Jobless claims swamp Pennsylvania amid rise in virus cases
By MARC LEVY, MARK SCOLFORO and CLAUDIA LAUER undefined
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The number of confirmed coronavirus cases has leaped by 50% and record numbers of Pennsylvanians are filing for unemployment compensation. Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration said Thursday that five more people died in the last 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 16. With 560 new cases confirmed by the state Department of Health, there are now more than 1,680 cases in 48 counties. Meanwhile, Pennsylvanians filed about 650,000 unemployment compensation claims over the past 11 days as the coronavirus has spread and thousands of businesses closed or laid off employees. The single highest day was Friday, when more than 90,000 people filed claims. That was the day after Gov. Tom Wolf unveiled an order for “non-life-sustaining” businesses to shut down.