Pennsylvania

• 7,016 confirmed cases, 47,698 tested negative, Deaths 90

Cases by county in the 10-county region per Pennsylvania Department of Health
* case count last updated at 12:00 p.m. on 4/2/2020

State Updates

• Secretary Levine gave the Wolf Administration’s press briefing today.
  • At 12 am, there were 1,211 new cases of COVID-19; 7,016 cases statewide in 62 counties
  • 730 have been hospitalized, 216 require intensive care, 130 require a ventilator
  • 345 of total are healthcare workers; 10% of the 695 nursing homes have one case
  • 90 deaths, all of those deaths are adults
  • Children are also dealing with this pandemic, especially the younger children as they don’t truly understand; older children are feeling that their goals are on-hold, they can’t participate in sports, can’t see their friends, etc.
  • As a pediatrician, children and teenagers are important and children take their leads from adults, by our words and by our actions

• Tips for adults with children and teenagers:

• • • Routines are essential, set a normal routine for them which gives them a sense of normalcy.
    • Set a time to get the latest info about COVID-19 from a trusted source. Don’t keep the television tuned to a station that continuously covers this issue.
    • Take your own advice as they are watching our reaction to cues, follow a routine as a parent.
• Daily reminders: wash hands 20 seconds or use hand sanitizers; cover coughs and sneezes and don’t touch your face; clean surfaces frequently
• Reminder crisis text line, text “PA” to 741741
• Visit Health.pa.gov for most updated info
• Stay calm, stay home, stay safe
• The PA Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) also held a conference call today to discuss their efforts in assisting counties and local emergency management officials throughout the COVID-19 crisis. Agency Director, Randy Padfield noted PEMA has been working with the Department of Health (DOH) since February to prepare. PEMA’s role is to support county emergency management agencies using state and federal resources that are available to them.

Regional Coronavirus Updates:

Allegheny County

• Allegheny County Health Department has reported 63 new cases of the coronavirus on Thursday, an 18% increase from Wednesday, bringing the countywide total to 419.

University of Pittsburgh

• Promising research by a University of Pittsburgh researcher looking into the SARS coronavirus nearly 20 years ago, and the MERS coronavirus six years ago, has led to a potential COVID-19 vaccine that has shown early promise in tests on mice, according to a scientific paper published today. The findings, which were being discussed in an online press conference at the university, are very early in the process that the research team hopes will lead to a working vaccine — which they have dubbed PittCoVacc.

Carnegie Mellon University

• Carnegie Mellon University researchers are working on a system to detect signs of COVID-19 using a voice recording of just a couple of coughs, some vowel sounds and the alphabet. The voice detector, which is still in the beginning stages of research, works by running a recording through an algorithm to look for “signatures” of COVID-19, or distinct changes in voice and breathing patterns that could indicate the new coronavirus. It’s still an experimental system.

Federal Coronavirus Update:  

CARES Act:

• IRS and Treasury officials told House Ways and Means Committee members initial economic stimulus payments to be sent during the week of April 13^th .
• FTA officials reported allocations for the $25 billion in federal coronavirus relief grants for transit agencies. Pittsburgh is due to receive $162 million in relief. Rural Pennsylvania is set to receive $75 million with $4.7 distributed to the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC).