AP PA Headlines 3/10/20
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — State officials say four more people tested positive for the new coronavirus in Pennsylvania, including three people who were hospitalized. State officials said Monday that brings the total number to 10, all adults. One hospitalized person, a Montgomery County resident, is said to be in critical condition at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. The department didn’t say which hospitals are caring for the other two patients. The state has a lab in Exton that can make use of new equipment to boost its capacity to test up to 150 people a day instead of 25 people a day.
A look at the latest developments in the spread of the new coronavirus in Pennsylvania: All 10 people who tested positive live in eastern Pennsylvania and all are believed to have contracted it by traveling outside the state or outside the country. Seven are residents of Montgomery County. Others are residents of Monroe, Delaware and Wayne counties. Those who are not hospitalized are at home in isolation, officials said.
One infected person is a cardiologist working for the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in King of Prussia, CEO Madeline Bell said in a Monday email to staff obtained by The Philadelphia Inquirer. The hospital suspended services at its King of Prussia specialty care site where the cardiologist practiced, as well as at adjacent allergy clinics, and is redirecting patients to the hospital’s main Philadelphia campus, the Inquirer reported.
The hospital is advising patient families and staff who may have come into contact with the doctor over the past week to self-quarantine at home. Health Secretary Rachel Levine said the state isn’t recommending that large gatherings be canceled.
For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. The vast majority of people recover from the new virus. According to the World Health Organization, people with mild illness recover in about two weeks, while those with more severe illness may take three to six weeks to recover.
The Department of Health is giving few details about patients. It is not saying how many samples it is testing, how many negative tests it has taken or how many people it is monitoring under quarantine. It is also not saying where precisely someone traveled when they were exposed. At least three medical personnel who treated people who tested positive have also been quarantined, newspapers have reported.
The state has a lab in Exton, in suburban Philadelphia, that can make use of new equipment to boost its capacity to test up to 150 people a day from up to 25 people a day. Private labs and academic medical centers are starting to administer tests or will start soon. Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration said Monday that all major health insurers providing comprehensive medical coverage in the state will cover medically appropriate COVID-19 testing and treatment, including waiving cost-sharing for testing. Those insurers are Highmark, UPMC Health Plan, Geisinger, Independence Blue Cross, Capital Blue Cross, Aetna, Cigna, United Healthcare, Pennsylvania Health & Wellness and Oscar, it said.
Schools closing, canceling travel and field trips in suburban Philadelphia grew on Monday. Cheltenham School District said it is closing its buildings this week because a student’s parent was a caregiver to someone who tested positive. The Lower Merion School District in Montgomery County canceled classes Tuesday after being told that two students and a staff member may have been exposed to COVID-19 during visits to the Children’s Hospital facility in King of Prussia, the facility where the cardiologist works. Those students and the staff member are under quarantine for 14 days, it said.
Germantown Academy in Montgomery County is closing its campus through March 29, the end of spring break. The school said one person who tested positive is a family member of a student.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — As of Monday, drivers in Pennsylvania who are picked up by cameras traveling more than 11 mph over the speed limit in a marked highway work zone will get a written warning for a first offense and fines for subsequent violations. PennLive reports that the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission announced last week that the statewide automated work zone camera program authorized by a 2018 state law would begin Monday. Signs posted before the enforcement area will alert drivers about the presence of the vehicle-mounted cameras, which will only be operational in areas when highway workers are present..
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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says his administration will ask Congress to pass payroll tax relief as he looks to calm financial markets’ fears over the impact of the coronavirus epidemic. Trump told reporters Monday that the administration is seeking “very substantial relief.” Trump stepped forward with the contours of an initiative after markets dropped sharply and as the outbreak spread. Several Trump confidants in Congress disclosed they were isolating themselves after potential exposure to the virus. One traveled with the president from Florida on Air Force One on Monday; another is his just-tapped new chief of staff.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Schools across the United States are preparing to move classes online if the new coronavirus forces their buildings to shut down, but it’s leading to concerns about students who don’t have access to the internet at home. Some schools have already instituted “virtual days” during closures caused by the virus. Others are cancelling classes entirely and treating it like a snow day. Districts around the country are making plans to shift online if the virus arrives, with some providing tablets and WiFi hotspots to students. Others plan to make up any canceled days at the end of the year.
ASHLAND, La. (AP) — A Louisiana woman was arrested on drug charges after police determined the $5,000 cash she used to post an inmate’s bail had a “strong odor of marijuana.” The Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that authorities began investigating 33-year-old Stormy Lynn Parfait on Friday, shortly after she showed up to the Ashland jail to pay an inmate’s bond fee. The statement said authorities searched her car after catching a whiff of the cash and found nearly $40,000 more inside along with about 100 Klonopin pills. The agency said a search of her house turned up additional cash, drugs and paraphernalia. Parfait was charged with about a dozen drug offenses.
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Researchers say no other age group was undercounted as much during the last once-a-decade census than children under 5. Sesame Street is using Count von Count to change that. He is joining Elmo, Rosita and her mom, Rosa, in a public service announcement filmed on the set of the long-running television show. The ads encourage parents of young children to make sure they and their children are counted in the 2020 census. The public service announcements in English and Spanish started airing Monday. The head count starts for most people this Thursday.
NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — Officials have commissioned a U.S. Navy warship in honor of the last surviving Medal of Honor recipient from the Battle of Iwo Jima, a 96-year-old war hero who looked on at the weekend ceremony. The USS Hershel “Woody” Williams was commissioned Saturday in Norfolk, Virginia. The USS Williams is an Expeditionary Sea Base ship launched in 2017. Williams called the commissioning a moment in history beyond his comprehension and wished all those who serve on the ship bearing his name to be safe. The ship will primarily support aviation mine countermeasure and special operations missions. .
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