Reopening updates: Centre County adds 4 new cases of COVID-19, and other updates
We’re keeping track of the most up-to-date coronavirus news now that Centre County is in the green phase of Gov. Tom Wolf’s plan to reopen Pennsylvania. Check back for updates.
Centre County adds 4 COVID-19 cases
The state Department of Health reported four new cases of COVID-19 in Centre County on Friday, pushing the county’s total to 176. Nine of those cases are probable; the rest are confirmed.
Statewide, there are 80,762 cases, with 526 additional cases announced Friday. DOH estimates 77% of patients have recovered. There are 6,399 deaths statewide, an increase of 38. The state lists six Centre County deaths.
In Centre County, here’s the breakdown by ZIP code (those without cases are not listed):
- 16823 (Bellefonte, Milesburg and Pleasant Gap): 42
- 16801 (State College): 37
16803 (State College): 36
- 16827 (Boalsburg): 10
- 16870 (Port Matilda): 9
- 16686 (Tyrone): 7
- 16822 (Beech Creek): 6
- 16841 (Howard): 5
- 16666, 16828, 16844, 16845, 16852, 16860, 16865, 16866, 16872, 16875: 1-4 cases each (The state does not give specific numbers when there are fewer than five cases to protect patient privacy.)
- by Matt Hymowitz
Welch, Park Forest pools set to open next weekend. Here’s what to expect
Two more Centre County public pools — Welch and Park Forest — are set to open next week, although swimmers should notice a few changes due to concerns surrounding COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.
The two pools, overseen by the Centre Region Parks & Recreation Authority, will officially open June 27 and will be capped at half capacity. The pools will open at 10 a.m. on the weekend for adult lap swim and toddler time, before shifting over to general swim from noon to 8 p.m.
- by Josh Moyer
160th Clearfield County Fair canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic
Clearfield on Friday joined the list of central Pennsylvania county fairs to cancel this summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The main factor in the decision, fair organizers wrote in a Facebook post, was the limit on crowds of no more than 250 individuals in the green phase of Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration’s reopening plan.
- by Lauren Muthler
Penn State football’s annual Lift for Life event is canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic
While some Penn State football players have returned to campus and begun voluntary workouts, one of the team’s biggest events of the summer — Lift for Life — has been canceled due to uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Uplifting Athletes, which works with student-athletes to organize Lift for Life events at about two dozen colleges across the country, announced Wednesday that it’s suspending all its events this summer.
“COVID-19 has led to many adjustments of the college athletic schedule,” the statement read. “The student-athletes and the programs we work with face a condensed time frame to prepare for the upcoming season, while under heightened safety precautions. To avoid any additional pressure, Uplifting Athletes will not hold any of our Lift for Life events this summer.”
- by Lauren Muthler
Wolf loosens restrictions in last of counties except Lebanon
Parts of Pennsylvania that were among the hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic will move next week into the less restrictive “green” zone for reopening businesses and restarting group activities, the Wolf administration announced Friday.
The 12 counties going from yellow to green under Gov. Tom Wolf’s color-colored reopening system include Philadelphia and its collar suburbs of Montgomery, Bucks, Chester and Delaware counties.
Other counties moving to green next week will be Lehigh and Northampton in the Lehigh Valley; Erie County, where local officials have pressed for looser restrictions; Lackawanna and Susquehanna counties in the northeast; and Berks and Lancaster.
- The Associated Press
Jobless rate slides back from pandemic peak in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania’s unemployment began sliding down from its pandemic peak in May, even clocking in at below the national rate as payrolls grew by almost 200,000, the state said Friday.
Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate was 13.1% in May, down 3 percentage points from April’s adjusted rate, the state Department of Labor and Industry said. It had initially estimated Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate at 15.1% in April, its highest rate in over four decades of record-keeping.
But that preliminary figure was adjusted upward to 16.1% in April, setting yet another four-decade record. The national rate was 13.3% in May.
- The Associated Press
Utility regulators keep moratorium on service terminations
Pennsylvania’s Public Utility Commission on Thursday rejected an attempt by one of its members to end its three-month-old moratorium preventing utilities from terminating service to non-paying customers while the state fights the spread of the coronavirus.
The motion failed on a 2-2 vote, with the panel’s Democrats opposing the motion and the panel’s Republicans backing it.
Commissioner John F. Coleman Jr., had sought to allow non-natural gas utilities – electric, water, sewer and telephone – to begin termination processes for non-residential customers on July 1, and for residential customers on July 15.
- The Associated Press
Mount Nittany Health eliminates 250 positions, citing $70 million revenue shortfall
Mount Nittany Health announced Thursday a second wave of cuts to combat revenue shortfalls and a reduction in patient volume due, at least in part, to the coronavirus pandemic.
The State College-based health care system eliminated about 250 positions, about 10% of its staff, to address an expected $70 million revenue shortfall, according to a news release.
Executive compensation and spending on contracted services and supplies was also reduced by 10%, the organization said.
-by Bret Pallotto
‘We need to turn to the arts.’ Central PA Theatre and Dance Fest takes 3-day festival online
The Central PA Theatre and Dance Fest looks a bit different this summer. In its third year, the festival is being held entirely virtually Friday through Sunday.
Organizer and festival co-founder Cynthia Mazzant said that in discussions with participants and theater companies, they knew early on that live performances were going to be majorly affected during the COVID-19 pandemic. Then the State College Borough canceled all events through June 30, when festival planning was already underway, she said.
“We kept hearing from friends, family and patrons that we need the arts, we need to turn to the arts,” she said. “So the decision was not to cancel, but to continue to find a way to provide programming, some of it live streamed, some of it pre-recorded.”
-by Holly Riddle, for the CDT
New event springs up to take place of canceled Penns Valley area carnival
As many of Centre County’s most beloved summer events are canceled due to COVID-19 precautions, other events are rising up to provide fun — yet still safe — ways for communities to gather. The first-ever Millheim Food & Fun Walk is one such event, taking place from 12:30-3 p.m. Saturday in downtown Millheim.
“Originally, the Millheim Fire Company carnival was set for the same day,” said one of the event organizers, Rebecca Larsen. “That’s something the Penns Valley area really, really looks forward to. The kids always look forward to that carnival. It’s a great one and gets a good turnout and supports the fire hall.”
-by Holly Riddle, for the CDT
Health care
- A COVID-19 drive-thru testing site has opened in the Walmart parking lot on North Atherton Street, according to a news release from Gov. Tom Wolf’s office. Quest Diagnostics and Walmart are working with the department to provide no-cost testing for residents living in areas where there are fewer testing sites. The site is open from 7 to 9 a.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday to test up to 50 registered patients daily. Registration is required one day in advance. For more information, visit www.health.pa.gov/topics/disease/coronavirus/Pages/Symptoms-Testing.aspx.
- University Health Services is now offering telemedicine to provide safe and convenient health care for students. Those students who would normally have access to UHS providers and services will still be able to access those providers, with a few exceptions depending on the states they live in, via phone or video interactions. Telemedicine providers can diagnose, suggest follow-up care and prescribe medications. “We’re excited to be able to offer telemedicine visits to our students,” said Robin Oliver-Veronesi, senior director of UHS. “Please reach out to us with your medical concerns. We are here for you, and we will continue to support our students.” Visit the UHS webpage for more information. To make an appointment, call 863-0774.
- All current Penn State employees at all campus locations and their immediate family members are eligible to use University Health Services Pharmacy, the university announced Tuesday. The UHS Pharmacy at University Park offers prescriptions and over-the-counter items by mail (home or campus) and curbside pickup from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Complete the Pharmacy Employee/Retiree Enrollment Form or call a customer service representative at 800-821-7285 to start filling prescriptions.
Penn State
- Penn State will hold a pair of virtual town halls Monday to address questions and concerns related to its plan to return students, faculty and staff to campus and resume in-person learning in the fall. The first hourlong town hall is set for 2 p.m. and will be focused on faculty and staff. The second town hall, devoted to students and their families, will begin at 3:30 p.m. President Eric Barron will host both events, and will be joined by Executive Vice President and Provost Nick Jones, Vice President for Human Resources Lorraine Goffe, Vice President for Student Affairs Damon Sims and Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics researcher Matt Ferrari. The town halls can be viewed at liveevents.psu.edu and will be recorded and archived for later viewing. Faculty and staff and students can submit questions online.
- Penn State is accepting applications from students for the second round of funding from the university’s share of the federal Higher Education Relief Fund. The funding is available for students who incurred expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Penn State awarded up to $1,000 to more than 25,000 students to help pay for things such as course material, food, housing and child care with the first round of funding. Students who did not receive a grant in the first round can apply at studentaid.psu.edu/pubThemeAppsWa/CaresApp.
Community feedback
Pennsylvania news
- Masks must be worn when entering any business in yellow and green counties, Gov. Tom Wolf reminded residents Thursday. The rule included in an order from Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine. “In yellow and green counties, it is required that masks are worn when visiting businesses to protect employees, employees’ families, and communities as a whole,” Wolf said in a release. “Mask-wearing has proven to be an important deterrent to the spread of the virus, and as more counties move to green and more things reopen, we need to be vigilant in our efforts to continue our mitigation efforts.”
- The Department of Health has applied for a $301 million Centers for Disease Control and Prevention grant to boost state and local public health capacity, Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine said Thursday. “This funding is essential to our future response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Pennsylvania,” Levine said in a release. “In our application, we earmarked about a third of that funding, more than $100 million, to bolster county and municipal public health departments’ response. We intend to use the balance of the grant funding to expand our testing efforts, case investigating and contact tracing and our data infrastructure to improve our response.”
Dauphin, Franklin, Huntingdon, Luzerne, Monroe, Perry, Pike and Schuylkill counties moved into the green phase of the state’s reopening plan on Friday. There are now 54 counties in green and 13 counties in yellow. “While (the green) phase facilitates a return to a ‘new normal,’ it is equally important to continue to monitor public health indicators and adjust orders and restrictions as necessary to ensure the spread of disease remains at a minimum,” Gov. Tom Wolf’s office said in a statement. Green phase guidelines include: telework strongly encouraged; businesses operating at 50% occupancy in the yellow phase can increase to 75% occupancy; gatherings of more than 250 people are prohibited; restaurants and bars can open at 50% occupancy; personal care services (such as hair salons) can open at 50% occupancy and by appointment only; indoor recreation, health and wellness facilities (such as gyms and spas) can open at 50% occupancy with appointments strongly encouraged; and entertainment facilities (such as malls, theaters and casinos) can open at 50% occupancy.
All driver license and photo centers are closed Friday in observance of Juneteenth, the state Department of Transportation said. Several services, such as license, photo ID and registration renewals, are available online at www.dmv.pa.gov.
More than 4,000 people with ties to COVID-19 patients have been identified and monitored through contact tracing efforts across the state, the Department of Health said Friday. There are 500 trained contact tracers in Pennsylvania, including 130 state health nurses. More than 800 contract tracers have signed up through ServPA and others have been brought aboard through AmeriCorps as well as other community organizations and colleges.
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This story was originally published June 19, 2020 at 9:53 AM.