The following is an update of selected state health policy developments in Pennsylvania for the week of August 30-September 2, 2021.  (Some of the language used below is taken directly from state documents.)

The Wolf Administration

The Wolf administration has ordered that masks be worn by all students and staff in school buildings.  Learn more from this administration news release, the order from the Department of Health, and this FAQ about the new requirement.  The order also applies to licensed child care facilities.

General Assembly

House and Senate Republicans denounced the Wolf administration’s mask mandate for K-12 schools and child care centers this week and Senate Republicans circulated a co-sponsorship memo seeking support from fellow senators for a constitutional amendment that would restrict the Secretary of Health’s power to issue such orders in the absence of a formal public health disaster declaration.

The House Health Committee’s hearing to examine the end of Pennsylvania’s opioid disaster declaration scheduled for this week was postponed until Monday, September 27 at 8:00 a.m.

Department of Health

  • The Department of Health announced changes in the electronic reportable disease surveillance system (PA-NEDSS) to enhance data submitted by hospitals daily on COVID-19 admissions and patient vaccination status.  Go here to view the department’s announcement of these new requirements.
    • Additions and amendments to questions in the Corvena capacity reporting tool will be made on Friday, September 3 and these new data fields must be completed by 10:00 am on Tuesday, September 7 and daily thereafter.
    • Find details on the Corvena changes with a screenshot of edits here and a dictionary of terms here.
    • Hospitals are directed to fill out a one-time form with historical admissions by vaccination status for the period from January 1, 2021 through September 6, 2021; this must be completed by 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 8.
    • The Department of Health will host a webinar explaining these changes on Friday, September 3 at 1:00 p.m. at the Zoom link here.
  • The Department of Health has created an attestation form for hospitals to use when bringing online multiple pieces of new equipment or services during the same time period.  The Multiple Equipment Attestation form enables hospitals to attest to up to 100 pieces of unique equipment.  If a hospital has more than 100 pieces of new, unique equipment it must submit an additional form.  The original Equipment Attestation form can be used only when submitting for one piece of equipment.  To learn more see this announcement from the department’s Division of Acute and Ambulatory Care, the attestation form for new equipment, and the attestation form for new services.

COVID-19:  By the Numbers

  • The daily number of new COVID-19 cases continued to rise during the past week. Today’s new case total was the highest single-day figure since April 17.  To date, more than 1.3 million Pennsylvanians have contracted reported cases of COVID-19.
  • Similarly, the number of deaths, while slightly higher during the past week, remains far lower than when comparable numbers of new cases were being reported in the spring.  Still, today’s total was the highest single-day figure since March 5.  To date, more than 28,000 Pennsylvanians have died from COVID-19.
  • For the week of August 20-26 the state’s overall COVID-19 test positivity rate was 7.8 percent, up from 6.9 percent last week and the seventh consecutive week with an increase.
  • For the week ending September 1 in Pennsylvania, according to the CDC’s COVID Data Tracker, 66 of the state’s 67 counties were experiencing a high level of COVID-19 transmission, with Bradford County “only” in a substantial level of community transmission.
  • The number of Pennsylvanians hospitalized because of COVID-19, on ventilators because of the virus, and in hospital intensive care units because of the disease continued to rise during the past week.
  • According to the state’s revised figures, 66 percent of Pennsylvanians 18 years of age and older are now fully vaccinated – 5.93 million people – up from 65.3 percent last week.  Only 15,000 Philadelphians and 70,000 other Pennsylvanians completed a vaccine regimen in the past week.

Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council (PHC4)

PHC4 has hired a new executive director.  Learn more in this agency news release.

Around the State