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Police, regulators target businesses flouting Pennsylvania’s shutdown amid the coronavirus

In York County, two Round the Clock Diners that resumed dine-in service earlier this month were twice warned by state health officials.

  • Michael Rubinkam/Associated Press
  • Marc Levy/The Associated Press
People gather around a vendor's tables at a flea market in Farmington, Pa., on Sunday, May 24, 2020.

 Gene J. Puskar / AP Photo

People gather around a vendor's tables at a flea market in Farmington, Pa., on Sunday, May 24, 2020.

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» Coronavirus facts & FAQ
» Day-by-day look at coronavirus disease cases in Pa.
» Red, yellow, green: What to expect in each of Pa.’s tiers for reopening

(Harrisburg) — Police and state regulators are cracking down on a handful of Pennsylvania businesses that are supposed to remain shut down during the pandemic but have instead thrown open their doors — including some in the midstate.

Small business owners have protested Gov. Tom Wolf’s closure of “non-life-sustaining” businesses, saying it threatens to bankrupt them the longer it goes. A few gyms, salons and restaurants have opened in defiance of the governor, risking citations, fines and license suspensions.

In York County, two Round the Clock Diners that resumed dine-in service earlier this month were twice warned by state health officials before the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture issued an emergency suspension of their operating licenses Friday.

Fines can go as high as $10,000 per day that the restaurants remain open while their licenses are suspended, the agency said.

The diners remained open Tuesday. A message was left with the owner.

Meanwhile, at least two gyms in eastern Pennsylvania reopened this week, with state police already citing one and local police threatening to cite the other.

SuperSets in Hanover Township, outside Allentown, reopened Sunday. State police issued two citations to the business owner, Ed Frack, but the gym was back open for business Tuesday.

Frack said his gym, which launched in October, had two choices: reopen or go out of business. He said he hasn’t received any government assistance to keep going.

Initially, “we had no problem with closing. We weren’t in a position to close, but we said, ‘We’ll sacrifice for a couple of weeks.’ A couple of weeks has turned into a couple months,” Frack told The Associated Press. “This is do or die for us. We either do this, or our business dies.”

Wolf has repeatedly said he prefers voluntary cooperation to enforcement. To date, state police have issued 351 warnings and three citations to businesses that are open despite the shutdown.

Another gym, Danko’s All American Fitness in Plains Township, outside Wilkes-Barre, opened Tuesday. Plains Township Police Chief Dale Binker told The Citizens’ Voice that Danko will be cited for every day he is open.

In other coronavirus-related developments in Pennsylvania on Tuesday:

Testing Strides

In this April 20, 2020 photo, Catherine Hopkins, Director of Community Outreach and School Health at St. Joseph's Hospital, right, performs a test on a patient in a COVID-19 triage tent at St. Joseph's Hospital in Yonkers, N.Y. New York’s plan for taming the coronavirus hinges on taking a time-tested practice to an extraordinary level: hiring an “army” of people to try to trace everyone who might be infected. It's part of a common approach to controlling infectious diseases -- testing, tracing contacts and isolating those infected. But the scope is staggering even for a public health system that used the technique to combat AIDS and tuberculosis.

John Minchillo / AP Photo

In this April 20, 2020 photo, Catherine Hopkins, Director of Community Outreach and School Health at St. Joseph’s Hospital, right, performs a test on a patient in a COVID-19 triage tent at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Yonkers, N.Y. New York’s plan for taming the coronavirus hinges on taking a time-tested practice to an extraordinary level: hiring an “army” of people to try to trace everyone who might be infected. It’s part of a common approach to controlling infectious diseases — testing, tracing contacts and isolating those infected. But the scope is staggering even for a public health system that used the technique to combat AIDS and tuberculosis.

As the number of new virus infections continues to fall throughout Pennsylvania, officials say they’re making strides in their ability to manage flareups.

Virus testing increased from 50,000 in the last week of April to nearly 80,000 last week, Wolf said Tuesday. And a new contact tracing program — in which infected people are swiftly isolated and people they came into contact with are quarantined — has ramped up as well, he said.

Wolf is moving 18 counties from the “yellow” phase of his reopening plan to the “green” phase, meaning most restrictions are lifted.

After initially asking the state to remaining in yellow, commissioners in Centre County, home to Penn State University, opted Tuesday to go along with Wolf and move to green on Friday. The commissioners had cited concern about protecting poll workers during the June 2 primary.

In the green phase, restaurants and bars, salons and barber shops, gyms, theaters, malls and casinos can all open at reduced capacity, according to Wolf’s reopening plan. People will still be asked to wear masks in public and observe social distancing.

Additional details on the green phase are expected to be released this week.

Rare Syndrome

At least nine confirmed cases of a serious, rare inflammatory condition in children linked with the coronavirus were reported Tuesday by the health department.

The illness has been reported in scores of New York children and in several children in other states. A few children have died.

Some children may have symptoms resembling Kawasaki disease, a condition in children that can cause swelling and heart problems. Symptoms include persistent high fever, rash or change in skin color, swollen lymph nodes, red eyes and abdominal pain, said the Pennsylvania state health secretary, Dr. Rachel Levine.

She said there have been a total of 17 reports of the illness in Pennsylvania, of which nine were confirmed, two were ruled out and another six remain under investigation.

Cases

There were 13 additional deaths linked to COVID-19, raising the statewide total to 5,152, the Pennsylvania Department of Health reported Tuesday.

State health officials also reported that 451 more people have tested positive for the new coronavirus.

Since early March, infections have been confirmed in more than 68,600 people in Pennsylvania. Health officials reported that 61% of the people who have tested positive for the virus are considered to be fully recovered, meaning it’s been more than 30 days since the date of their positive test or onset of symptoms.

The number of infections is thought to be far higher than the state’s confirmed case count because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected without feeling sick

For most people, the virus 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.

Here are the latest figures in central Pennsylvania counties:

  • Adams: 233 cases, including 7 deaths
  • Berks: 3919 cases, including 296 deaths
  • Columbia: 343 cases, including 31 deaths
  • Cumberland: 602 cases, including 46 deaths
  • Dauphin: 1137 cases, including 63 deaths
  • Franklin: 746 cases, including 29 deaths
  • Juniata: 95 cases, including 4 deaths
  • Lancaster: 2985 cases, including 281 deaths
  • Lebanon: 922 cases, including 27 deaths
  • Mifflin: 58 cases, including 1 death
  • Northumberland: 177 cases, including 3 deaths
  • Perry: 48 cases, including 1 death
  • Schuylkill: 600 cases, including 27 deaths
  • Snyder: 38 cases, including 1 death
  • Union: 56 cases, including 1 death
  • York: 943 cases, including 22 deaths

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