COVID-19 Update: June 1, 2020

Coronavirus update for Monday, June 1 as of 3:00 p.m.

Pennsylvania Update

Department of Health

The Department of Health issued updated guidance on testing in long-term-care facilities, including nursing homes, assisted living, and personal care homes. This guidance supersedes the universal testing guidance released on May 12, which applied only to nursing homes.

The department released frequently asked questions about reporting requirements for skilled nursing facilities.

Department of Health – by the numbers

Yesterday’s new COVID-19 case count was the state’s lowest since March 24 and the death count remains low for the third day in a row.
More than 18,000 residents and employees of long-term-care facilities have tested positive for COVID-19 and the number of facilities with infected residents or staff has increased by four, to 608, since last Friday.
More than 5400 health care workers have tested positive for COVID-19.
1302 Pennsylvanians are currently hospitalized with COVID-19.
277 of them are on ventilators.
38 percent of state hospitals’ acute-care beds, 45 percent of their ICU beds, and 24 percent of their pediatric ICU beds are currently unoccupied, as are 53 percent of their isolation beds.

Department of Education

The Department of Education has offered guidance for medical, nursing, and allied health training programs on when and how to resume training for health care practitioners and allied health practitioners as the state reopens.

Independent Fiscal Office

The state’s Independent Fiscal Office published its May 2020 revenue update, which reports a $502.6 million revenue shortfall in collections compared to August projections. The report attributes 100 percent of the shortfall to fallout from the COVID-19 outbreak.

Federal Update

Department of Health and Human Services

HHS has added to and modified its CARES Act Provider Relief Fund FAQ. Find additions on pages 2, 4, 5, 8, 23, 24, and 25 and modifications on pages 8, 9, and 19. The latest changes are identified as added or modified on 5/26 or 5/29. Providers should review these changes carefully.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

CMS has issued new guidance to clarify when providers must use modifier CR (catastrophe/disaster-related) and/or condition code DR (disaster-related) when submitting claims to Medicare. The guidance applies to short-term hospitals, long-term hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, and others.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services – Stakeholder Calls

CMS hosts recurring stakeholder engagement sessions to share information related to the agency’s response to COVID-19. These sessions are open to members of the health care community and are intended to provide updates, share best practices among peers, and offer attendees an opportunity to ask questions of CMS and other subject matter experts. Call details are below. Conference lines are limited so CMS encourages interested parties to join via audio webcast. Calls recordings and transcripts also are posted on the CMS podcast page here.

CMS COVID-19 Office Hours Calls (Tuesdays at 5:00 – 6:00 PM eastern)

Office Hour Calls provide an opportunity for hospitals, health systems, and providers to ask questions of agency officials regarding CMS’s temporary actions that empower local hospitals and healthcare systems to increase hospital capacity, expand their health care workforce, and promote greater use of telehealth in Medicare.

Toll Free Attendee Dial In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 4474407

Audio Webcast link: go here.

Lessons from the Front Lines: COVID-19 (Fridays at 12:30 – 2:00 PM eastern)

Lessons from the Front Lines calls are a joint effort between CMS Administrator Seema Verma, FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn, MD, and the White House Coronavirus Task Force. Physicians and other clinicians are invited to share their experience, ideas, strategies, and insights with one another related to their COVID-19 response. There is an opportunity to ask questions of presenters.

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 833-614-0820; Access Code: 6583696

Web Link: go here.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The CDC has updated its FAQ on infection prevention and control in health care settings.

The CDC has posted an illustrated guide on the use of personal protective equipment when caring for patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19.
The CDC has published interim guidance on discontinuing isolation for people with COVID-19 who are not in health care settings.
The CDC has published guidance to assist with the assessment of risk, monitoring, and work restriction decisions for health care providers with potential exposure to COVID-19.
The CDC has updated its web page on ways for institutions of higher education to protect students and employees from COVID-19.

Food and Drug Administration

The FDA is making its previously developed FDA MyStudies app available to investigators as a free platform to securely obtain patients’ informed consent for eligible clinical trials when face-to-face contact is not possible or practical due to COVID-19 control measures. FDA MyStudies is now referred to as COVID MyStudies in the Apple App store and in the Google Play store.
The FDA has approved emergency use authorization for a new commercial home diagnostic test for COVID-19.
The FDA has approved emergency use authorizations for three new commercial laboratory serology tests for COVID-19. Find those authorizations here, here, and here.