STATE: Pennsylvania COVID-19 Statistics
Data updated as of 12:00pm on 4/14/20

Positive cases: 25,435

Negative tests: 108,286

Total deaths: 584
Source: Pennsylvania Department of Health

STATE: Cases and Hospitalizations by Age Range
Data updated as of 12:00pm on 4/14/20

Source: Pennsylvania Department of Health

REGIONAL: COVID-19 Cases by county in the 10-county region
Data updated as of 12:00pm on 4/14/20

Source: Pennsylvania Department of Health

State Coronavirus Updates

• Pennsylvania Businesses to Benefit from Waiver for Prepayments of Sales Tax: As part of the effort to help businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Tom Wolf on Tuesday, April 14 announced businesses that collect Pennsylvania sales tax will not have to make Accelerated Sales Tax (AST) prepayments over the next three months. That means businesses that normally have a monthly prepayment requirement will not be charged penalties for missing the prepayment deadline during this three-month period. Read more: https://dingo.telicon.com/PA/library/2020/2020041489.HTM.
• Department of Health Releases Interim Crisis Standards of Care Guidance for Hospitals: Pennsylvania Department of Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine on Tuesday, April 14  announced the department has finalized interim guidance for hospitals should they become overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients who have critical medical needs. Read more: https://dingo.telicon.com/PA/library/2020/2020041351.HTM.
• Pennsylvania Launches COVID-19 Job Hiring Portal: Pennsylvanians looking for work can now find life-sustaining businesses that are hiring through a new online COVID-19 job portalthe Department of Labor & Industry is launching today. Read more: https://dingo.telicon.com/PA/library/2020/2020041361.HTM.
• Wolf: ‘New normal’ will take time, 3 phases of response: Wolf sees the battle against COVID-19 as a three-stage process, adding Pennsylvania is still in the first stage of fighting to reduce the rate of infection among the population by sheltering in place. During this time, the governor said the state still needs to build capacity so the health system is not overwhelmed by the disease. He acknowledged this has not come without “a whole host of sacrifices” — closing schools and businesses and keeping social distance from each other. Read more: https://triblive.com/local/regional/gov-wolf-neighboring-states-work-on-regional-plan-to-reopen-economy/ .

Regional Coronavirus Updates

• Allegheny County
  • Allegheny County highlighted on Monday, April 13 the elevated risks of abuse during the stay-at home orders issued as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and reminded residents that resources are available to them. Violence in homes tends to increase when families spend more time together. This is typically the case during holidays or summer vacations, but also applies to the stay-at-home order too. That violence is often more frequent, more severe and more dangerous. COVID-19 can put additional pressure on already vulnerable children, youth and families. Whether you are a victim, or a friend or family member of someone who may be abused, there are resources available.
    • For child abuse or neglect: If you have concerns about the well-being of a person under the age of 18, please call 412- 473-2000 or 1-800-932-0313.
    • For domestic abuse: If you need to speak with an advocate or be connected to local services, you can contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline anytime day or night at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). You can also log onto thehotline.org or text LOVEIS to 22522 if you’re unable to speak safely. For information about finding safe shelter, or to be referred to a shelter, call the Allegheny Link at 1-866-730-2368.
    • For older adult abuse: If you have concerns about the well-being of a person over the age of 60, please call 412-350- 6905 or 1-800-344-4319. Those numbers answer 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

• Allegheny Health Network has launched two new coronavirus testing sites in Braddock and on Pittsburgh’s North Side.  The Braddock testing site is located at the AHN Urgent Care at 501 Braddock Avenue and the North Side testing site is located at 1004 Arch Street, at the former Divine Providence Hospital near Allegheny Center.  Both sites will operate daily by appointment starting Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and patients must have a prescription from an AHN-affiliated doctor.
• The Port Authority of Allegheny County ridership is down more than 80 percent, but that could increase. The authority is also asking people who don’t have to take public transportation to avoid it; if public transportation is the only option, riders are asked to keep a distance and wear a mask.
• Kane Glen Hazel Update
  • A fourth resident at the Kane Community Living Center in Glen Hazel has died due to COVID-19. The center reported 34 residents at the nursing home have tested positive for COVID-19 as of Sunday, April 12, according to the Allegheny County-run assisted-living facility. Two additional residents are still awaiting results for tests. Kane’s other three centers, in Scott, McKeesport and Ross, have had no confirmed cases as of Friday, April 10, although about half a dozen tests are still pending.
• City of Pittsburgh
  • The City of Pittsburgh Office of Management and Budget on Tuesday, April 14 finalized the issuance of a $52 million bond to fund 2020 capital improvements, which had been delayed several weeks due to market disruption from the COVID-19 pandemic.  OMB, the Department of Finance and the City’s financial advisors had planned to finalize the bond in mid-March but suspended the sale. After the bond market lately stabilized, the City was able to finalize the $52 million bond today, while also realizing $700,000 in annual savings to debt service that were not available when City Council approved the bond in February.  The money will fund projects such as street reconstruction, facility upgrades and other long-term infrastructure projects.

Federal Coronavirus Updates

• Department of Transportation
  • S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao on Tuesday, April 14 announced that the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is making over $1 billion available to the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) to support the railroad’s activities to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the United States and its impacts on operations and business.  The funding is being provided under the recently enacted Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
• United States Senate
  • Bob Casey (D-PA) is demanding another $300 million for domestic violence programs, saying the National Domestic Violence Hotline has reported abusers taking advantage of the social distancing guidelines to isolate victims from their friends and family.  Mr. Casey, joined by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, led a letter to Senate leadership and appropriators, urging them to allocate the funding in the next round of COVID-19 legislation. The letter, signed by a total of 33 senators from both parties, stated that some abusers are believed to be withholding financial resources or even medical aid.
• Department of Justice
  • Scott Brady, the United States Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania, stated that the Justice Department has launched an investigation into two foreign entities suspected of trying to defraud U.S. healthcare companies out of millions of dollars as they work to respond to the growing number of coronavirus patients.  Brady said the fraud was disrupted before any funds were transferred.

National Coronavirus Updates

• According to CNN, as of 12:15 p.m. on Monday April 14, 2020, 23,709 individuals have died from the coronavirus in the United States.
• Wyoming has reported its first coronavirus death; all 50 states now have at least one death due to the virus.
• Governor Charlie Baker of Massachusetts has now joined the consortium of east coast states (Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Delaware) to coordinate efforts to reopen their respective states.  Each state is providing three members each to a panel consisting of a leading health expert, an economic development expert and a chief of staff for each governor. The 21-member group will convene to chart a way forward that equally addresses the public health and the economic sides of the crisis.
• The governors of Washington, Oregon and California will announce the details on an agreement to reopen the economies in their states and lift stay-at-home orders.  The statement will include that each state is building its own state-specific plan, but all agreed to work together, put residents’ health first, and to use health outcomes and science to guide the decisions made.
• South Dakota’s governor, Kristi L. Noem, resisted the stay-at-home orders and now the state is home to one of the largest single coronavirus clusters anywhere in the United States, with more than 300 workers at a giant ­pork-processing plant falling ill.