Pennsylvania

• 14,559 confirmed cases, 76,719 tested negative, Deaths 240

Cases by county in the 10-county region per Pennsylvania Department of Health
* case count last updated at 12:00 p.m. on 4/7/2020

State Updates:

• Fulton Bank Joins ‘PA CARE Package’ Initiative: Attorney General Josh Shapiro today announced that Fulton Bank has agreed to join the ‘PA CARE Package’, Pennsylvania’s consumer relief initiative. By joining these efforts, Fulton Bank, along with the Office of Attorney General, will ensure Pennsylvania consumers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic are eligible for additional economic relief. Under the ‘PA CARE Package’ initiative, banks and financial institutions are working with the Office’s Bureau of Consumer Protection to both comply with the recently-passed CARES Act and offer additional important protections for consumers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information, visit: https://dingo.telicon.com/PA/library/2020/2020040790.HTM .

Regional Coronavirus Update

City of Pittsburgh

• As Pittsburgh City Council continues meeting remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic, the council today will not broadcast or livestream meetings but instead will replay them later. Council Chambers remain closed as a public health measure.  Both the regular and standing committees meetings will be pre-recorded and replayed on City Channel Pittsburgh. All public comment should be sent via U.S mail or email at cityclerksoffice@pittsburghpa.gov.
• A Pittsburgh police officer at the bureau’s training academy has tested positive for COVID-19 and a recruit who interacted with him has shown symptoms of the virus, leading to suspend the current 28-member academy class.  It is unclear how many full-time officers besides the infected firearms instructor might have been exposed, and the police bureau refused Monday to disclose how many officers on the force had been asked to self-isolate.  A mixture of recruits and full-time rank-and-file officers were told to quarantine themselves over concerns of potential exposure.

Southwestern Pennsylvania

• There are now over 1,200+ confirmed coronavirus cases in the southwestern Pennsylvania area.  According to the Pennsylvania Department of Health’s latest numbers, here is the breakdown:  Allegheny County: 689 cases, 6 deaths; Fayette County: 32 cases, 1 death; Washington County: 57 cases; Beaver County: 116 cases, 9 deaths; Butler County: 107 cases, 2 deaths; Lawrence County: 29 cases, 2 deaths; Westmoreland County: 177 cases; Greene County: 15 cases; Armstrong County: 18; cases and Indiana County: 21 cases.

Beaver County

• The Beaver County nursing home where the number of positive cases and deaths from COVID-19 continues to increase almost daily is now going to presume that all 450 residents and more than 300 staff “may be positive” for the disease. Upon consultation with the Department of Health, and consistent with practices of facilities on the cutting edge of prevention and treatment, it is beginning to shift away from counting test results, and presuming all staff and residents may be positive, according to a press release from Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center.

Federal Coronavirus Update

• The Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce submitted a letter to Senators Toomey and Casey and the Pittsburgh region congressional delegation calling for replenishment of the PPP and EIDL programs without delay given the overwhelming demand. See Attached

United States House of Representatives / United State Senate

• Members of Congress and the White House are looking ahead toward another coronavirus rescue package in addition to the $2.2 trillion stimulus package signed by the president last month.
• Pennsylvania Sens. Pat Toomey and Bob Casey on Monday jointly sent a letter to the head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services asking the agency to report back to them within a month about how the federal government is getting the nation’s worst nursing homes to slow the spread of COVID-19 and also stating that it is essential to ensure nursing facilities are prepared to prevent the virus’s spread and treat emerging cases.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General

• The president on Monday claimed that an inspector general report finding severe shortages of supplies at hospitals to fight the novel coronavirus is just wrong and provided no evidence for why the conclusions of the 34-page report are wrong.  The inspector general report, released earlier Monday, was based on a survey of 323 randomly selected hospitals across the country, found severe shortages of tests and wait times as long as seven days for hospitals. It also found widespread shortfalls of protective equipment such as masks for health workers, something that doctors and nurses have also noted for weeks.  The full report can be found at: https://oig.hhs.gov/oei/reports/oei-06-20-00300.pdf.

Department of Transportation (DOT)

• The DOT has given airlines final approval to pare down services back to minimum flights due to the plunging demand.  The decision comes one day after TSA screened 108,300+ passengers at nationwide airports compared to 2.38 million on the same day last year.

National Coronavirus Update

• The U.S. death toll surpassed 11,000 people.
• Wisconsin’s Supreme Court blocked Gov. Tony Evers’ order to postpone the state’s primary election today despite his arguments that in-person voting could endanger poll workers and voters because of the coronavirus pandemic.  The United States Supreme Court allowed the vote with Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg dissenting.
• Data has begun to show that African Americans comprise a large number of COVID-19 deaths as this population likely works in essential jobs that can’t be done at home, such as grocery jobs and are disproportionately likely to have underlying health conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, heart and lung diseases that would make someone more likely to have severe Covid-19 illnesses. The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law on Monday called for the federal government to release racial and ethnic data relating to the pandemic. The group says it wants to ensure that communities of color receive equitable health care and treatment during this crisis.