PA Counties locked down

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Governor Tom Wolf has issued a stay-at-home order for several Pennsylvania counties, including Monroe, following the report of six deaths due to COVID-19 and a surge in case numbers in the Commonwealth.

On Monday, Wolf announced that he was issuing a stay-at-home order to Pennsylvania counties where COVID-19 outbreaks had occurred thus far.

“The city of Philadelphia has already issued a stay-in-place order, and I am issuing a stay-at-home order for six more counties right now,” Wolf said. “Beginning at 8 p.m. tonight, if you live in Allegheny, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Monroe or Montgomery counties, you must stay in your homes unless not staying in your home endangers your life.”

Wolf later clarified the order to officially include Philadelphia County.

The order will stay in effect for two weeks, Wolf said. School closures and other mitigation efforts will be extended for another two weeks.

Wolf said the government will assist businesses to keep supply chains open so Pennsylvanians will have access to food and necessary supplies. Grocery stores, pharmacies, and other life-sustaining services will remain open. Wolf said that residents should limit their excursions to purchasing food and medication, or absolute emergencies.

Curfews will not be enforced, though Wolf emphasized that it is imperative that residents in the affected counties stay home as much as possible.

“This is not a request I make lightly,” Wolf said. “Pennsylvania is the birthplace of American freedom. Our economy and our way of life were built on this freedom, and it is this freedom I seek to preserve in our fight against COVID-19.”

On Monday, Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine announced the surge in COVID-19 cases in the Commonwealth, along with several newly-reported deaths.

“As of 12 a.m. this morning, we have 165 new cases of COVID-19, bringing our statewide total to 644 Pennsylvanians who have tested positive in 34 counties. Yesterday, we had a 108 new cases per day, and today, we have 165 new cases per day. Approximately 60 Pennsylvanians have required hospitalization since March 6, when we first confirmed our cases of COVID-9. This is about 10% of people who have tested positive,” Levine said.

The Commonwealth’s case load includes 43 patients in Monroe County, seven in Lackawanna, 25 in Lehigh, 10 in Luzerne, 23 in Northampton, three in Pike and three in Wayne, while 6,595 individuals have tested negative thus far.

“Tragically, we have had six Pennsylvanians die as a result of this virus,” Levine said. “They are all adults. We have had one death in Allegheny County, one death in Lackawanna County, one death in Monroe County, one in Montgomery County, and two in Northampton County.”

The Monroe County death from COVID-19 was confirmed by Coroner Tom Yanac on Sunday. On Monday, Yanac stated that he had reported the death to the Department of Health.

Wolf sympathized with Pennsylvania residents, acknowledging that the mitigation measures have been incredibly intrusive in their everyday lives, but noting that those measures are necessary to buy valuable time to stem the spread of COVID-19 in order to avoid overwhelming hospitals and health systems.

“Clearly, this is not a great answer, but it is all we have until our health system gets the stock of protective equipment like beds, ventilators are other things our system needs to treat people with this disease,” Wolf said. “The only way we can buy time is to distance ourselves from others. So please, let’s work together to buy this time.”

Levine concurred, pointing out that without said measures, “we would anticipate a large surge of cases as was seen in Italy and other areas,” which could easily overwhelm hospitals and health systems in the Commonwealth.

Wolf noted that the Pennsylvania government will take a “measured approach, but we’re taking decisive action” in order to stem outbreaks of COVID-19 in the counties where it has spread quickly, though in order to be successful, Pennsylvanians will have to comply with the mitigation efforts to save lives.

“I won’t pretend things will not get worse before they get better,” Wolf said. “But what I will promise is that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania will do everything in its power to help businesses and workers during this catastrophe. The point is, before we can recover we must survive, and to do that, every one of us must do our part.”