COVID-19 cases on the rise again

By KRISTIE LINDEN

klinden@yourmvi.com

After two days in which the number of new cases of COVID-19 had shown a decrease or a leveling off in Pennsylvania, Tuesday’s figures brought an increase again.

The state Department of Health reported 1,579 new cases yesterday. Over the weekend, the numbers seemed to show a steady decline in new cases as the figures went from 1,597 Saturday, to 1,497 Sunday and 1,470 Monday.

But Dr. Rachel Levine, the state secretary of health, cautioned Monday the drops may not mean anything.

There are now 14,559 cases of COVID-19 in Pennsylvania, and from noon Monday to noon Tuesday there were another 78 deaths, bringing that total to 240.

Gov. Tom Wolf ordered commonwealth flags on all facilities, public buildings and grounds to fly at half-staff until further notice to honor the victims of the pandemic.

“Too many Pennsylvanians have lost their lives to COVID-19, and, unfortunately, many more will die,” Wolf said. “Already we have lost friends, parents, grandparents and siblings. We have lost first responders. We have lost community members. Each of these Pennsylvanians is irreplaceable. Each deserves to be honored individually for their contributions to our commonwealth, but this cruel disease will not give us a respite to mourn.

“This virus prevents us from honoring the dead at traditional gatherings. We cannot have funerals, wakes or sit shiva. I hope this flag lowering provides some solace to the grieving families and friends. And I hope it serves as a reminder of the reason for the sacrifices Pennsylvanians are making to help their community survive this crisis.”

Commonwealth flags should be lowered to half-staff until a date to be announced after the pandemic passes. All Pennsylvanians are invited to participate in this tribute.

In Allegheny County, there have been two more deaths since the weekend, bringing that total to six. The county now has 689 positive cases, an increase of 47 overnight.

Fayette has reported just one death and now has 32 cases, as the county reported three new patients Tuesday.

Washington County saw a slight increase, adding four patients to bring the total to 57. Westmoreland County added 20 more cases, bringing its total to 177. Neither county has reported a COVID-19 death.

All of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties have now reported at least one case of the illness, the DOH said Tuesday.

On Monday, Wolf urged manufacturers that currently produce or can produce coronavirus-related supplies to submit their information to a newly developed Pennsylvania Manufacturing Call to Action Portal.

“We’re asking everyone to do their part to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, including ensuring that our health care system is prepared to care for patients and that there is access to critical personal protective equipment and products as more individuals and businesses take preventive measures,” Wolf said. “Throughout our commonwealth’s history, our manufacturing sector has answered the call to move us forward and contributed tremendously in times of turbulence. I call upon our private sector to be a part of the solution to this crisis.”

The portal will identify businesses’ critical supply chain capabilities, needs, workforce gaps and innovative opportunities. Reporting this information and identifying both abilities and needs will help facilitate the connections businesses need to get critical COVID-19-related products to market or retrofit their operations to begin production of those products.

This manufacturing portal builds on the recent creation of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Critical Medical Supplies Procurement Portal to source the most needed supplies for medical providers, emergency responders, and health care professionals.

“We must take every step to protect our health care workers and frontline responders from COVID-19, and provide them with the necessary equipment to help patients,” Wolf said. “We cannot rely on the federal government alone to provide us with necessary equipment. We must tap our own valuable resources, including our manufacturing sector, to help our health care workers save Pennsylvanians’ lives.”

While hospitals have not experienced a surge of COVID-19 patients, the state is taking steps to ensure the health care system has access to critical equipment as the number of positive cases of the virus rises daily.

Pennsylvania has requested 1,000 ventilators from the Strategic National Stockpile, but the request is on hold due to the current availability of ventilators in Pennsylvania.

The state has procured and is awaiting receipt of 400 additional ventilators from a private vendor. The commonwealth has also requested N95 masks, ventilators, gowns, gloves, goggles and face shields and has received several shipments from the national stockpile.