Reopening updates: Here’s what to know in Centre County on Sept. 9
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As Centre County COVID-19 numbers climb, local schools assess potential changes to instruction
While State College Area students are learning remotely, other Centre County school districts are debating making changes to their instructional plans as community COVID-19 cases continue to rise.
Centre County reached the state Department of Health’s “substantial level” — the highest level of community transmission of the coronavirus — last week. In this stage, the state recommends all county K-12 schools shut down and revert to “full remote learning.” According to the DOH early warning dashboard, Centre County has the second-highest incidence rate in the state per 100,000 residents in the most recent week.
SCASD closed facilities Friday so officials could monitor case numbers in the community, most of which are connected to Penn State students.
- by Marley Parish
Source: Penn State tight end Pat Freiermuth will not play this football season
Penn State football will be without its star tight end whenever it next takes the field. Junior tight end Pat Freiermuth will not return to play when the season begins, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.
The team already lost its star linebacker when Micah Parsons decided to forego his junior season and declare for the 2021 NFL draft amid uncertainty about when the Nittany Lions will take the field again during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Freiermuth, like Parsons, is widely projected to go in the first round of next year’s draft.
- by Jon Sauber
Bellefonte Historical Railroad Society cancels Fall Foliage, Santa Express rides due to COVID-19
A popular train ride that traditionally gives hundreds of children an opportunity to meet some of their favorite Christmas characters was canceled Tuesday.
The Bellefonte Historical Railroad Society canceled its Fall Foliage and Santa Express outings because of COVID-19 mitigation efforts, the nonprofit wrote in a Facebook post.
- by Bret Pallotto
Centre County reports record number of new COVID-19 cases
Centre County reported its highest one-day total of new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, according to the state Department of Health. The county added 184 cases, all of which are confirmed, to bring the case total to 870 since the first was reported March 20.
Of the new cases, 180 are in the State College ZIP codes of 16801, 16802 and 16803. Four of the cases were actually reported Tuesday, but they came in too late to be included in that day’s report.
There “is at least one large outbreak occurring in the county, and it does appear that most of the cases are coming from that,” Maggi Mumma, a spokesperson for the Health Department, said Wednesday in an email. “The department cannot comment further on cases or clusters of cases.”
- by Matt Hymowitz
Bellefonte Borough Council votes to table temporary masking and distancing ordinance
What would have been the fifth masking ordinance enacted by a Centre County municipality has been tabled, following a 5-4 vote from Bellefonte Borough Council on Tuesday.
With Penn State COVID-19 cases on the rise, the ordinance aimed to mitigate the transmission of the virus — especially if students are visiting borough businesses. But almost 200 people demonstrated an opposition to the proposed ordinance, so council decided to delay its enactment due to concerns about enforcement, businesses and repetition of guidelines already in place.
The ordinance resembles those already passed in the State College borough and Ferguson, Patton and College townships, and would require a mask when in public buildings and on public transportation, limit lines outside of businesses and cap gatherings in all housing types at 25 people.
- by Marley Parish
Penn State launches new Testing and Surveillance Center to conduct in-house asymptomatic testing
Penn State will conduct its own daily COVID-19 surveillance testing in-house after launching the Testing and Surveillance Center (TASC), the university announced Tuesday.
Before TASC’s opening, the third-party vendor Vault Health was often used at the University Park campus for its random asymptomatic testing of 1% of the daily university population. With its own center now, university President Eric Barron said testing availability and turn-around time should be improved.
“Coupled with other on-demand testing resources and our robust contact tracing program, this in-house testing capability will bolster the university’s multilayered approach to control the spread of the virus on the campus,” Barron said in a written statement.
- by Josh Moyer
Legislative leaders across Big Ten press conference to change course on fall football
Leaders of six state legislatures in the Big Ten footprint have sent a letter to Commissioner Kevin Warren asking the conference to reconsider its decision to cancel the fall football season.
The letter is written on the letterhead of Michigan House Speaker Lee Chatfield and also signed by statehouse leaders from Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.
- The Associated Press
No decision made on remote instruction, as Penn State’s COVID-19 cases nearly double since last update
Penn State’s total number of COVID-19 cases at University Park nearly doubled since the last dashboard update, boosting the total number of infected Tuesday to 416, while the university president continues to weigh a potential move to remote instruction.
According to data from the dashboard, 42 students tested positive between Friday and Sunday while another 163 students tested positive from past pending results — mostly from last week — that were updated by Tuesday.
“We continue to be concerned with the numbers, and we will continue to assess our status this week as the results from tests administered later in the weekend are returned,” President Eric Barron said in a written statement.
- by Josh Moyer
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This story was originally published September 9, 2020 at 10:11 AM.