Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin (71) takes a shot with New Jersey Devils center Kevin Rooney (16) defending during the third period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, March 10, 2020, in Newark, N.J.
Kathy Willens / AP Photo
Updated: 2020-05-27 19:07:50
Your daily coronavirus update: Pro sports can resume in Pennsylvania, without spectators
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Mark Scolforo/The Associated Press -
Staff
Kathy Willens / AP Photo
Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin (71) takes a shot with New Jersey Devils center Kevin Rooney (16) defending during the third period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, March 10, 2020, in Newark, N.J.
With 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.
What you should know
» 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
Professional sports can resume in Pennsylvania where the governor’s stay-at-home order to stem the spread of the coronavirus is no longer in force, but without spectators, Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration said Wednesday.
Those teams and competitors will be allowed to practice or play in counties where Wolf’s yellow or green designation applies in his stoplight-colored three-phase reopening plan.
To resume, a team or a league must develop a coronavirus safety plan that has been approved by Wolf’s state Department of Health and it must include testing or screening and monitoring of all “on-venue” players and personnel, the administration said.
Fans or spectators cannot be permitted inside or outside the sporting venue property, the administration said.
Wolf is allowing overnight camps and organized youth sports to begin or resume in areas where the green phase is in effect, and is asking that federal guidance be followed to prevent transmission of the virus. Those guidelines do not explicitly bar spectators.
Starting Friday, Wolf is moving eight more counties — Dauphin, Franklin, Huntingdon, Lebanon, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike and Schuylkill — to the yellow phase and 18 mostly rural counties, including the home of Penn State’s main campus in Centre County, to the green phase.
On June 5, Wolf is moving the remaining “red” counties — Philadelphia, Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lehigh, Montgomery and Northampton — to yellow.
In other coronavirus-related developments in Pennsylvania:
Matt Rourke / AP Photo
Paramedics load a person who has been staying overnight at Philadelphia International Airport into an ambulance in Philadelphia, Tuesday, May 26, 2020. Officials on Tuesday began removing dozens of people who have been sleeping at the city’s airport during the coronavirus pandemic.
Cases
There were 113 additional deaths linked to the coronavirus in Pennsylvania, raising the statewide total to 5,265, the state reported Wednesday.
Officials also reported that 780 more people have tested positive for the virus.
These are the latest case counts and deaths in central Pennsylvania counties:
- Adams: 236 cases, including 7 deaths
- Berks: 3952 cases, including 301 deaths
- Columbia: 346 cases, including 31 deaths
- Cumberland: 611 cases, including 47 deaths
- Dauphin: 1174 cases, including 66 deaths
- Franklin: 156 cases, including 30 deaths
- Juniata: 95 cases, including 4 deaths
- Lancaster: 3031 cases, including 282 deaths
- Lebanon: 936 cases, including 31 deaths
- Mifflin: 58 cases, including 1 death
- Northumberland: 182 cases, including 3 deaths
- Perry: 53 cases, including 1 death
- Schuylkill: 601 cases, including 28 deaths
- Snyder: 39 cases, including 1 death
- Union: 56 cases, including 1 death
- York: 956 cases, including 22 deaths
Since early March, infections have been confirmed in more than 69,417 people in Pennsylvania. Health officials reported that 62% of the people who have tested positive are 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 confirmed 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.
Stricken veterans home
Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration announced a new leader Wednesday at the Southeastern Veterans’ Center, where nearly three dozen residents have died from the coronavirus and a state senator urged the replacement of its leadership.
The state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs has named an acting commandant at the center, the agency said it a statement. It did not name the person, explain the circumstances that led to the appointment or what happened to the prior commandant.
Asked about the reasons for the move, Wolf, in a video news conference, said he was responding to the “general concern” that had been expressed about the situation at the center. He did not elaborate on that.
PA Dept. of Military and Veterans Affairs
The Southeastern Veterans’ Center, where officials concealed the extent of an outbreak even as the death toll nearly tripled over a five-day stretch in April.
The Southeastern Veterans’ Center had been particularly hard hit by the pandemic, with at least 35 residents dying from the virus, according to state data provided last week. The five other state-run veterans homes appear to have been far more successful in keeping the virus out.
The Southeastern Veterans’ Center has one of the highest death tolls among Pennsylvania’s homes and residential facilities for older adults. Residents of those homes have accounted for roughly two-thirds of the state’s 5,200 coronavirus-related deaths.
However, the scope of the outbreak inside the 238-bed Southeastern home had long been unclear, since the state health and veterans affairs departments did not report on cases and deaths there until recent days.
Relatives of residents have told The Philadelphia Inquirer that they were unaware of how widely the virus had spread — or that anyone had died there — until the newspaper reported it April 17.
A state lawmaker, Sen. Katie Muth, whose district includes the home, had urged state officials to remove its commandant and its nursing director, the Inquirer reported.
Maj. Gen. Tony Carelli, the state veterans affairs secretary, told lawmakers May 6 that he had sought inspections of the Southeastern Veterans’ Center as the death toll rose.
Federal, state and county inspections came back clean and showed the center had sound protocols in responding to the spread of the virus, Carelli told them.
State health inspectors visited May 1, Carelli told them, after he asked the health secretary to make an exception to her policy of suspending nursing home inspections during the pandemic.
Given the number of coronavirus deaths in state-run veterans homes across the country, Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania was one of several U.S. senators who asked this month for an investigation by the federal Government Accountability Office.
PennDOT extends license expiration dates
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is extending the expiration dates for driver licenses, identification cards and learner’s permits. Those scheduled to expire between March 16 and June 30 have been extended until June 30.
The extension also applies to camera cards, which the department says are considered driver licenses.
Dauphin County waives real estate tax penalties
Dauphin County Commissioners recently approved a resolution that waives penalties for real estate taxes this calendar year. All 40 municipalities within the county also agreed to waive municipal tax penalties for 2020.
Payments made through Dec. 31 will be collected at the face rate instead of being subject to the standard 5% penalty for payments made in June and July or the 10% penalty for payments made August through December. The resolution applies only to 2020. Payments that are postmarked after Dec. 31, will incur the standard 10% penalty.
Questions should be directed to the municipal tax collectors. A list of tax collectors can be found on the county’s website at www.dauphincounty.org.
Lawmaker tested positive
A Pennsylvania state lawmaker said Wednesday he tested positive for COVID-19 and spent the past two weeks in isolation. Rep. Andrew Lewis, R-Dauphin, said in a statement that other members and staff he was in contact with also self-isolated.
Lewis said he kept his positive test a secret out of consideration for his family and others who may have been exposed. He had a fever for a day and a brief cough, but has fully recovered and completed a quarantine period, he said.
Rep. Russ Diamond, R-Lebanon, who sits in front of Lewis in the House chamber, said he was notified of the potential exposure by the human resources department on May 21, shortly after testifying at a legislative committee meeting.
Diamond said he also isolated himself for two weeks from the date of his exposure to Lewis, on May 14. Diamond said two others with seats near Lewis’ also were notified. Diamond said he has not experienced any symptoms.
House Democrats reacted to the news with outrage.
“From the timeline we’ve been provided, and we still have questions about that, we believe that the Republican leadership at least has known about this probable diagnosis for at least a week. And they failed to tell us anything,” caucus spokesman Bill Patton said.
The House has been holding session under special rules that allow representatives to cast votes without being in the Capitol.
Sometimes, your mornings are just too busy to catch the news beyond a headline or two. Don’t worry. The Morning Agenda has got your back. Each weekday morning, host Tim Lambert will keep you informed, amused, enlightened and up-to-date on what’s happening in central Pennsylvania and the rest of this great commonwealth.
