Pennsylvania

• 4,087 confirmed cases, 33,777 tested negative, Deaths 49

Cases by county in the 10-county region per Pennsylvania Department of Health
* case count last updated at 12:00 p.m. on 3/30/2020

State Update

• Total of 58 of 67 counties in Pennsylvania have a positive case of COVID-19.
• Wolf asked President Trump for a major disaster declaration that will assist state efforts.
• The delay in state tax payments is likely to cause major uncertainty in state tax revenues for FY 19-20.

State Updates

• On Friday the Wolf Administration laid off about 2,500 part-time and seasonal employees and interns. The affected workers, which include temporary clerical staff and employees who help out in departments across state government during busy periods, were placed on “leave without pay” Friday, and at this point in time there is no timeline to call them back. Employees who work for the state health and labor departments, which are central to the coronavirus response, were not affected. It is anticipated that these layoffs could be the first in a wave within state government.

• Yesterday Governor Wolf requested a major-disaster declaration from President Donald Trump through the Federal Emergency Management Agency that could bring more funding and programs to support state, county and municipal governments and some nonprofits, as well as struggling individuals during the COVID-19 outbreak. If approved, it would provide the same emergency protective measures available under the nationwide emergency proclamation. The following Individual Assistance programs would be available, as well: Disaster Unemployment Assistance, Crisis Counseling, Community Disaster Loans and the Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Program and Statewide Hazard Mitigation.

• Over the weekend, the PA Department of Community and Economic Development issued a reminder and posted an updated guidance and FAQ document on its website for businesses with questions regarding all “non-life-sustaining” businesses. The Department has been regularly updating its FAQ document to provide guidance to employers. Those businesses seeking a waiver to the Governor’s order can do so via the online waiver process here.

• Total Pennsylvania cases currently 4,087. There were 693 additional positive cases from yesterday – the largest one day increase to date. Total of 48 deaths statewide.

• Governor Wolf and State Epidemiologist Dr. Sharon Watkins – 2pm press conference.

Regional Coronavirus Update

Lawrence County

• The county confirmed its first death, a patient hospitalized at UPMC Jameson in New Castle; Details about age or gender have not been released.

Beaver County

• 15 residents at the Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center have tested positive for COVID-19. Five of those residents are at Heritage Valley Hospital because they were having significant symptoms and respiratory problems.

City of Pittsburgh

• Neighborhood street sweeping by the city’s Department of Public Works, which was due to begin Wednesday, April 1, is postponed due to the COVID-19. Some street cleaning, as well as catch basin cleaning, will still be performed to help with protections against rainfall and weather-related events.
• The city is closing its basketball courts and overlooks to further enforce the social distancing rules necessary to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Parks are remaining open, and residents are encouraged to use them to promote physical activity.

Southwestern Pennsylvania (for internal use)

• Article: Southwest PA Best-Case, Worst-Case Coronavirus Case Projections: An analysis estimates the number of potential coronavirus cases that could hit Pittsburgh and southwestern Pennsylvania. https://patch.com/pennsylvania/pittsburgh.

If moderate social distancing measures continue, the five-county region of southwestern Pennsylvania could see 264,000 cases of coronavirus by mid-June, an analysis shows. However, if the most severe control measures are maintained, that number could be limited to 3,200 with a peak in the late summer. That’s the conclusion of Columbia University researchers as reported by the New York Times, which compiled maps showing the estimated spread of the virus in every county in America under varying scenarios for control measures.

Here’s how this projected best case scenario would look at the county level:

• Allegheny County: 1,800 cases, 0.2 percent infection rate.
• Westmoreland County: 1,000 cases, 0.3 percent infection fate.
• Washington County: 700 cases, 0.4 percent infection rate.
• Butler County: 300 cases, 0.1 percent infection rate.
• Beaver County: 300 cases, 0.2 percent infection rate.

Federal Coronavirus Update

The White House

• The federal social distancing guidelines will remain in place until April 30, officials note the peak of the COVID-19  pandemic is expected in two weeks. President Trump said he expected the country to be on its way to recovery by June 1.
• Coronavirus response coordinator, Dr. Deborah Birx, said today that she is very worried about every city in the United States and projects 100,000 to 200,000 American deaths as a best case scenario. Without doing any measures, fatalities could reach as high as 1.2 million.

Treasury Department

• Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Sunday that Americans could expect checks from the historic $2 trillion stimulus bill to be directly deposited in their accounts within three weeks.

United States Navy

• USNS Navy Comfort arrived in New York City today to relieve pressure on hospitals already overwhelmed with coronavirus patients.

Food and Drug Administration

• The Food and Drug Administration on Sunday issued an emergency use authorization for hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, decades-old malaria drugs, despite scant evidence. The agency allowed for the drugs to be donated to the Strategic National Stockpile to be distributed and prescribed by doctors to hospitalized teen and adult patients with COVID-19, as appropriate, when a clinical trial is not available or feasible.
• Houston Methodist Hospital will be the first academic medical center, approved by the FDA, in the country to transfuse donated plasma from a recovered COVID-19 patient to a critically-ill COVID-19 patient.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

• CDC urges residents of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut to refrain from non-essential domestic travel for 14 days effective immediately. This Domestic Travel Advisory does not apply to employees of critical infrastructure industries, including but not limited to trucking, public health professionals, financial services, and food supply. The number of positive COVID-19 cases in Connecticut rose by almost 500 Sunday to nearly 2,000.

Department of State

• The State Department has repatriated more than 18,000 Americans who had been stuck abroad amid the coronavirus pandemic.  As of Saturday afternoon, the agency reported it had retrieved 18,406 U.S. citizens aboard more than 178 flights. The department said it had planned more than 60 repatriation flights for this week and would add more as needed.