Levine fears protests could spread virus
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine on Monday said the protests and disturbances in cities across the state in the last several days have raised concerns about increased spread of coronavirus.
Some of the worst looting and disturbances over the weekend were in Philadelphia, which along with Lehigh, Northampton and seven other counties, is scheduled to shift Friday to the yellow phase of Gov. Tom Wolf’s plan to lift virus-related restrictions.
Levine told reporters during a news conference there are no plans to hold Philadelphia back.
“We respect Pennsylvanians’ right to protest,” Levine said, but she said she would prefer they did it while wearing masks and using social distancing.
The Department of Health reported 356 new cases of the virus Monday, bringing the total for the state to 72,282.
Meanwhile, Levine said plans for widespread testing in 1,900 or more long-term care facilities across the state are moving forward.
About two-thirds of the state’s 5,567 virus deaths have occurred in long-term care facilities.
Levine said testing priority will be given to facilities that have had larger virus case counts, or are in areas with high case counts.
“We are going to individualize that to the facility and their specific circumstances,” she said.
The state does not have an accurate, quick, on-the-spot test for COVID-19, she said. Such a device would help carry out the testing plan, she said.
A key goal of the testing regimen, she said, is to stop staffers who contracted the virus but might not have symptoms from coming to work. That, she said, is crucial to stopping the spread in nursing homes.
Monday’s data from the department showed Lehigh County has had 3,770 cases of the virus, and Northampton County has had 3,082. The department also said there were 12 newly reported deaths from coronavirus, none in the Lehigh Valley.
The first cases of the coronavirus in Pennsylvania were reported March 6. Recently, Wolf and Levine have said new case counts are declining.
Sweeping shutdowns imposed across the state are gradually being lifted, but the effect on the economy lingers.
More than 2 million unemployment claims have been filed in the state since late March. And Monday, the state Department of Revenue reported the state collected $2.1 billion in general fund revenue in May, $439.7 million, or 17.3%, less than anticipated.
Some of the shortfall was attributed to pushed-back tax filing deadlines. But the department said $239.9 million was due to reduced economic activity during the pandemic.
Meanwhile, 55 of the state’s 67 counties have had deaths from the virus.
According to state data, Delaware County has the highest death rate per 100,000 residents at 99, followed by Philadelphia at 83.3 per 100,000; Montgomery, 82.8; Lackawanna, 81.1; Bucks, 80.1; Berks, 75.4; Northampton, 68.9; Lehigh, 61.9; and Monroe, 59.6.
Wolf and Levine said Friday the state abandoned a previously much-discussed metric that helped determine when a county could have some virus restrictions lifted.
Spelled out in April, the metric set as a reopening target “having fewer than 50 new confirmed cases per 100,000 population reported to the [Health] Department in the previous 14 days.”
Wolf and Levine indicated the metric was no longer practical, given knowledge gained about the virus in the last two months.
Now, Wolf said, restrictions will be lifted based on whether a county’s new-case rate has increased; whether its percentage of positive test results has been increasing or decreasing; and reviews of any virus outbreaks in the county.
Morning Call reporter Ford Turner can be reached at fturner@mcall.com.