Philly Coronavirus News: City Releases Coronavirus Neighborhood Map, Wolf Lays Off 2,500

"The COVID-19 outbreak has taxed our Commonwealth and our communities in ways that are almost incomprehensible,” says the governor.

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A roundup of Philly coronavirus news.

Philly Releases Coronavirus Neighborhood Map

For weeks, reporters have been asking Philly officials for more specific information about Philly coronavirus patients, such as, Where do they live? Health officials have repeatedly declined to release that information. But now, voila!

The city has released this map that shows positive coronavirus cases in Philadelphia by zip code so, effectively, by neighborhood.

Just move your cursor around the map to each neighborhood. The map displays the number of people tested for coronavirus, the number of those who tested positive, and a resulting positivity rate.

As of Monday morning at 7:30 a.m., the 19143 zip code (parts of West and Southwest Philly) showed the highest number of cases, at 43 out of 242 tests. Meanwhile, neighboring zip code 19146 (parts of Point Breeze, Graduate Hospital, and Grays Ferry), showed the highest number of people tested, at 296, with 36 positive.

Of course, keep in mind that these stats — like most coronavirus stats out there — are all based on the number of people actually getting tested.

The city will update the map on a daily basis.

Governor Wolf Lays Off 2,500 Amid Coronavirus Crisis

Lots of pink slips have been handed out in the last few weeks. And now the layoffs have come to the state itself. The Wolf administration has laid off approximately 2,500 employees. According to the state’s Office of Administration in Harrisburg, the layoffs primarily affected part-timers, seasonal employees, and temps.

Over the weekend, the governor pleaded with the Trump administration for financial assistance. He asked Trump to designate the state as a major disaster area, with at least 38 coronavirus-related deaths in Pennsylvania.

“The COVID-19 outbreak has taxed our Commonwealth and our communities in ways that are almost incomprehensible,” Wolf said on Sunday.

Need Regional Rail? Prepare to Wait… and Wait

You’re probably not planning on jumping on a SEPTA Regional Rail train anytime soon. After all, ridership has almost completely tanked.

But should you need a Regional Rail train in the foreseeable future, you should be prepared to wait and then wait some more. All SEPTA Regional Rail trains are now running on what they’re calling “Essential Service” schedules. This means waits of at least an hour — and in some cases, two hours — during the day.

For instance, should you need the 9 a.m. SEPTA Regional Rail train from Berwyn to Center City, we suggest you arrive a few minutes early. If you miss the 9 a.m. train, you’ll have to wait until 11 a.m. for the next one.

You can get a complete rundown of how coronavirus has impacted SEPTA schedules by visiting the SEPTA website.

Our Suggestion? Read

If you’re looking for some fresh (and coronavirus-free) reading material, might we suggest our fascinating new series on marriage from the April issue of the magazine. It’s called “Love, Money, Sex, Cheating: The Real Stories of 10 Philly Marriages.” Check it out here.