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Updates on COVID-19 pandemic in Central Eastern Pennsylvania
- Ashley Stalnecker
- Apr 5, 2020
- 8 min read
Updated: Apr 26, 2020
Check this page for updates on the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the state of Pennsylvania.
Salon owners close up shop to slow spread of coronavirus
April 26, 11:22 a.m. - More than a month after Governor Tom Wolf announced the statewide shutdown for Pennsylvania, residents are struggling with longer hair, dyed hair growing out and other aspects of their appearance.
Sharon Singer, owner of Sharon Singer's Styling Salon, and Lori Walkowiak, owner of Artistic Edge Salon, are only two of many salon owners that have temporarily closed down their businesses for the safety of their customers and employees.
"It was going to be financially hard and I was going to miss all my customers, my clients a lot," Singer said.
Singer said a lot of her customers are a bit older and having their hair styled is very important to them. Until customers can return to the shop, Singer has recommended using dry shampoo
"Some of them haven't even washed their own hair in 50 years," Singer said. "There are people out there who have no idea how to do hair and have never done it or they've gone to a hairdresser for as long as they've had jobs."
To keep herself busy and connected, Singer has been keeping up with clients over the phone and doing tasks around the house. Singer said that luckily she will be OK financially because she had saved money and receives social security. At any other point in her life, it might have been a different story.
Walkowiak said she and her employees applied for unemployment. Walkowiak also applied for several different business loans and forms of assistance to help her with expenses until Artistic Edge Salon reopens. Meanwhile, Walkowiak and her employees have been doing hair and nail tutorials on the salon's Facebook page to help customers maintain their hair.
Governor Tom Wolf releases plan for Pennsylvania reopening
April 24, 9:28 p.m. - After extending the stay-at-home order for Pennsylvania to May 8, Governor Tom Wolf detailed a plan for reopening based on conditions by county, counties or region.
By using the Department of Health metrics and a data tool developed by Carnegie Mellon University, the administration will determine when counties or regions move through the three phases of reopening: red, yellow and green.
Currently, all of the state is in the red phase, which aims to minimize the spread of COVID-19 through strict social distancing policies. While in this phase, only life-sustaining businesses are to remain open, large gatherings are prohibited and schools are closed for in-person instruction.
Once parts of the state move to the yellow phase, some restrictions on work and social interactions will be eased while others remain in place. At this point, telework is to continue, child care operations open with worker and building safety orders and gatherings of more than 25 people are prohibited.
Finally, the state will slowly move toward the green phase, which eases most restrictions while continuing to prioritize public health. In this phase, all businesses can open but must follow CDC and Pennsylvania Department of Health Guidelines. Aggressive mitigation orders will be lifted at this time.
The state will determine how counties and regions move through these phases by conducting assessments on the incidence rate of COVID-19 cases per capita. Within a 14 day time period, the target goal for each region will be to average less than 50 cases per 100,000 individuals.
Governor Tom Wolf extends stay-at-home order until May 8
April 22, 7:42 p.m. - Governor Tom Wolf extended the statewide Pennsylvania stay-at-home order from its initial end date of April 30 to May 8.
The order states that non-life sustaining businesses cannot operate while life-sustaining businesses and state services can continue. Life-sustaining businesses include locations that sell food or provide health services. Law enforcement officials work to ensure that residents are aware of the order and inform the public of social distancing practices but do not focus on enforcing these policies.
Following the extended stay-at-home order, Wolf has outlined a plan to reopen Pennsylvania and begin the recovery process.
During a press conference April 17, Wolf highlighted six key points that he would follow in reopening the state.
Wolf said he plans to use a data-driven approach in determining the best way to reopen the state. He will also abide by guidance and recommendations for employers, individuals and health care facilities.
Adequate personal protective equipment and testing will be made available to Pennsylvanians before reopening.
Pennsylvania will use a monitoring and surveillance program to deploy swift actions for containment or mitigation. Protections will remain in place for vulnerable populations such as prisons and congregate care facilities. Large gatherings unrelated to occupations will be limited throughout the reopening process.
Wolf said the process of reopening will be slow and gradual to ensure the safety of all Pennsylvanians and prevent further spread of the Coronavirus. Wolf also noted that there has been a flattening in the growth of cases in the last week.
Schools invent new ways to celebrate Class of 2020
April 16, 3:25 p.m. - With schools all across the country beginning to cancel in-person classes for the remainder of the academic year, the Class of 2020 is mourning the loss of senior class trips, prom and especially graduation.
To celebrate Class of 2020, colleges and high schools are coming up with new ways to host graduation along with the help of companies like Jostens.
Jostens will be offering free Virtual Commencement Centers to host virtual graduation ceremonies for students. Meanwhile, some schools are thinking of creative ways to put together in-person graduation ceremonies for students and their families.
Postal workers are delivering the items citizens can no longer physically shop for
April 12, 3:30 p.m. - Before starting up the engine of his LLV U.S. Mail truck, Jeffrey Stalnecker, pulls a mask made from a blue bandana over his mouth and nose and puts his hands into light blue latex gloves.
He is one of over 400,000 U.S. Postal workers adjusting to this new normal to protect themselves from the coronavirus.
"A lot of people understand what we're going through but a lot of people are really afraid of us right now," Stalnecker said.
The U.S. Postal Service is seeing a decrease in the volume of letter mail but an increase in the volume of parcels, according to Stalnecker. Parcels are anything that is not a flat piece of letter mail, including small and large packages.
While stuck at home, citizens are ordering more and more packages to protect themselves from having to go out to buy the items themselves. This attributes to the increased volume of parcels Stalnecker has seen.
Since the pandemic has pushed Governor Tom Wolf to shut down businesses and delegate people to their homes, the U.S. Postal Service has made accommodations to protect their employees and citizens. Postal workers are asked to wear a face mask and gloves. All LLV U.S. Mail trucks have a sign attached to them that asks the public to stay at least six feet away from the truck to protect the carriers.
'They don't know whether they should be friendly to me," Stalnecker said. "Some people are really very standoffish now because they seem to think that we are all carrying disease."
Postal workers are also being asked to check in to work at different times so that they are not all gathered in the same place at the same time. They also are no longer required to get physical signatures for mail. In lieu of the signature, the mail carrier signs their initials and writes COVID-19.
Note: Jeffrey Stalnecker is the author, Ashley Stalnecker's, father.
Governor Tom Wolf closes schools for the remainder of academic year
April 10, 10:34 a.m. - The senior class of 2020 lost their last hopes of the typical graduation when Governor Tom Wolf decided April 9 to close Pennsylvania schools for the remainder of the 2019-20 academic year.
However, schools are strongly encouraged to continue teaching students remotely. To continue education, the Pennsylvania Department of Education is offering resources and support at no cost to schools.
The online learning platforms Odysseyware and Edgenuity are offering subscriptions to school districts continuing education in an online format.
The Pennsylvania Department of Education has also partnered with Pennsylvania's public television stations to provide instructional programming through the state's public broadcasting systems at no cost to educators and families. The program, Learning at Home will provide access to hours of educational television from Sesame Street to NOVA.
Pennsylvania schools have access to up to $5 million in state funding for equity grants that will allow them to purchase necessary technology like laptops and hotspots as well as for paper lessons and coursework.
Additionally, Pennsylvania schools are committed to finding new ways to celebrate their graduating classes. Thomas Parker, superintendent for the Allentown School District, promises the class of 2020 a "seamless transition through this period" and "a way to celebrate all that they have achieved."
Schools will have to get creative in the coming weeks to maintain social distancing while also providing students with the proper education and for high school seniors, the proper send-off.
Targeted distribution of PPE and medical supplies to begin in Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania Health Department also launched a Hospital Preparedness Dashboard to provide county-level information including the number of available hospital beds and ventilators. (Source: Pennsylvania Health Department)
April 8 5:57 p.m. - Governor Tom Wolf signed an order April 8 to provide targeted distribution of personal protective equipment (PPE) and other medical supplies to Pennsylvania's health care system.
Wolf said in a press release issued April 8 that this order will prevent sick Pennsylvanians from having to choose between which hospital to go to based on their stock of medical supplies and it will help to ensure that every piece of medical equipment is being utilized.
In the order, Wolf writes that all commonwealth agencies involved in distributing PPE and other medical resources are now authorized to control and utilize all medical resources to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The order also mandates that those responsible in the manufacturing, distributing and supplying PPE must submit current inventories of their medical resources by April 13.
Health care providers and facilities are also required to submit written reports describing facility health care needs.
The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency will make arrangements to reimburse these facilities for the supplies and arrange for them to be allocated where they are needed the most.
The Department of Health also launched a Hospital Preparedness Dashboard to provide county-level information including the number of patients hospitalized and the number of patients on ventilators.
As of 12 p.m. April 8, 1,957 COVID-19 patients were hospitalized and 578 were on ventilators in the state. There are 169 positive cases and 0 deaths in Lebanon County. In nearby Lancaster County, 561 cases and 16 deaths have been recorded.
Schools struggle to provide equitable instruction to students with disabilities
April 5, 2:01 p.m. - Governor Tom Wolf closed Pennsylvania schools indefinitely. Similar policies are being enacted all over the country. In light of this, some schools are moving to online instruction while others have ceased instruction completely.
Schools that receive funding from the state need to comply with equitable instruction for all students including students with disabilities. In fear of losing funding because the school cannot make online instruction equitable to all students, some schools ceased instruction completely.
The United States Department of Education responded with a Fact Sheet, issued March 21, urging educators to continue education and advising that funding will not be revoked. The Fact Sheet also included tips on educating students with disabilities remotely.
Bridging the gap: teaching college students during a global pandemic
April 5, 1:50 p.m. - Colleges across the nation were pushed to quickly adapt their curriculum to an online format to continue teaching students while following social distancing recommendations.
However, not all students will have equitable access to online teaching tools and educators will need to find other ways to continue their education. The Chronicle of Higher Education published an article with recommendations for educators teaching students in a distance learning format.
Education companies have also banded together to provide software and services to students and teachers who are adapting to this new style of education.
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