Dr. Ala Stanford administers a COVID-19 swab test on a person in the parking lot of Pinn Memorial Baptist Church in Philadelphia, Wednesday, April 22, 2020. Stanford and other doctors formed the Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium to offer testing and help address heath disparities in the African American community.
Matt Rourke / AP Photo
Matt Rourke / AP Photo
Dr. Ala Stanford administers a COVID-19 swab test on a person in the parking lot of Pinn Memorial Baptist Church in Philadelphia, Wednesday, April 22, 2020. Stanford and other doctors formed the Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium to offer testing and help address heath disparities in the African American community.
The new coronavirus has caused 51 additional deaths and another 467 infections in Pennsylvania, state health officials said Thursday.
The state has reported 6,113 deaths since the pandemic began, and more than 77,000 people have been confirmed as COVID-19 cases, the agency said.
Pennsylvania has been reopening in phases under a stoplight-colored plan designed to relax restrictions in places where the outbreak is less severe. State lawmakers passed a resolution this week to end the shutdown, and Senate Republicans on Wednesday asked a state court to enforce it.
On Friday, Adams, Beaver, Carbon, Columbia, Cumberland, Juniata, Mifflin, Northumberland, Union, Wayne, Wyoming and York counties are scheduled to enter the least-restrictive green phase of re-opening. That means 46 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties will be in the green phase; the rest remain in yellow.
Residents of nursing and personal care homes account for more than two-thirds of deaths in the state.
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. More than 70 percent of the people with confirmed infections have since recovered, according to the Health Department.
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.
In other developments:
Matt Rourke / AP Photo
FILE PHOTO: People visit the field of field Pickett’s Charge, Monday, Nov. 18, 2013, in Gettysburg.
When Adams County moves into the green phase of Gov. Tom Wolf’s reopening plan on June 12, Gettysburg National Military Park will increase services at the historic site. The park will continue to allow licensed battlefield guide operations, commercial operators and special park uses that comply with state reopening guidance and public health guidance, which include limiting gatherings to less than 250 people and maintaining social distancing.
Park rangers will provide informal interpretation services through intermittent roves, or visits, to different areas of the battlefield.
Public restrooms will also begin to reopen throughout the battlefield.
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.
