State campgrounds to reopen May 14

This weekend Pennsylvanians will be allowed to go outside and play, albeit under certain restrictions.

Governor Wolf is allowing the reopening of recreation sites like golf courses, marinas, and private campgrounds, provided masks and social distancing measures are used. State campgrounds will open two weeks later, May 14.

“As the weather warms and daylight lengthens, enjoying time outdoors is an important way to manage stress,” Wolf said. “As we start to take measured, limited steps to reopen our commonwealth, reopening these industries will help to rebuild our economy and strengthen our mental health.”

While Wolf encourages Pennsylvanians to use outdoor recreation to mitigate stress that has built up for seven weeks during the pandemic shutdown, he also asks them to show restraint as they venture outdoors: people should not travel far, using recreation sites close to home; they should wears masks and keep distance from others; they should abandon their plans if the site is crowded; and not go out at all if they are sick.

Philadelphia mayor Jim Kenney today also spoke about cabin fever and his concerns about alleviating stress during the pandemic. However the Philadelphia region is considered Pennsylvania’s coronavirus hot spot, and while the infection rate is flattening residents should still act with caution.

“Springtime is a great time to be in Philadelphia,” said Kenney. “But the epidemic could surge back at any point. The only way to prevent it is staying at home unless it’s absolutely necessary.”

Pa. hospitals to resume elective procedures

Hospitals in Pennsylvania will be able to resume elective medical procedures which had been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In her daily briefing, Pennsylvania Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine said some restrictions on what kind of procedures hospitals are allowed to perform have been lifted, with the caveat that the hospital or health system is still able to respond to a sudden COVID-19 outbreak in its region.

Hospitals must comply with certain standards to resume elective procedures, including having enough staff and resources to treat elective patients without resorting to “crisis standards” that would prioritize certain patients over others.

“We’ve been working very closely with our hospital partners to safely ensure that Pennsylvanians who need treatment not related to COVID-19 can get it,” said Levine. “This guidance puts forth ways for hospital and ambulatory surgical services [i.e. outpatient clinics] to do that, while making sure we stay prepared for any resurgence of COVID-19 in those areas.”

Levine also addressed questions related to the re-opening of the state economy, scheduled to begin piecemeal on May 8, based on the presence of the virus in particular areas.

The state has created a three-phase, color-coded plan to gradually bring the economy back online, moving individual regions from red to yellow to green. The advancing through that process will be based on several factors, including the average number of new cases in those particular areas.

But the number of new infections is not the only criteria.

“We’re not going to be held to any particular schema. We’re going to be looking at many other things,” said Levine. “We’re going to be looking at the ability to do testing. Looking at the ability to do case investigations and contact tracing. We want to make sure hospitals and health systems can take care of any outbreak of COVID-19. Many things will be under investigation this week as we determine which area can go from red to yellow.”

70% of unemployment claimants getting paid; Aid for gig workers should be available in early May

Pennsylvania’s unemployment compensation system has been overwhelmed by demand as more than 1.65 million residents seek financial help from the state.

The state department of Labor and Industry gave a snapshot of what the surge looks like at a press briefing Monday.

Call centers have been taking around 21,500 calls a week, with Mondays and Tuesdays being the busiest days. Officials recommended calling on Thursdays and Fridays for a better shot at getting through. Email inboxes taking questions are running 25 days behind.

“We will eventually get to it,” said Susan Dickinson, Director of the Office of Unemployment Compensation Benefits Policy.

Despite this load, around 70% of the 1.65 million claims have received benefits so far. That leaves nearly 500,000 people who were either ineligible who or have an issue with their application.

“They are impressive statistics for our agency, but I know that if you’re not on the right side of those statistics, that doesn’t help,” said Department of Labor and Industry Secretary Jerry Oleksiak. He blamed the federal government for some of the delays, and the state’s 40-year-old payment infrastructure.

“We went from having record low unemployment, to numbers that we had never, ever seen before,” he said.

Department officials said they are caught up in issuing PINs, a crucial step in filing a claims process. Anyone who hasn’t received one within three weeks of opening a claim should request a new one, said Dickinson.

After rolling out the preliminary steps for applying to a new kind of unemployment, called Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, aimed at freelancers and other non-traditional workers, the department has processed 107,000 applications.

“We hope to have the rest of that in place and benefits being distributed by early May,” said Oleksiak.

The state has paid out $3.5 billion in aid so far, $2.6 billion from the traditional unemployment compensation coffers, and $900,000 in federal stimulus doled out in $600 weekly installments.