COVID-19 Update: April 24, 2020

COVID-19 update for Friday, April 23 as of 4:00 p.m.

Attention: Health Care Providers

HHS has extended until 3:00 p.m. (eastern) on Saturday, April 25 the deadline for providers to submit data that will be used to determine how it will allocate the $10 billion it will be distributing to providers hit especially hard by COVID-19. Providers that have been targeted for possible assistance from this pool have already been notified of the need to submit data, although such notice does not assure funding.

State Update

Department of Health Daily Briefing

After a week of declines in the number of new COVID-19 cases, the daily case count has returned to its higher levels of one to two weeks ago.
More than 6000 residents of 418 long-term-care facilities located in 40 of the state’s counties have tested positive for COVID-19, as have more than 700 people who work at those facilities.
More than 2000 of the Pennsylvanians who have tested positive for COVID-19 are health care workers.
2746 people are currently hospitalized with COVID-19 and 662 of them are on ventilators.
47 percent of the state’s acute-care beds and 40 percent of its ICU beds are currently unoccupied and nearly 70 percent of its ventilators are not in use at this time.

Department of Health

The Department of Health has issued a notice to hospitals reminding them that they are required to promptly notify any first responder agency that is known to have transported a patient determined to be positive for COVID-19 and that they must do so as soon possible and no later than 48 hours after the determination. This requirement is the same as that called for in the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act of 2009.

Insurance Department

The state Insurance Department has published COVID-19 guidance regarding volunteer physicians, podiatrists, and certified nurse midwives practicing under a reactivated license. The notice addresses the medical malpractice insurance obligations of such volunteers depending on where they practice during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pennsylvania Health Law Center

The Pennsylvania Health Law Center has launched a “COVID-19 Resource Center.” While it has useful information, its primary target audiences appears to be consumers and those who work with consumers.

Federal Update

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

CMS has launched a COVID-19 partner toolkit that includes links to almost all activity involving the federal response to the COVID-19 crisis.
CMS has launched a new toolkit to help states navigate COVID-19 health workforce issues.
CMS has issued two new section 1135 waivers to states this week. Go here to see them and other 1135 waivers the agency has issued since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The CDC has posted a human infection with COVID-19 person under investigation and case report form.
The CDC has posted a guide on the use of personal protective equipment when caring for COVID-19 patients.
The CDC has posted updated guidance for different types of health care facilities dealing with COVID-19.
The CDC has published clinical care guidance about COVID-19 for health care professionals.
The CDC has posted information about assessing risk factors for severe COVID-19 illness.
The CDC has posted guidance on water-borne transmission of COVID-19.
The CDC has published interim guidance for public health and health care professionals managing people with COVID-19 in home care and isolation who have pets or other animals.
The CDC has shared conventional, contingency, and crisis strategies for the use of elastomeric respirators.

Food and Drug Administration

The FDA has published guidance on its enforcement policy for imaging systems during the COVID-19 emergency.
The FDA has unveiled its enforcement policy for remote digital pathology devices during the COVID-19 emergency.
The FDA has issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for a specific commercial device for use to treat lung failure when used as an adjunct to non-invasive or invasive mechanical ventilation.
The FDA has issued an EUA for a specific commercial blood purification system, including for use in continuous renal replacement therapy.

National Institutes of Health

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, has shared its plan for accelerating research to diagnose, prevent, and treat COVID-19.