Reopening updates: 24 Centre County cases deemed invalid, removed from total, DOH says

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.

24 Centre County COVID-19 tests deemed invalid, DOH says

A day after Mount Nittany Health and the state Department of Health confirmed that a number of Centre County COVID-19 cases in a Sunday surge were not valid, 24 cases have been removed from the county’s overall total.

DOH spokesperson Maggi Mumma wrote in an email Thursday that individuals from an unusually high number of positive results received by Mount Nittany Health Friday were retested.

“Upon reviewing those results, it (led) to a number of cases being removed from the case count for Centre County,” Mumma wrote. “In total, 24 cases were removed from the Centre County count due to this.”

As of Thursday, Centre County is now listed as having 353 cases — 314 confirmed and 39 probable — on the DOH’s website. That means that with the removal of the 24 invalid cases, Centre County gained seven cases from Wednesday to Thursday.

There have been 8,382 negative tests in Centre County, according to the DOH.

Centre County reported an increase of 43 new cases — the highest single-day total yet — on Sunday. It is not clear how the error occurred. Dr. Nirmal Joshi, chief medical officer at Mount Nittany Health, told the Centre Daily Times Wednesday that they immediately alerted the DOH when the unusual spike was detected and implemented a plan to quickly retest these individuals over the weekend.

Statewide, there were 860 additional positive cases of COVID-19 Thursday, bringing the overall total to 111,078. There are 7,176 total deaths attributed to COVID-19, an increase of 14 new deaths reported. The DOH reports 10 deaths in Centre County, though the coroner’s office has confirmed only seven.

-by Jessica McAllister

Centre County saw a spike in COVID-19 cases Sunday. The numbers were wrong, officials say

A sudden spike in Centre County COVID-19 cases reported Sunday that alarmed many is not accurate, officials said Wednesday.

On Sunday, 43 new coronavirus cases were reported in Centre County, but “a number of the original test results are not valid,” Dr. Nirmal Joshi, chief medical officer at Mount Nittany Health, confirmed in an email. Previously, the highest single-day total in Centre County cases was 11 new positives.

“We use multiple commercial labs to conduct COVID-19 tests, and we closely monitor and review the results that are returned to us,” Joshi wrote. “When we received an unusually high number of positive results on Friday, we immediately alerted the Department of Health and implemented a plan to quickly retest these individuals over the weekend.”

- by Marley Parish

Pa. nursing homes complete first round of universal COVID-19 testing. Here’s what it means in Centre County

All residents and staff at Centre County nursing homes have now been tested at least once for the new coronavirus, following a statewide mandate.

All 693 nursing homes in Pennsylvania tested every resident and employee to better understand how deeply COVID-19 infiltrated facilities throughout the state, the state Health Department said Tuesday.

“This was an essential step to ensure that we further protect residents and staff within these vulnerable communities,” Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine said in a statement. “We provided nursing home owners and operators with the resources they needed to complete this huge task and we are appreciative for their cooperation.”

-by Bret Pallotto

Lock Haven University altering fall plans because bringing everyone back ‘too risky to undertake’

Lock Haven University — a public university 40 miles northeast of Penn State — announced Monday it is making serious changes to its fall reopening plan in response to the evolving COVID-19 pandemic, moving more classes online and considerably reducing on-campus housing because bringing everyone back is “too risky to undertake.”

According to the university, which has an undergraduate enrollment of about 3,000, the goal is to reduce on-campus residency by two-thirds while moving as many as 85% of classes to online-only. Only one student per residence hall room will be permitted, and priority will be given to those who must take face-to-face classes due to their major and those who have internships, labs or the like.

“We are not winning the battle against COVID-19,” LHU President Robert Pignatello said in a written statement. “Our students come from all parts of Pennsylvania, many from areas where the virus is now surging; they also come from 11 states and seven countries. This reality is of great concern and requires major changes to our operational plan.

- by Josh Moyer

Virus tracing app could go live in Pennsylvania in August

A contact-tracing app for mobile phones is being piloted and could go live in Pennsylvania in the coming weeks as part of an effort to more quickly contain coronavirus outbreaks by notifying people who may have been exposed, a state Health Department official said Wednesday.

The state Department of Health otherwise has said little about its plans for the app, other than it is seeking to introduce a mobile app and a $1.9 million contract with software developer NearForm Ltd of Ireland to deploy and maintain it.

Also, the state Department of Transportation extended the expiration dates for driver licenses, identification cards and learner’s permits to Aug. 31. The grace period applies to cards that expired after March 16. It had been scheduled to expire this Friday.

- The Associated Press

Campus check-in

• Notre Dame will play in the Atlantic Coast Conference this season as part of a plan to play 10 league games and start the week of Sept. 7, alterations brought on by the pandemic. The ACC’s university presidents approved a plan Wednesday for an 11-game schedule, including one nonconference game, and for pushing back the league championship game from Dec. 5 to either Dec. 12 or 19.

• The University of Texas is now exploring how it can host football games at 25% percent stadium capacity instead of the previously announced 50% as the return to campus and the planned start of the season rapidly approaches.

• The Big West Conference is postponing all fall sports through the end of the calendar year.

• The Big 12 will hold its football media day online Monday with only the conference’s 10 head coaches available.

• Athletic director Greg Byrne says the University of Alabama has taken cost-cutting measures for each department and sport with the coronavirus threatening fall sports.

• Austin’s public health authority said the city was “caught a little off guard” by the recent announcement by Texas that the school planned to allow 50% stadium capacity at Longhorns football games this fall.

• The NCAA is allowing all major college football teams to begin their seasons as early as Aug. 29. The association confirmed that the football oversight committee had requested a blanket waiver to permit any school to push up the start of its season to the so-called Week Zero.

• The Summit League is pushing back the start of fall sports to Sept. 23 due to concerns about the coronavirus pandemic.
• The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference has moved most fall sports until the spring, including football. The MIAC joined the majority of its NCAA Division III peers, postponing competition in cross country, football, soccer and volleyball.

• Iowa has paused its men’s basketball workouts for 14 days after two players tested positive for COVID-19, the school announced Tuesday.

• Ohio State will limit home crowds to about 20,000 and prohibit tailgating if the football season is played this fall. Fans inside Ohio Stadium will be required to wear masks and observe social distancing to help stem the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

Municipal updates

• State College is extending its free on and off-street parking program to Aug. 17 in an effort to continue supporting downtown businesses and visitors during the pandemic, according to a Friday news release.

Things to do

• Downtown Bellefonte will hold a Friday in the ‘Fonte celebration on July 31, with two pop-up outdoor dining spaces, as well as a Sidewalk Sale. The monthly event aims to support Bellefonte’s shopping, dining, craft beverage producers and more and is held on the last Friday of each month.

Free food options

This story was originally published July 30, 2020 at 7:42 AM.