STATE: Pennsylvania COVID-19 Statistics
per Pennsylvania Department of Health
Data updated as of 12:00pm on 4/28/20

¹ Total case counts include confirmed and probable cases.

STATE: Cases by Age Range to Date
per Pennsylvania Department of Health
Data updated as of 12:00pm on 4/28/20

STATE: Hospitalization Rates by Age Range to Date
per Pennsylvania Department of Health
Data updated as of 12:00pm on 4/28/20

REGIONAL: COVID-19 cases by county to Date
per Pennsylvania Department of Health
Data updated as of 12:00pm on 4/28/20

State Coronavirus Updates

• Department of Health Provides Update on COVID-19, 1,214 Positives Bring Statewide Total to 43,264: The Pennsylvania Department of Health today confirmed as of 12:00 a.m., April 28, that there are 1,214 additional positive cases of COVID-19, bringing the statewide total to 43,264. All 67 counties in Pennsylvania have cases of COVID-19. Read more: https://dingo.telicon.com/PA/library/2020/2020042885.HTM.

Regional Coronavirus Updates

• Allegheny County Health Department
  • Of the 1,235 cases in Allegheny County, 1,193 are confirmed cases and 42 are probable cases. Additionally, there are 222 past or present hospitalizations (+9). According to the Pennsylvania Department of Health, 257 residents and 84 staff members at 31 long-term care facilities in Allegheny County have tested positive for COVID-19. There have been 58 deaths at those facilities.
• City Council
  • Pittsburgh officials are holding a news conference on measures to prohibit discrimination in housing and public accommodation for additional protected classes. Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto will be joined by city councilperson Erika Strassburger, representatives from the City’s Commission on Human Relations, and community leaders. Strassburger will introduce legislation Tuesday April 28 to add “actual or perceived citizenship status” and “actual or perceived language spoken” as protected classes under Title Six: Conduct in the City Code.
• Office of the Mayor
  • The Peduto administration announced Tuesday April 28 that it plans to allocate millions in COVID-19 federal relief funds to small business bridge loans, housing aid and food pantries. The city received roughly $8.4 million in community development block grants and nearly $4.2 million in emergency housing grants under Congress’ $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Nearly $7.3 million will be allocated to the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s programs for small business and housing aid. Of that, $5 million will be used by the URA for its small business bridge loan program for businesses that have lost revenue due to the pandemic. Two million will be dedicated to the URA’s mortgage and rental programs for those facing economic hardship from COVID-19. The remaining $346,863 will be used to cover the URA’s waived fees for applicants.
• Pittsburgh International Airport
  • A second cargo flight carrying much-needed medical supplies for the Federal Emergency Management Agency touched down in Pittsburgh on Monday Aril 27, as shippers look to respond to the need for medical supplies in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. The first National Airlines plane arrived Saturday April 25 from South Korea. The repurposed passenger Boeing 757 jet carried nearly 150,000 N95 masks which were offloaded and placed onto a truck just over an hour after landing. The masks will be distributed through the federal government nationally to hospitals, nursing homes and other high-risk facilities. The second flight arrived Monday morning.
• Westmoreland County
  • The Westmoreland County Prison inmate population has been reduced by nearly 30% over the past month as jail officials continue to tighten restrictions designed to prevent a potential coronavirus outbreak.  Warden John Walton on Monday April 27 told members of the prison board there are 176 fewer inmates than incarcerated a month ago, cutting to Hempfield facility’s population to just 437. There were 613 inmates at the jail at the start of March. That reduction was attributed to multiple efforts that include expedited guilty pleas, bond reductions and fewer arrests.
• Pittsburgh Technology Council
  • The Pittsburgh Technology Council will hold a virtual job fair on Wednesday, May 27.  The event is billed as an opportunity for companies to expand their pipeline of tech talent. The Virtual Hire Up job fair will focus on technical employees seeking part-time and full-time work or internships.  Non-technical workers can participate in the job fair which will be online from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and can accessed from the Technology Council website.  The council said it hopes the event will connect displaced and underemployed regional workers with local companies hiring technical and corporate employees.  Among the companies registered to attend are Amazon, Astrobotic, CGI, Giant Eagle, Highmark, Lucas Systems, Philips, PNC Financial, SDLC Partners and the University of Pittsburgh.
• Highmark Health
  • Highmark introduced two additional online tools to help consumers find information on COVID-19 symptoms, find care and help members find customer service resources.  As the pandemic began, Highmark relaunched its website, highmarkanswers.com, with up-to-date information on COVID-19 and details on what Highmark is doing for members, such as waiving out-of-pocket costs for testing and treatment, as well as tips on how to stay safe and get care, including telemedicine. Highmark collaborated with the CDC Foundation and Microsoft to develop and launch the COVID-19 Symptom Checker Healthbot which saw more than 30,000 visitors in the first week on the highmarkanswers.com site. Additionally, the majority of visitors to the site are between the ages of 40 and 59. Anyone can use the Healthbot to check symptoms, which will then provide guidance on seeking medical care when necessary during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Federal Coronavirus Updates

• Congress – Government Operations
  • Leader McConnell and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) have informed members of their chambers that the Senate and House will return on Monday, May 4. McConnell noted that the Senate would “modify routines in ways that are smart and safe.” Meanwhile, the New Democrat Coalition, a group of 104 Democrats, sent a letter to House leaders requesting a vote no later than next week on a resolution to allow remote voting and virtual committee proceedings.
• Congress – Phase IV: CARES 2
  • Congressional leaders have turned their attention to the next coronavirus relief measure – “CARES 2.” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) issued a statement calling for protecting health care workers and entrepreneurs who re-open from “opportunistic lawsuits.” He also opened the door to considering additional aid to state and local governments. House and Senate Democrats outlined some of their priorities, e.g., additional Economic Impact Payments for individuals, and payments of up to $75,000 (capped at 30% of gross receipts) for small businesses.
• Small Business Administration
  • SBA updated its PPP FAQs (Q36) to address how borrowers need to calculate their eligibility under the 500-employee threshold. The SBA notes that, for purposes of loan eligibility, a borrower must calculate the total number of employees, including part-time employees, when determining their employee headcount for purposes of the eligibility threshold. For purposes of loan forgiveness, the SBA notes that “the CARES Act uses the standard of ‘fulltime equivalent employees’ to determine the extent to which the loan forgiveness amount will be reduced in the event of workforce reductions.”
• Treasury and Internal Revenue Service
  • Treasury and IRS announced enhancements to the “Get My Payment” tool in order to help taxpayers receive Economic Impact Payments. Although they did not elaborate, it was reported that the enhancements relate to updates for closed bank accounts and providing better access to those who have not filed their taxes for 2019.

National Coronavirus Updates

• According to CNN, as of 12:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 28, 2020, there are 56,475 coronavirus-related deaths and 990,135 total positive cases in the United States.
• Visit the following link to view the latest information on state-by-state plans for reopening:  https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2020/us/states-reopen-coronavirus-trnd/.
• On Monday April 27^th, Colorado and Nevada became the latest states to join California, Oregon and Washington in the Western States Pact, a working group of western state governors that will coordinate how to reopen from the stay-at-home orders each has issued to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus.
• New York became the first state to cancel its presidential primary over coronavirus fears, the co-chair of the New York State Board of Elections said.