Clover Hill golf course manager Bill Schwietzer, left, and Josh Ford check tee-times outside the clubhouse on Thursday, April 30, 2020 in Pittsburgh. Golf courses across Pennsylvania are preparing to re-open Friday May 1, 2020, practicing safe-distancing to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
Gene J. Puskar) / AP Photo
Gene J. Puskar) / AP Photo
Clover Hill golf course manager Bill Schwietzer, left, and Josh Ford check tee-times outside the clubhouse on Thursday, April 30, 2020 in Pittsburgh. Golf courses across Pennsylvania are preparing to re-open Friday May 1, 2020, practicing safe-distancing to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
What you should knowWith our coronavirus coverage, our goal is to equip you with the information you need. Rather than chase every update, we’ll try to keep things in context and focus on helping you make decisions. See all of our stories here.
» Coronavirus facts & FAQ
» Day-by-day look at coronavirus disease cases in Pa.
» It’s time to get serious about social distancing. Here’s how.
(Harrisburg) — Gov. Tom Wolf announced Friday that 24 counties in rural northern Pennsylvania will see some relief from his strictest orders for residents to stay at home and businesses to close as part of a strategy to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
All of the counties that are moving from “red” to “yellow” in Wolf’s color-coded reopening plan are in the northwest and north-central regions of Pennsylvania, which have seen far fewer virus infections and deaths than most of the rest of the state.
The changes are to take effect next Friday, May 8, and impact about 1.5 million of Pennsylvania’s 12.8 million residents. Stay-at-home orders will be lifted and retail shops can start to reopen, though gyms, barber shops, nail salons, casinos, theaters and other such venues will remain closed and other restrictions will remain in place.
Keith Srakocic / AP Photo
As sign stating “COVID-19 Safety Plan in Effect” marks the approach to the construction zone under an overpass for Interstate 79 as traffic moves through it, in Cranberry Township, Pa., Tuesday, April 28, 2020.
The counties where pandemic restrictions will be eased are: Bradford, Cameron, Centre, Clarion, Clearfield, Clinton, Crawford, Elk, Erie, Forest, Jefferson, Lawrence, Lycoming, McKean, Mercer, Montour, Northumberland, Potter, Snyder, Sullivan, Tioga, Union, Venango and Warren.
The only county in that group to be left off the list was Columbia, which is still struggling with a relatively high number of infections.
“Over the past two months, Pennsylvanians in every corner of our commonwealth have acted collectively to stop the spread of COVID-19,” Wolf said in a written statement. “We have seen our new case numbers stabilize statewide and while we still have areas where outbreaks are occurring, we also have many areas that have few or no new cases.”
Wolf’s administration also released details Friday about its strategy for mass testing, although his health secretary has said it would be “aspirational” because many testing materials remain in short supply. The goal is that 90% of the state’s population live within 45 miles of a testing site, and 2% of the population are tested each month. Wolf also released a contact tracing plan to contain fresh outbreaks.
Wolf has said that shutdown measures he ordered starting in March have succeeded in preventing hospitals from becoming overwhelmed with patients with COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.
An analysis by The Associated Press shows that only 27 of the state’s 67 counties reported too many new virus cases over the past two weeks to qualify for a gradual easing of restrictions under Wolf’s shutdown plan. But Wolf has grouped the state’s counties into six geographic regions, and health officials are also looking at regional case counts as they decide which counties merit consideration.
The reopening list issued by Wolf on Friday left off every county in the lightly impacted southwest, including Pittsburgh. Ten of the 11 southwestern counties have reported only a modest number of new infections since mid-April. The outlier, Beaver County, is dealing with a large outbreak at a nursing home that has spiked its overall infection rate.
Health officials also say the incidence of new cases isn’t the only metric they’re looking at.
Expanded virus testing, sufficient hospital capacity and the ability to quickly identify and contain flareups through what’s known as contact tracing must also be in place. The state Department of Health is also using a new modeling tool by Carnegie Mellon University to help officials decide when a region is ready to reopen.
The coronavirus has infected more than 45,000 Pennsylvania residents and killed nearly 2,300, according to the latest Health Department statistics, while the state’s efforts to contain the virus have caused economic devastation, throwing nearly 1.7 million Pennsylvania residents out of work since mid-March.
The step-by-step relaxation of state shutdown orders means some counties or regions move from a “red” designation to a “yellow” designation.
Under the yellow designation, gatherings of up to 25 people will be allowed. Currently, the statewide red designation bans all gatherings or outside trips that are not related to health, safety or going to work at an essential job.
Restaurants and bars will still be limited to carry-out or delivery. Child care is open, although businesses must follow federal and state guidance for safety, social distancing and cleaning.
Schools statewide remain closed for the rest of the academic year, and visitation restrictions on prisons and nursing homes remain in place. Wolf’s administration will continue to recommend that people wear masks in public, and mandate that businesses and commercial buildings that serve the public deny entry to customers not wearing masks.
There is no word on when an area could move to a “green” designation, with all pandemic restrictions lifted aside from any federal or state health guidelines that remain in effect.
Meanwhile, Wolf has begun loosening some restrictions on business sectors. On Friday, golf courses, marinas, guided fishing trips and privately owned campgrounds statewide can reopen, and construction can restart.
In other coronavirus-related developments:
Pennsylvania’s COVID-19 death toll rose by 62 to 2,354, the state Health Department reported Friday.
About 1,200 additional people tested positive for the virus that causes the disease, bringing the statewide total to about 27,000, according to the department.
The number of infections is thought to be far higher because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected with the virus without feeling sick. There is no data on how many people have recovered.
The coronavirus testing site at Lancaster General Health in Lancaster on April 19, 2020.“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.”
The Health Department reports 8,478 resident cases of COVID-19, and 1,097 cases among employees in nursing homes, for a total of 9,575 at 474 distinct facilities in 44 counties. Out of our total deaths, 1,560 have occurred in residents from nursing or personal care facilities.
Approximately 2,878 of the total cases in Pennsylvania are in health care workers.
A total of 8,298 people in central Pennsylvania have tested positive for the virus since the first cases were reported in the region on March 13. In the region, 413 people have died from COVID-19.
Today’s update includes two newly reported deaths in Lancaster County, two in York County, one in Cumberland, one in Franklin and the first in Juniata County.
For most people, it causes mild or moderate symptoms that clear up in a couple of weeks. Older adults and people with existing health problems are at higher risk of more severe illness, including pneumonia, or death.
A car caravan of activists protested Friday outside the facilities of a Lebanon County poultry processor where they say dozens of workers have been infected with the coronavirus.
At least one worker at Bell & Evans in Fredericksburg has died, and the husband of another worker who tested positive also died, according to Make the Road Pennsylvania, an advocacy group for Hispanic immigrants, which is advocating on behalf of the plant workers.
Activists say the family-owned company has failed to keep workers safe and hasn’t been transparent about the extent of the outbreak. They want the plant shut down for cleaning, among other demands. A livestream of the event showed activists slowing down and blaring their horns as they drove past the facilities’ entrances.
“Bell & Evans has failed to protect these workers and that failure cost their lives,” said Maegan Llerena, the group’s executive director. “Going to work should not be a death sentence.”
An email was sent to the company seeking comment.
Meat and poultry processing facilities around the country have been stricken by the virus. The outbreak temporarily closed at least four meat processing plants in Pennsylvania.
The state Department of Transportation has extended the expiration dates for driver licenses, identification cards, and learner’s permits, in response to statewide COVID-19 mitigation efforts.
Effective April 30, 2020, expiration dates for driver licenses, photo ID cards and learner’s permits scheduled to expire from March 16, 2020 through May 31, 2020, are now extended through June 30, 2020.
All Driver License Centers and Photo License Centers and the Harrisburg Riverfront Office Center in Pennsylvania remain closed.
Keith Srakocic / AP Photo
The seats and aisles are empty as seen through the window of the closed Penndot Drivers License Center in Butler, Pa., Friday, April 3, 2020. Pennsylvania will stop paying about 9,000 state workers whose offices have been closed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, officials said Friday. The pay freeze affects about 12% of the state workforce, though individual agencies were hit much harder, with the state departments of Transportation and Revenue halting pay to more than half their employees.
Fourteen nonprofits that work with people and families in Cumberland, Dauphin and Perry counties who need emergency basic services are getting a total of $107,650 from United Way of the Capital Region.
According to a United Way news release, grants of up to $10,000 were awarded to:
“We are in the business of helping people in need,” Timothy B. Fatzinger, United Way of the Capital Region president and CEO, said in the news release. “Through these grants, individuals and families will be able to pay their rent and utility bills, as well as access food and emergency shelter services.”
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