Reopening updates: Centre County adds 1 case of COVID-19, and other updates for Aug. 17
We’re keeping track of the most up-to-date coronavirus news as Penn State and local schools prepare to reopen. Check back for updates.
PIAA official: ‘Fairly comfortable’ fall sports can proceed
The governing body for Pennsylvania interscholastic sports signaled again Monday that it’s seriously considering moving ahead with the fall season despite the governor’s recommendation that all youth athletics be canceled until 2021.
“We feel fairly confident that we can get school sports up and running,” Melissa Mertz, associate executive director of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, said in a radio interview.
- The Associated Press
Centre County adds 1 new case of COVID-19
Pennsylvania reported the lowest daily case increase in a month Monday, while Centre County added one case of COVID-19. The county has seen 393 cases since March 20; 354 are confirmed and 39 are probable, the Department of Health said. There have been 10,727 negative tests in Centre County.
Pennsylvania’s case total grew by 384 to 124,844. That is the smallest increase since July 13. Cases from Philadelphia were not included in Monday’s numbers due to delays in reporting, but those numbers are expected Tuesday. Across the state, there have been 1.34 million negative tests and a 79% recovery rate.
The age breakdown of patients who have tested positive is:
- 1% are 0-4
- 1% are 5-12
- Nearly 4% are 13-18
- Nearly 10% are 19-24
- Nearly 38% are 25-49
- Nearly 23% are 50-64
- Nearly 24% are 65 or older
Statewide, no new deaths were reported Monday. The total stands at 7,468. Eleven deaths have been listed in Centre County.
A new case was reported in an employee at a long-term care facility in Centre County. There are now cases among 33 residents and 22 employees at six nursing and personal care homes. In Pennsylvania, there are 20,413 resident cases and 4,244 employee cases at 895 facilities in 61 counties.
The breakdown of confirmed Centre County cases by ZIP code is as follows, according to the DOH:
- 16801 (State College): 80
- 16823 (Bellefonte and Pleasant Gap): 66
- 16803 (State College): 52
- 16875 (Spring Mills): 20
- 16866 (Philipsburg): 19
- 16870 (Port Matilda): 19
- 16841 (Howard): 19
- 16827 (Boalsburg): 16
- 16686 (Tyrone): 15
- 16822 (Beech Creek): 12
- 16828 (Centre Hall): 11
- 16853 (Milesburg): 6
- 16666 (Osceola Mills): 6
- 16865 (Pennsylvania Furnace): 5
- 16820 (Aaronsburg): 5
- 16854 (Millheim): 5
- 16844 (Julian): 5
- 16802, 16804, 16829, 16832, 16845, 16851, 16852, 16860, 16868, 16872, 16874, 16877, 16882: 1-4 cases each.
The state does not give specific numbers when there are fewer than five cases to protect patient privacy and does not identify exactly where a case occurred in a ZIP code that spans multiple counties.
The state’s dashboard shows there are no patients hospitalized due to COVID-19 in Centre County.
- by Matt Hymowitz
Pennsylvania prepares to launch virus-tracing app next month
Pennsylvania plans to launch a coronavirus exposure-notification app in early September in an effort to more quickly break chains of transmission by using the new technology to notify people who may have been exposed, officials said Monday.
The state has a $1.9 million contract to deploy and maintain the app with software developer NearForm Ltd, the Ireland-based company whose app there has been downloaded by more than one-fourth of that country’s residents.
The app is based on smartphone technology developed by Apple and Google, and will undergo a pilot project next week, using state government employees and public health students, staff and faculty, officials told The Associated Press in an interview.
- The Associated Press
Penn State football parents publish letter Saturday demanding answers from Big Ten
The Penn State Football Parents Association published a letter Saturday night demanding answers from Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren and Penn State President Eric Barron regarding the Big Ten’s decision Tuesday to postpone the fall 2020 college football season.
The parents asked what medical information Warren, the Big Ten Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases and the Big Ten Sports Medicine Committee gained in the six-day period between releasing the schedule and deeming it unsafe to play this fall.
- by Parth Upadhyaya
The State Theatre, part of State College for 82 years, endangered by coronavirus closure
The State Theatre has been a fixture in downtown State College since 1938, when Warner Bros. opened it as a cinema to test new movies.
After the movie house closed in 2001, the building was refurbished and reopened as a nonprofit community arts center. The 500-seat venue typically hosted singers, dancers, bands, musicals and plays.
But today, months after the pandemic forced it to go dark in March, the historic theater is struggling to survive. It has joined a national coalition of theaters in a #saveourstages campaign, which encourages Congress to pass a bill that would help keep independent venues from closing permanently.
- by Megan Swift
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This story was originally published August 17, 2020 at 9:32 AM.