Beaches, pools to open in June
By KRISTIE LINDEN
klinden@yourmvi.com
All state park beaches and most pools will be open next month, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources announced Thursday.
All 58 state park beaches will be open for swimming June 6, and most state park pools will reopen June 13.
Both will be limited to 50% capacity, officials said, and other mitigation measures will include restrictions on visitor parking, social distancing and the wearing of masks when not in the water.
The agency also said it’s reopening campsites, park offices and other facilities at 18 state parks in eight counties that are moving to the yellow phase of Gov. Tom Wolf’s reopening plan today.
Testing supplies
Wolf announced Thursday that additional shipments of testing supplies have been sent to hospitals across the state.
Since March 9, the Department of Health has distributed supplies to more than 60 hospitals, health care facilities and county and municipal health departments to help test more than 67,000 patients.
“We know we need to ramp up testing capabilities as a means to further mitigate COVID-19,” Wolf said. “These supplies are critical to that goal. We will continue to distribute these supplies as quickly and efficiently as they become available.”
Testing supplies include nasopharyngeal swabs and viral transport media tubes, depending what is requested by facilities.
The department sent 42,000 tests to county and municipal health departments, 9,640 to laboratories, testing teams, state agencies and medical practices, 8,542 to hospital and health systems and 7,070 to long-term care facilities.
Testing for COVID-19 is now available at federally qualified health centers in Allegheny County and through Pittsburgh Mercy, a certified community behavioral health clinic.
The tests are offered at no charge, and patients do not need a doctor’s referral. Anyone experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 is advised to get tested.
Symptoms include a cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fever, chills, muscle pain, sore throat and new loss of taste or smell. Other less common symptoms have been reported, including gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting or diarrhea.
To schedule an appointment, visit alleghenycovidtesting.com or call one of the specified clinics.
In the Mon Valley, patients can get tested at McKeesport Family Health Center, located at 627 Lysle Blvd. Call 412-664-4112 for information.
“Pennsylvania recognizes that increased testing capacity is a critical aspect to successfully reopening the state; especially as certain regions move from aggressive mitigation to containment strategies,” Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said.
“Even though testing capacity has increased significantly, we will continue to provide necessary testing supplies to our partners across the state so even more Pennsylvanians can be tested and treated for COVID-19.”
Cases
There have now been 70,042 cases of coronavirus in the state, including 625 new cases since Wednesday.
There were 108 new deaths reported, for a total of 5,373.
Allegheny County now has 1,851 cases, an increase of 23 patients. According to the DOH, there was one new death reported and that total is now 161. The Allegheny County Health Department lists no new deaths and the total it is tracking remains at 151.
Fayette County reported no new cases, so that total remains at 95 and no new deaths, leaving that total at four.
Washington County reported one new case and no new deaths. Those totals are 139 and five.
Westmoreland County reported one new case, bringing that total to 443. According to the DOH, there were no new deaths and that total is 38. Westmoreland County Coroner Ken Bacha also reports no new deaths, and his total remains at 32.
