Levine tells Legislature to stop wasting time

The Pennsylvania Health Department reported 898 new cases of the coronavirus Wednesday, bringing the total to 152,544 infections statewide since the start of the pandemic.

The Lehigh Valley reported 43 new cases (25 in Lehigh County, 18 in Northampton County).

There were 39 new deaths, compared with 19 the day before, bringing the total to 8,062. Two of the deaths were reported in Lehigh County; none were reported in Northampton, for a total of 657 in both.

A total of 421 people were hospitalized Wednesday afternoon, compared with 429 the day before. Of those, 54 patients were on ventilators.

There were 13,288 new tests, for a positive test rate of 6%, compared with 6.8% the day before. The overall positive test rate is now at 7.6%.

Also Wednesday, Pennsylvania Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine, Insurance Commissioner Jessica Altman and Testing and Contact Tracing Director Michael Huff held a news briefing to discuss the role of COVID testing, the state’s testing prioritization plans, and testing insurance coverage information.

Unrelated to those topics, Levine spoke about legislative efforts to loosen Gov. TomWolf’s pandemic restrictions on bars and restaurants.

“It is not our intent to stop our way of life. It is to save lives,” Levine said. “The Legislature should stop wasting time trying to overturn measures that are designed to save lives. We must be united in our efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19.”

If you have questions about COVID-19 testing, what’s covered under insurance or what do to if you’ve lost your coverage, go to www.insurance.pa.gov/ coronavirus/Pages/HealthInsurance-Questions.aspx.