The following is the latest COVID-19 information from Pennsylvania’s state government as of 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 26.

Governor Wolf

  1. Governor Wolf renewed his proclamation of a disaster emergency for the COVID-19 pandemic only two days after the state’s voters approved amendments to the state’s constitution limiting his authority to do so.  See the announcement of the renewed declaration here.  The announcement emphasizes aspects of the state’s response to the COVID-19 emergency that have been made possible only through a declared state of emergency.
  2. Subsequently House Republicans introduced House Resolution 106, which would end certain aspects of the governor’s COVID-19 emergency proclamation.  It would terminate the administration’s ability to engage in no-bid, single-source contracting; reestablish work search requirements for individuals seeking unemployment compensation that had been waived by the Department of Labor and Industry; and end the governor’s authority to impose occupancy limits, business closures, and stay-at-home orders.  H.R. 106 would retain the health care-related provisions of the emergency proclamation and extend the governor’s proclamation to October 1, 2021.
  3. Governor Wolf has issued a statement criticizing the legislature over its response to the approval of the two constitutional amendments.

Department of Health

The Department of Health has reminded health care facilities that the Medical Care Availability and Reduction of Error (MCARE) Act requires facilities to develop and implement an internal infection control plan for the purpose of improving the health and safety of patients and health care workers.  New facilities and existing facilities at the request of a surveyor must submit plans for review to ensure compliance.  The Department of Health offered this facility self-assessment tool to assist facilities and advised that corporate templates should serve as a starting point for policy development but should be tailored to reflect the care practices and services in a particular facility.  Go here to see the full Department of Health message, which was delivered by email to stakeholders.

The Department of Health has updated information on the detection of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in adults (MIS-A) and requirements for providers to report suspected cases to the department.

Department of Health – by the numbers

  • The daily number of new COVID-19 cases continues to decline and was in three digits for three days in a row earlier this week for the first time since September.
  • The number of COVID-19 deaths is showing signs of declining but much more slowly.
  • For the week from May 14 through May 20 the state’s overall COVID-19 test positivity rate was 4.5 percent, down from 5.3 last week and 6.6 percent the week before.
  • Twenty-eight counties had a positivity rate lower than five percent, up from 12 last week, and no counties had a positivity rate greater than 20 percent for the fifth consecutive week.
  • Four counties (Cameron, Forest, Montour, and Sullivan) are currently experiencing low levels of community transmission of COVID-19, as was the case last week; 58 counties are experiencing moderate levels of community transmission, up from 41 last week and 25 two weeks ago; and five counties (Bradford, McKean, Potter, Venango, and Wyoming) are currently experiencing substantial levels of community transmission, down from 22 counties last week and 40 the week before.
  • The numbers of Pennsylvanians hospitalized with COVID-19, in hospital ICUs because of COVID-19, and on ventilators because of the virus continue to fall.
  • 4.6 million Pennsylvanians have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the state’s COVID-19 dashboard.  Another 670,000 have been vaccinated in Philadelphia as of Monday, May 17.  According to the state, 52.3 percent of Pennsylvanians 18 years of age and older are now fully vaccinated and 57 percent of the entire population has now received at least the first dose of a vaccine.
  • Governor Wolf has stated that Pennsylvania needs to reach 70 percent of adults vaccinated before he will lift the state’s remaining mask mandates.  The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that “If everyone who currently has just one dose — 1,789,239 — returns for their second shot, then 69.5% will be fully covered.
  • Those people are all scheduled to receive their second shot of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines by at least the last week of June.”
  • as the pandemic advances and more people receive vaccines, the age distribution of Pennsylvanians who contract COVID-19 has changed:
Ages % of January cases % of May cases (to date)
0-4 1.7 3.4
5-12 4.0 8.4
13-18 6.3 11.1
19-24 10.5 11.2
25-49 37.5 38.1
50-64 22.4 18.3
65+ 17.7 9.5

 

Department of Human Services

DHS has updated its Pennsylvania Medicaid managed care organization directory.

DHS has updated various enrollment documents for providers seeking to participate in the state’s Medicaid program.

Around the State

  • Pennsylvania Auditor General Timothy DeFoor has asked the General Assembly to establish safeguards to ensure that COVID-19 relief money that the state receives from the federal government is not misspent.  The Harrisburg Patriot-News explains why.
  • Pennsylvania’s long-term-care facilities are asking the state for $450 million in American Rescue Plan money to help them with the losses they suffered responding to COVID-19, WITF reports.
  • FEMA packed up its syringes, alcohol swabs, and band-aids and closed shop at its two Philadelphia mass vaccine sites (at the city’s convention center and Esperanza) after the close of business on Tuesday, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.  The city intends to operate its own vaccine sites in the same locations.
  • The state Senate is considering legislation that would ban school districts and governments from requiring proof of vaccination status – so-called vaccine passports.  The Associated Press reports.
  • The city of Philadelphia’s Department of Public Health “quietly held its final virtual update dedicated to the impact of COVID-19 on the City of Brotherly Love,” according to WHYY radio.