counties. Many rural counties, by contrast, have been minimally impacted. More than 34,000 people statewide have tested positive, and the state reports more than 1,500 deaths.