Centre County senior centers ease into reopening with COVID-19 restrictions in place
Seniors have been eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine for months, but officials are still urging caution as Centre County senior centers reopen.
With a larger facility, the Centre Region Active Adult Center reopened last week with limited hours. And beginning April 20, senior centers in Bellefonte, Centre Hall, Penns Valley and Philipsburg will reopen one day each week. The Snow Shoe site will reopen once a part-time staff position is filled, Human Services Administrator Natalie Corman said.
“Senior centers are opening across the commonwealth,” Corman said during Tuesday’s commissioners’ meeting. “There are still a lot closed. I think it’s around 20% have opened, however, they do anticipate more opening the week after Easter.”
By waiting two additional weeks to reopen after the spring holiday, Corman said the county hopes to reduce potential virus transmission. She added that health and safety guidelines — masking and social distancing — will be enforced at the sites, which have been spaced out and will be sanitized regularly.
In Centre County, 26,272 people are fully vaccinated, and 17,122 people are partially vaccinated, according to the state Department of Health.
Statewide guidance allows adult day programs to reopen if the weekly community transmission rate remains between 5-10%. The Office of Developmental Programs will use data to determine whether sites reopen each week, Corman said.
“Again, this is a population that has had the vaccine available for quite some time, so that at least allows for a reduction in the danger of COVID-19 at the sites,” Commissioner Michael Pipe said — noting that guidelines still need to be followed. “It does help us, using the measures that we have taken over the last several months, to get back to seeing the seniors and utilizing those sites.”
