Scott Hoffman sits on his porch in Sunbury, Northumberland County, on April 29, 2020.
Ed Mahon / PA
Scott Hoffman sits on his porch in Sunbury, Northumberland County, on April 29, 2020.
Ed Mahon / PA
Scott Hoffman, 57, first started working at All Sports America in the summer of 1998, cleaning jerseys and equipment. At the time, his car was broken down and he often rode his bike to work. Hoffman landed a full-time position the following January and was promoted to production manager within a few years. He said he hoped to work at the sports uniform manufacturer and distributor until he retired.
But he walked off the job on April 16, two weeks after the company received a special waiver from the state to stay open. Instead of sports apparel, the company would convert its production line to making masks.
“I am not quitting,” Hoffman recalled saying that day. “But I’m going to leave the building if you proceed with this, because I will not be a part of putting everyone’s life in jeopardy.”
The next day, three other workers also left.
I took a deep look at the dispute and its lasting impact for everyone involved in this story.
I spoke with the company’s majority owner and president, Richard Rock, who saw the change to masks as a way to avoid bankruptcy. He told me he takes the coronavirus threat seriously. He said his wife has a compromised immune system, and that they bought $900 worth of groceries — three carts full — in February to make sure they could practice as much social distancing as possible.
“If I get it, she’s gonna get it, and … she has so many health issues that it would be crazy,” Rock told me.
I expect the issue of workplace safety will be an ongoing concern as more and more businesses reopen. Some examples in recent stories:
NPR: ‘We’re Out There’ So Protect Us, Protesting Workers Tell Amazon, Target, Instacart
Spotlight PA: Employees at Pa.’s ‘life-sustaining’ businesses question if their work is worth the risk
Reading Eagle: Berks County officials highlight how coronavirus shutdown is causing frustration among small business owners
If you are an employee with a safety concern, or if you are an owner struggling to keep your business staffed, we want to hear from you. Please drop us a line at the Listening Post.
What it means to go from red to yellow on your own: There’s a lot of talk about counties declaring that they are beginning to lift coronavirus restrictions with or without the Gov. Tom Wolf’s support. The case of Beaver County shows how that could actually work. Republican Commissioner Daniel Camp III said he and his fellow commissioners didn’t pass a resolution or order saying businesses can reopen. Instead, they are trying to spread the word that their independently elected district attorney doesn’t plan to prosecute businesses that violate the governor’s shutdown order. Camp is telling businesses to act as if they are in yellow — but not go further than that by, say, offering dine-in services at a bar or restaurant. Beaver’s model: County commissioners use their bully pulpit, and district attorneys use prosecutorial discretion, to signal to employers that they can reopen. Here’s my rundown of how leaders in York, Berks and elsewhere are pursuing their reopening plans, and a related Spotlight PA story: Counties abandon plans to buck Wolf, as GOP lawmakers continue pushing doomed reopening bills.
Lancaster’s plan: PA Post reporting intern Ben Pontz took a deep look at the debate in Lancaster County and its plan to reopen on Friday, ahead of Wolf’s timeline. Dr. Michael Ripchinski, chief clinical officer for Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health, described a planned $24 million contract tracing program. But he declined to say whether he thought the county was ready to move to yellow. And not all municipalities in the county on onboard, as LNP reports: At least five municipalities are pushing back against Lancaster County’s GOP-led move to defy Gov. Wolf.
Will other district attorneys refuse to prosecute? That’s what more than two dozen House Republican lawmakers are hoping, WESA’s Lucy Perkins reports. She also spoke with epidemiologist David Dausey of Duquesne University who said reopening brings big risks to businesses.
Few citations: So far, state police have issued few citations for people or businesses that violate the governor’s shutdown or safety orders. And state police say the agency isn’t planning to crackdown on counties where district attorneys won’t prosecute, WESA’s An-Li Herring reports.
What does it actually take to go from red to yellow? The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jonathan Lai broke it down in this handy explainer, which includes an interactive map of counties that are below one of the Wolf administration’s criteria. They’ve had fewer than 50 new reported cases per 100,000 people over 14 days. (York, Adams, Perry, Mifflin, Juniata in south-central Pa. are below that mark.) See also this story from the Post-Gazette: How will life be different under Gov. Wolf’s yellow phase?
Up north: New York State has this interactive dashboard that breaks down the metrics for regions to reopen there. It provides a lot more detail than what Pennsylvania’s Department of Health has made public for how the state makes reopening decisions.
President Trump in Pa. today:
The president arrives in the early afternoon for a visit to an Owens & Minor, Inc. facility in Allentown. Here’s the president’s schedule, which shows he’ll be on the ground for just over two hours total.
The Morning Call: Trump heads to the Lehigh Valley today, where he’ll highlight a firm involved in fighting coronavirus and build his case for reopening country
LehighValleyLive: Meet the company hosting President Trump Thursday in the Lehigh Valley
The Philadelphia Inquirer: Most people support coronavirus lockdowns. But Trump is fighting them as he comes to Pa.
The Morning Call: Lehigh Valley infectious disease experts favor some reopening; ‘We should be in the yellow, headed toward green’
Further reading:
PennLive: Coronavirus testing still lags, creating a possible impediment for Pa. reopening efforts
The New Yorker: Amid the Coronavirus Crisis, a Regimen for Reëntry
The Washington Post: As some countries ease up, others are reimposing lockdowns amid a resurgence of coronavirus infections
AP: As new clusters emerge, WHO warns virus may be here to stay
Vox: What we know about the new Covid-19-linked illness in children
ProPublica: I’m an Investigative Journalist. These Are the Questions I Asked About the Viral “Plandemic” Video
The Inquirer: One big Philly hospital is seeing a lot more coronavirus patients than its rival
NBC TODAY Show: What Dylan Dreyer’s coronavirus antibody test results mean for her and family
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