(Harrisburg,Pa.) The first Pa. House member to test positive for the COVID-19 occurred yesterday. In a statement released by Rep. Andrew Lewis (R-Dauphin) he said that

“Throughout this pandemic, our health officials have reminded us that it is likely many of us will contract COVID-19 and suffer mild, flu-like symptoms. On Monday, May 18, I was tested for COVID-19 and on Wednesday, May 20, I was notified that my test came back positive.

“I immediately began self-isolation protocol and contacted the House of Representatives, and our caucus Human Resources department. My last day in the Capitol was Thursday, May 14.”

The Rep. has also followed all guidelines in contacting the people he was in contact with and advising them to self-quarantine for 14 days

Harrisburg, PA – As more counties move to yellow and green, Governor Tom Wolf today issued an order to elaborate on the reopening process for green phase counties and guidance on outdoor dining in yellow counties, dining in green counties, and professional sports in yellow counties.

Green Phase Updated Order
The governor elaborated on green phase guidelines announced on May 22 by issuing an updated order for counties in the green phase of reopening.

The orders from Governor Tom Wolf and Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine update existing yellow phase orders with these revisions:

• Suspends all previous stay-at-home orders and replaces them with the new green phase order for these counties, effective at 12:01 a.m., Friday, May 29: Bradford, Cameron, Centre, Clarion, Clearfield, Crawford, Elk, Forest, Jefferson, Lawrence, McKean, Montour, Potter, Snyder, Sullivan, Tioga, Venango, and Warren.
• The order includes provisions for businesses that were permitted conduct in-person operations in the yellow phase, those permitted to operate with some restrictions on in-person operations and those that were not permitted any in-person operations under the yellow phase.
• The order also includes guidance on occupancy limits and health and safety orders that business must adhere to under the green phase.
• Specifics are included on those areas that have raised questions from business owners and residents, including:
  • Personal care services, including hair salons and barber shops must operate by appointment only; appointments or reservations are also strongly encouraged for gyms or spas.
  • Any gathering for a planned or spontaneous event of greater than 250 individuals is prohibited.  This includes, but is not limited to, a concert, festival, fair, conference, sporting event, movie showing, or theater performance.
  • Churches, synagogues, temples, mosques and other places of congregate worship are specifically excluded from the limitations established by the order.  These institutions are strongly encouraged to enforce social distancing and other mitigation measures such as masking at their gatherings.
  • Visitation to prisons and hospitals may resume subject to the discretion of the facility. Visitors who interact with residents and patients must be diligent regarding hygiene. Given the critical importance of limiting COVID-19 exposure in nursing homes, nursing home visitation restrictions will initially remain in place.

The Wolf Administration worked with the Pennsylvania Restaurant and Lodging Association to develop guidance on dining in both the yellow and green phases.

Yellow Phase Outdoor Dining
Beginning June 5, restaurants and retail food service businesses located in counties designated as being in the yellow phase are permitted add dine-in service in outdoor seating areas so long as they strictly adhere to the requirements of the guidance, including maximum occupancy limits:

• Indoor areas, including bar areas, of restaurants and retail food service businesses must be closed to customers except for through-traffic. Non-bar seating in outdoor areas (i.e., tables or counter seats that do not line up to a bar or food service area) may be used for customer seating.
• Customers being served must be seated at a table.

Prohibitions are also included. The following are not permitted:

• Self-service food or drink options, such as buffets, salad bars, condiments, and drink stations.
• Condiments on tables; these must be dispensed by employees upon the request of a customer.
• Reusable menus.
• Refilling food and beverage containers or allowing implements brought in by customers.

Green Phase Dining
Retail food service businesses, including restaurants, and bars located in counties designated as being in the green phase are permitted to provide take-out and delivery sales, as well as dine-in service in both indoor and outdoor seating areas, so long as they strictly adhere to the requirements of the guidance, including maximum occupancy limits:

• Bar seating may be utilized if customers are seated and comply with physical distancing guideline of at least 6 feet or physical barriers between customers. Standing in a bar area will not be permitted.
• A maximum of four customers that have a common relationship may sit together at the bar, while adhering to the physical distancing guidelines or barriers between other customers.

No business is required to conduct in-person operations and should not do so if unable to follow applicable guidance.

Dining guidance provides businesses and employees in the restaurant and retail food service industry with specific details on operations, including following the Guidance for Businesses Permitted to Operate During the COVID-19 Disaster Emergency to Ensure the Safety and Health of Employees and the Public, available here, and provisions specific to mask-wearing, table-spacing, occupancy limits, sanitization, and implementation of a COVID-19 prevention plan, among other provisions to ensure worker and customer safety.

The dining guidance also notes that restaurants and retail food service businesses located in counties designated as being in the red phase are permitted to provide take-out and delivery sales only and may not allow the service or consumption of food or beverages on the premises.

Professional Sports Guidance
The Wolf Administration has worked with Pennsylvania’s professional sports teams to develop guidance that allows for competition to resume.

Professional sports, defined as any sporting event at which the participants are paid by a league or team, or at which individuals or teams receive prizes or purse, are allowed to practice or play in the yellow and green phases of reopening without on-site or venue spectators if the team (or league on behalf of the team) has developed a COVID-19 safety plan.

Such a plan must be approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Health and include, among other requirements, testing or screening and monitoring of all on-venue players and personnel.  Also, no fans or spectators may be permitted on interior or exterior venue property.  Professional sports organizations are encouraged to contact the Wolf Administration to share their reopening plans and get them approved by the Department of Health.

Find the governor’s order here.

Find the secretary of health’s order here.

History in the making as House is poised for proxy voting
By LISA MASCARO and ANDREW TAYLOR Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s a day that’s shaping up as one for the history books on Capitol Hill. For the first time, House lawmakers intend to vote by proxy. The aim is to avoid the risk of travel to Washington during the pandemic. House Republicans have sued to stop the majority party. The House is trying to strike a balance between working from home and honoring the Constitution’s requirement to be “present” and voting. On the legislative front, with Congress deadlocked on a broad virus aid package, lawmakers are shifting their attention to a more modest overhaul of small business relief.

2 U.S. astronauts arrive at launch pad for SpaceX launch
By MARCIA DUNN AP Aerospace Writer
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — With thunder threatening a delay, two NASA astronauts have made their their way to the launch pad for the liftoff of a SpaceX rocket ship on a history-making flight to the International Space Station. The mission is seen as a giant leap forward for the booming business of commercial space travel. Space veterans Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken are scheduled to ride into orbit Wednesday afternoon aboard the brand-new Dragon capsule. It will be the first time in nearly a decade that the United States has launched astronauts into orbit from U.S. soil.

As COVID-19 Restrictions Ease, “100 Deadliest Days” Begin for Nation’s Teens
New AAA data examines ten years of fatal teen crash rates during the summer

This week marks the start of the “100 Deadliest Days” for teen drivers, which is the period between Memorial Day and Labor Day when fatal crashes involving teen drivers have historically increased. Nationwide, more than 8,300 people died in crashes involving teen drivers from 2008 to 2018 during the time period, and this year, the combination of schools closed, activities curtailed, summer jobs canceled, and COVID-19 restrictions being lifted could prove an even deadlier combination.

“The crash data from the last decade are alarming, and with the combination of COVID-related factors at play this year, it’s essential for parents to talk with their teens now,” says Theresa Podguski, director of legislative affairs for AAA East Central. “Setting ground rules and modeling safe driving behaviors will go a long way towards saving lives.”

AAA’s data analysis has found that for every mile driven, new teen drivers ages 16-17 years old are three times more likely to be involved in a deadly crash compared to adults. This is largely due to their inexperience, and their likelihood of engaging in risky behaviors. According to the new AAA Foundation Traffic Safety Culture Index, about 72% of teen drivers aged 16-18 admitted to having engaged in at least one of the following risky behaviors in the past 30 days:

• Driving 10 mph over the speed limit on a residential street (47%)
• Driving 15 mph over the speed limit on a freeway (40%)
• Texting (35%)
• Red-light running (32%)
• Aggressive driving (31%)
• Drowsy driving (25%)
• Driving without a seatbelt (17%)

To keep roads safer this summer, AAA encourages parents to:

• Talk with teens early and often about abstaining from dangerous behavior behind the wheel, such as speeding, impairment and distracted driving.
• Teach by example, and minimize risky behavior when driving.
• Establish a parent-teen driving agreement that sets family rules for teen drivers.
• Conduct at least 50 hours of supervised practice driving with their teen.

To support parents in conducting practice driving sessions during COVID-19 and beyond, AAA is providing a free four-page guide to help parents coach their teens on how to drive safely. The “Coaching Your New Driver – An In-Car Guide for Parents” AAA ParentCoachingGuide 2020 offers behind-the-wheel lesson plans, including a variety of “DOs and DON’Ts” to make the learning experience as helpful as possible. For parents, the guide can be beneficial as they coach their teens on a variety of routes, building on their formal behind-the-wheel training.

TeenDriving.AAA.com has a variety of tools to help prepare parents and teens for the dangerous summer driving season. The online AAA StartSmart Parent Session also offers excellent resources for parents on how to become effective in-car coaches as well as advice on how to manage their teen’s overall driving privileges. Teens preparing for the responsibility of driving should enroll in a driver education program that teaches how to avoid driver distraction and other safety skills.

About AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety: Established in 1947 by AAA, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety is a not-for-profit, publicly funded, 501(c)(3) charitable research and educational organization. The AAA Foundation’s mission is to prevent traffic deaths and injuries by researching their causes and by educating the public about strategies to prevent crashes and reduce injuries when they do occur. This research is used to develop educational materials for drivers, pedestrians, bicyclists and other road users. Visit www.AAAFoundation.org.

AAA East Central is a not-for-profit association with 78 local offices in Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia serving 2.7 million members.  News releases are available at news.eastcentral.aaa.com.  Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Police say woman kept in freezer in benefit check theft scam
DILLSBURG, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania woman is accused of hiding her grandmother’s remains in a freezer so the dead woman’s Social Security checks would continue. State police say they arrested Cynthia Carolyn Black of York Haven on Wednesday on charges of abuse of a corpse, theft and receiving stolen property. State police say the 61-year-old Black told them she found her grandmother, Glenora Reckord Delahay, dead in their home in Ardmore more than 16 years ago, but kept her body in a basement freezer. Black is alleged to have told investigators she moved the corpse, still inside the freezer, to Dillsburg in 2007. A lawyer or phone number for Black couldn’t be located.