AP PA Headlines 4/22/20
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Regions of Pennsylvania that have seen a relatively low number of confirmed cases of the new coronavirus might be able to reopen “in a fairly robust” way on May 8, Gov. Tom Wolf said Tuesday, shedding more light on his recovery roadmap even as the state’s death toll rose sharply. State health officials recently changed the way they count COVID-19 deaths, resulting in a near-doubling of the state’s death toll in just three days, from 836 to more than 1,500. Many of the deaths occurred days or weeks ago, according to the Department of Health, and the number of new virus cases has trended down recently.
Wolf, a Democrat, says Pennsylvania has made sufficient progress to begin gradually reopening some businesses in early May, depending on the availability of widespread diagnostic testing and the capacity of the health care system. Republicans are pushing a more aggressive timetable. In a conference call with reporters Tuesday, Wolf said he intends to loosen restrictions on people and businesses in much the same way they were imposed: Gradually, and county by county.
More than half of all people who have tested positive for the virus statewide live in Philadelphia and its four suburban counties. Many rural counties, by contrast, have been minimally impacted. Five counties have reported just one or two cases.
Wolf’s health secretary, Dr. Rachel Levine, said Tuesday that contact tracing — identifying people who have been exposed to an infected person so they can be quarantined — will be “very important” as Pennsylvania emerges from the pandemic. The governor said there’s no budget for contact tracing, but Levine, in a separate briefing, gave assurances that Pennsylvania will have a “very robust” tracing program that will be funded with federal dollars.
— The health department has started releasing ZIP code-level information about virus cases. State health officials published an interactive map that shows the number of confirmed cases of the virus and the number of negative tests. The map is searchable by county and ZIP code. The county data also shows the number of COVID-19 deaths. Levine said even residents in communities with a relatively low number of confirmed cases should continue to heed social distancing rules, noting a lack of widespread testing means the actual number of people with the virus is far higher than what shows up in the statistics.
The virus has been spreading faster in recent days in some less populated counties like Columbia, Northumberland, Juniata and Susquehanna.
Two days after the federal government said it planned to collect and release data on COVID-19 at individual nursing homes, the state Health Department said it would look into doing the same. For weeks, state health officials have refused to publicly release the names of long-term care facilities with virus cases. Statewide, 796 residents of these facilities have died — over half the state’s COVID-19 death toll. Advocates and some lawmakers say the agency’s reluctance to name names endangers residents, staff and the public at large.
Late Sunday, following a request from Democratic U.S. Sens. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Ron Wyden of Oregon, the federal government said it would track virus infections and deaths at nursing homes nationwide and release that information to the public. Levine said Tuesday that Pennsylvania might follow suit. “I think we will strongly consider doing that,” she said. “We’ll have to figure out the right way to do that so that we get the most information to the public but also protect patient privacy. So we’ll be working to look at that over the next number of days.”
Pennsylvania’s COVID-19 death toll rose by 360 to 1,564, the state health department reported Tuesday, with nearly 1,300 additional people testing positive for the virus. Not all of the deaths happened in one 24-hour period. The health department has been revising its numbers upward because it is now including probable deaths in the tally. A probable death is one in which a coroner or medical examiner listed COVID-19 as the cause or contributing cause, but the deceased was not tested for the virus.
Officials have said the updated numbers are part of the department’s efforts to reconcile data provided by hospitals, health care systems, county and municipal health departments and long-term care living facilities with the department’s own records. Statewide, more than 34,500 people have tested positive for the virus. 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.
Retail businesses would be able to open if they can operate with a single employee serving one customer at a time under legislation that passed the GOP-controlled state House on Tuesday. The proposal would also permit retail stores to offer curbside pickup, as the state-owned liquor store system has recently started doing. Republican backers said the one-worker, one-customer system would be safer than shopping at large retail outlets that have been permitted to remain open during the COVID-19 pandemic. Democratic opponents called the proposal shortsighted and warned it would expose workers and customers to risk of infection.
Wolf’s office said he will veto legislation approved by the state Senate on Tuesday that requires insurers to cover health care services delivered remotely by certain audio and video methods, after abortion opponents in the House inserted provisions that Democrats say interfere with abortion rights. The Republican-controlled Senate voted along party lines to approve the bill, sending it to the governor’s desk. Wolf supports abortion rights.
The abortion pill is not available at pharmacies, and Planned Parenthood says women who visit a clinic are sometimes prescribed it after a video consultation with a physician who is not physically present. Democrats say the bill that passed Tuesday bans doctors from prescribing the abortion bill via telemedicine. Republicans say it wouldn’t change anything.
The telemedicine bill has been hung up for years on the question of how it affects abortion rights. Healthsystems and hospitals say telemedicine coverage is particularly important now because of the pandemic.
Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
Features
WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s taken a worldwide pandemic for justices of the Supreme Court to agree to hear arguments over the telephone, with audio available live for the first time. The dramatic change is a product of efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Most of the justices are at risk of serious illness if they become infected because of their advanced age. Yet the court also wants to decide significant cases by its traditional summer break. Live audio is significant for a court that waited until two years ago to make case filings available online, decades after other courts.
WASHINGTON (AP) – Iconic events like the U.S. national spelling bee in June, Spain’s Running of the Bulls in July and Germany’s Oktoberfest are being scrapped because of the coronavirus pandemic, even amid growing impatience over shutdowns that have thrown millions of people out of work. The push to reopen has set off warnings from health authorities and politicians about a crisis that by Tuesday had killed well over 170,000 people worldwide. Experts say the crisis is far from over and relaxing the stay-at-home restrictions too quickly could enable the virus to surge.
— Setting aside their differences f or at least an afternoon, President Donald Trump and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo agreed in an Oval Office meeting Tuesday to work to double coronavirus testing in the hard-hit state over the next few weeks. The meeting marked a sharp shift in rhetoric from just days earlier.
— A malaria drug widely touted by President Donald Trump for treating the new coronavirus showed no benefit in a large analysis of its use in U.S. veterans hospitals. There were more deaths among those given hydroxychloroquine versus standard care, researchers reported after the study of 368 patients.
— Trump announced he would be placing a 60-day pause on the issuance of green cards in an effort to limit competition for jobs in a U.S. economy wrecked by the coronavirus. Already, almost all visa processing by the State Department has been suspended for weeks because of the pandemic.
— The loose network of Facebook groups spurring protests of stay-at-home orders across the country have fast become a hotbed of misinformation, conspiracy theories and skepticism around the coronavirus pandemic. Launched in recent weeks by pro-gun advocacy groups and conservative activists, the pages are repositories of Americans’ suspicion and anxiety — often fueled by notions floated by television personalities or President Donald Trump himself.
— A Louisiana pastor has been arrested on an assault charge after after he admitted to driving his church bus toward a man who has been protesting his decision to continue holding mass gatherings at church. Police say Tony Spell turned himself into the department and was arrested on charges of aggravated assault and improper backing.
BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — What would we do without Netflix in these days of self-quarantine and social distancing? It looks like few of us want to find out. People have been streaming to the streaming site lately. The service reports it picked up nearly 16 million subscribers during the first three months of the year. That time period coincides with the start of stay-at-home orders in the U.S. and elsewhere around the world in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Most of this year, movies, concerts and sporting events have been shuttered, leaving us to seek refuge in front of our flat-screens, laptops or tablets. The numbers are also a financial boon for the company, representing the biggest three-month gain in Netflix’s 13-year history as a streaming service.
NEW YORK (AP) — One of the big offerings on the soon-to-launch streaming site HBO Max was to be a reunion of the cast of “Friends.” The special, however, has been put on ice because of COVID-19 pandemic. But instead of letting the delay put a crimp in their plans, the cast has added a wrinkle. They say five fans will get to watch the reunion taping live, and even hang out with the stars. The sweepstakes is part of the All in Challenge. Proceeds from the raffle will to go organizations dedicated to feeding the hungry, like Meals on Wheels and America’s Food Fund.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — When a baseball game is rained out, you know you can get a rain check. But what happens when a bunch of major league games are wiped off the schedule because of a pandemic? The answer for two fans — is to sue. Their suit is filed against Major League Baseball, its commissioner and the 30 MLB teams. The suit seeks the return of money they shelled out for season tickets — and seeks a class-action designation. The suit also targets secondary sellers like Ticketmaster, saying they’re also holding money people paid for games that may not ever be played.
NEW YORK (AP) — It looks like Alex Rodriguez is getting serious about getting his hands on the New York Mets. The former baseball star and his financee, Jennifer Lopez, are trying to line up capital to put in a possible bid for the franchise. The current ownership team — which is grossly unpopular with fans — has been seeking a buyer.
Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
