Name: Pennsylvania coronavirus updates: State’s grand ‘experiment’ of reopening begins with Friday announcement
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Pennsylvania coronavirus updates: State’s grand ‘experiment’ of reopening begins with Friday announcement

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AdvertisementBy The Morning CallApr 30, 2020 at 3:20 pmHARRISBURG — On the eve of his anticipated announcement of a partial reopening of at least small parts of coronavirus-ravaged Pennsylvania, Gov. Tom Wolf said people in those places would be living a sort of experiment.They would be, he said, the first Pennsylvanians to go about life under eased restrictions since the virus triggered a statewide shutdown. The virus will still be a threat to them, and masks and social distancing will still be needed, Wolf said, but the rest of the state will be watching closely.Advertisement“It is going to be an experiment for all of us,” Wolf told reporters Thursday of the limited restriction-lifting, which will take effect May 8.It is all but certain the Lehigh Valley will not be involved in Friday’s announcement.AdvertisementNew data issued by the state Thursday shows that, among the six regions in the state, the region that includes Lehigh and Northampton counties has the second highest rate of new cases per 100,000 residents over the last 14 days.The rate for the 10-county Northeast region was 181 new cases per 100,000, while the same rate in the Northwest region was 10.That metric was been mentioned prominently by both Wolf and Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine since they started talking publicly about reducing restrictions in some areas. Levine reiterated Thursday that several other factors besides the metric would be involved.“We are looking at other data and other modeling, and we will take all that into consideration,” she said.And Wolf, who will make final decisions on which areas are reclassified, said he would apply common sense and would not be wedded to arbitrary regional boundaries.At times during the past week, the administration has shifted focus from one aspect of its criteria for reopening to another, seeming to muddle its message.“It has been very confusing,” House Republican leader Rep. Bryan Cutler of Lancaster County said Thursday. “I think the standards have changed at least three times.”The department’s Thursday data shows the number of positive-test coronavirus cases statewide increased by 1,397 on Thursday to an overall total of 45,763.AdvertisementLehigh County had 77 new cases, while Northampton County added 42. Their new totals, respectively, are 2,796 and 2,050.In pure per capita terms ― dividing a county’s case total by its population ― Lehigh County’s prevalence of 757 per 100,000 residents is second only to Philadelphia’s 776 per 100,000.The update came on the 57th day that coronavirus cases have been reported in the state.Wolf’s controversial shutdown order on Thursdayto the Wolf administration.Wolf and Levine have laid out from virus restrictions.The entire state is currently in a red phase with stay-at-home orders in place, large gatherings prohibited and restaurants and bars limited to carry-out and delivery service.AdvertisementAreas that are moved into the yellow phase will have stay-at-home restrictions lifted in favor of “aggressive mitigation” and limiting gatherings to less than 25. While restaurants and bars will face the same restrictions as in the red phase, in-person retail sales will be allowed although curbside and delivery retail will be preferred.Levine said the state will be working to ensure that the health care infrastructure in Pennsylvania continues to have enough access to personal protective equipment.For example, included in statistics Levine mentioned Thursday, the state has delivered 1,378 shipments of PPE to nursing and personal care homes since the beginning of April.And Levine said, “We will be watching for any outbreaks or clusters in yellow areas.”The state has logged 2,292 deaths from coronavirus since the crisis began, although its figures have been revised repeatedly to reflect changed reporting methods.Of the total, 1,505 deaths ― or more than 65% ― have been in nursing or personal care facilities.AdvertisementIn Lehigh County, 66% of deaths have occurred in long-term care facilities, while in Northampton County the figure is 59%.Cutler noted that in many counties, more than 70% of the deaths have been in nursing or personal care facilities. He said he would like to see data on hard-hit nursing homes broken out separately from county data so that those facilities “can easily be sequestered and have protections.”Levine said that after Friday, the state will not be following a specific schedule for announcing area reopenings.“We will announce them as they become available,” Levine said.And she said the state is “laser focused” on the regions expected to go from red to yellow and has not made any specific plans about moving areas to the final, green phase.Wolf has repeatedly said his overriding concern is to keep residents safe.AdvertisementHe suggested viewing the current situation and upcoming changes as a “new normal” in which everyone has to behave differently or they might get sick.He acknowledged that staying at home isn’t fun.“It’s tough. But it works,” he said.Morning Call reporter Eugene Tauber contributed to this story.Morning Call reporter Ford Turner can be reached at . Advertisement

AdvertisementBy The Morning CallApr 30, 2020 at 3:20 pmHARRISBURG — On the eve of his anticipated announcement of a partial reopening of at least small parts of coronavirus-ravaged Pennsylvania, Gov. Tom Wolf said people in those places would be living a sort of experiment.They would be, he said, the first Pennsylvanians to go about life under eased restrictions since the virus triggered a statewide shutdown. The virus will still be a threat to them, and masks and social distancing will still be needed, Wolf said, but the rest of the state will be watching closely.Advertisement“It is going...

Pennsylvania coronavirus updates: State’s grand ‘experiment’ of reopening begins with Friday announcement

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