Stay-at-home order expands as overflow facilities get ready
Marc Levy | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 4 years, 7 months AGO
The Glen Mills Schools is seen, Friday, March 27, 2020, in Glen Mills, Pa. The shuttered reform school for boys in suburban Philadelphia may be used as a medical overflow facility as coronavirus cases increase and hospitals are pressed for space. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
The Glen Mills Schools is seen, Friday, March 27, 2020, in Glen Mills, Pa. The shuttered reform school for boys in suburban Philadelphia may be used as a medical overflow facility as coronavirus cases increase and hospitals are pressed for space. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
The parking lot is empty for the King of Prussia Mall which is closed to the public due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, in King of Prussia, Pa., Friday, March 27, 2020. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
A locomotive works the yard at the U.S Steel Edgar Thomson Works in Braddock, Pa., Thursday, March 26, 2020. The plant was exempted from Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf's order on Monday for "non-life sustaining" businesses to close. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
The Glen Mills Schools is seen, Friday, March 27, 2020, in Glen Mills, Pa. The shuttered reform school for boys in suburban Philadelphia may be used as a medical overflow facility as coronavirus cases increase and hospitals are pressed for space. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
A worker leaves the U.S Steel Edgar Thomson Works in Braddock, Pa., Thursday, March 26, 2020. The plant was exempted from Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf's order on Monday for "non-life sustaining" businesses to close. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Gary Smith, of Uniondale, donates blood during a blood drive at the Carbondale YMCA in Carbondale, Pa., on Thursday, March 26, 2020. The American Red Cross reports a critical need of blood due the coronavirus. (Jake Danna Stevens/The Times-Tribune via AP)
American Red Cross mobile phlebotomist April Evanitus sanitizes a bed during a blood drive at the Carbondale YMCA in Carbondale, Pa., on Thursday, March 26, 2020. The American Red Cross reports a critical need of blood due the coronavirus. (Jake Danna Stevens/The Times-Tribune via AP)
The Glen Mills Schools is seen, Friday, March 27, 2020, in Glen Mills, Pa. The shuttered reform school for boys in suburban Philadelphia may be used as a medical overflow facility as coronavirus cases increase and hospitals are pressed for space. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
The parking lot is empty for the King of Prussia Mall which is closed to the public due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, in King of Prussia, Pa., Friday, March 27, 2020. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Gary Smith of Uniondale squeezes a glove to help blood flow from his arm as he donates blood during an American Red Cross blood drive at the Carbondale YMCA in Carbondale, Pa., on Thursday, March 26, 2020. The American Red Cross reports a critical need of blood due the coronavirus. (Jake Danna Stevens/The Times-Tribune via AP)
Vials of blood for testing and a donated bag of blood will be sent for testing and use from an American Red Cross blood drive at the Carbondale YMCA in Carbondale, Pa., on Thursday, March 26, 2020. The American Red Cross reports a critical need of blood due the coronavirus. (Jake Danna Stevens/The Times-Tribune via AP)
Nick Burruano, of Archbald, has his blood drawn by mobile phlebotomist Charmaine Metta during an American Red Ross blood drive a the Carbondale YMCA in Carbondale, Pa., on Thursday, March 26, 2020. Burruano was informed about a blood shortage partially due to the coronavirus.The American Red Cross reports a critical need of blood due the coronavirus. (Jake Danna Stevens/The Times-Tribune via AP)
A sign with corrected spelling, tells visitors the playground at the Community Park is closed until further notice due to COVID-19, Friday, March 27, 2020, in Zelienople, Pa. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)
Jason Dapper, shoots a street hockey puck at the fence in one of the tennis courts at the local park as he practices his hockey skills with his wife, Friday, March 27, 2020, in Zelienople, Pa. The couple said they have taken to the park since the local rinks have closed with the outbreak of COVID-19. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)
A man passes by the "Point of View" sculpture depicting George Washington and Seneca leader Guyasuta on Mount Washington, overlooking downtown Pittsburgh, Friday, March 27, 2020. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
People take in the view of downtown Pittsburgh from Mount Washington with protective masks adorning the "Point of View" sculpture depicting George Washington and Seneca leader Guyasuta, Friday, March 27, 2020. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Jason Dapper, right, passes a puck to his wife Lexi Dapper as the two use the tennis courts at the local park to practice their hockey skills, Friday, March 27, 2020, in Zelienople, Pa. The couple said they have taken to the park since the local rinks have closed with the outbreak of COVID-19. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)
An American Airlines plane lands near dozens of parked American Airlines planes at the Pittsburgh International Airport Friday, March 27, 2020, in Moon, Pa. The airport has become a parking destination for the airline during the COVID-19 shutdown. (Andrew Rush/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP)
In this Tuesday, March 24, 2020 photo, the baggage claim area is empty at the Pittsburgh International Airport in Moon, Pa. (Emily Matthews/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP)
Dozens of parked American Airlines planes are parked at the Pittsburgh International Airport, Friday, March 27, 2020, in Moon, Pa. The airport has become a parking destination for the airline during the COVID-19 shutdown. (Andrew Rush/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP)
Pittsburgh Police Officer Tiffany Kline-Costa stops traffic as volunteers unload meals from a decommissioned school bus on Friday, March 27, 2020, at a bus stop in the Mt. Oliver neighborhood of Pittsburgh. Local nonprofits 412 Food Rescue, A+ Schools and the Latino Community Center created a pilot meal-delivery program supported by Pittsburgh-area native and actor Michael Keaton during the COVID-19 pandemic, serving more than 500 meals prepared by local restaurants Bar Botanico, The Vandal and DiAnoia's Eatery. (Steph Chambers/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP)
Mike Zajicek, of sanitization company Jan-Pro of Pittsburgh, prepares to clean the Magee Recreation Center, Friday, March 27, 2020, in the Greenfield neighborhood of Pittsburgh. The center was cleaned after possible exposure of a confirmed case of COVID-19. (Andrew Rush/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP)
Molecular technologists work next to QuantStudio 12K Flex Real Time PCR machines that test for COVID-19 at MHS Labs, Friday, March 27, 2020, in Monroeville, Pa. (Matt Freed/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP)
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Gov. Tom Wolf put another 2.5 million Pennsylvania residents under an order that restricts people from leaving home Friday, as his administration confirmed more coronavirus cases and deaths and major facilities were enlisted to help with hospital overflows.
Wolf, in a statement, added nine counties to 10 already covered by the order, for a total of 19 counties and three-fourths of the state's 12.8 million residents.
The stay-at-home order starts at 8 p.m. Friday for Berks, Butler, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Luzerne, Pike, Wayne, Westmoreland and York counties, and will last until at least April 6.
The stay-at-home order restricts movement to certain health or safety-related travel, or travel to a job at an employer designated by Wolf's administration as “life-sustaining.”
The measures are designed to slow the spread of the virus and give the state's hospitals time to increase its staffing, equipment and bed space.
There is no curfew, and no reports of police arrests for someone breaking the order. City officials under the order have generally said that enforcement is focused on letting people know about it, breaking up crowds or closing public areas to prevent people from gathering.
Wolf issued the first stay-at-home order Monday, a day after Philadelphia issued its own, and Health Secretary Rachel Levine said it's not clear yet whether the orders are effective.
“They haven’t been in place long enough,” Levine said at a news conference Friday. “It'll take weeks and weeks to see the effect.”
Those new counties became candidates for the order as increases in confirmed coronavirus cases there grew to a “significant level and we have evidence of community spread," Levine said.
Even before Friday, Wolf had closed schools statewide, urged people statewide to stay home and ordered thousands of “non-life-sustaining” businesses to close, an order that has drawn lawsuits in federal and state courts.
Levine said those orders won't be relaxed until there is a consistent decline in the number of new cases that shows the measures are slowing the spread of the virus.
“We’re not there yet,” Levine said.
Meanwhile, Wolf signed a package of coronavirus-related legislation that passed the Legislature earlier this week.
A look at coronavirus-related developments in Pennsylvania:
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CASES
Wolf's administration said it had confirmed more than 530 new cases through midnight Thursday, a 30% jump to more than 2,200, and six more deaths for a total of 22.
More counties, 50 of the state's 67 counties, are seeing their first coronavirus cases, while at least 17 nursing homes have reported a case, according to the state Department of Health.
More than 1,300 of Pennsylvania's confirmed coronavirus cases, or 60%, are in Philadelphia or its four suburban counties, and health care officials say they worry that hospitals there are two weeks away from being in the same situation as New York City's hospitals.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, or death.
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CONGRESSMAN TESTS POSITIVE
U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly of Butler County said Friday that he tested positive for the coronavirus.
In a statement, Kelly said he began experiencing flu-like symptoms and talked to his doctor, who ordered a test for COVID-19.
His test came back positive Friday afternoon. His symptoms are mild, he said. He was at home and was not in Washington for the vote on the $2.2 trillion economic rescue package.
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HOSPITAL SPACE
Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said Friday that the city has reached an agreement with Temple University to use the Liacouras Center and possibly other Temple facilities for overflow hospital space, including the pavilion and parking garage.
The Liacouras Center is a 10,000-seat multi-purpose center and will be able to handle at least 250 patients at first. City officials say they are moving quickly to get supplies and the physical aspects of the facility set up.
Meanwhile, a shuttered reform school for boys in suburban Philadelphia may be used as a medical overflow facility.
The Glen Mills School has medical and dental facilities, an air field, a generator and a more than 85,000 square-foot athletic facility that could host patients from hospitals and other health care facilities.
Tim Boyce, executive director of Delaware County's Emergency Management Agency, told WPVI-TV in Philadelphia that the Glen Mills School will start with 250 beds, but could be expanded.
Wolf's administration said Friday that the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, along with federal and local government agencies, is assessing a number of sites across the state to become housing or medical facilities. No plans or agreements have been finalized, according to the administration.
As a whole, Pennsylvania has 37,000 hospital beds, although many are occupied.
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JOBLESS CLAIMS
Pennsylvanians filed another 48,000 unemployment compensation claims on Thursday, according to information from Wolf's administration.
That means Pennsylvanians have filed nearly 700,000 claims over the past 12 days as Wolf ordered thousands of “non-life-sustaining” businesses to shut down to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.
In the seven days through last Saturday, Pennsylvanians filed about 379,000 claims, the most in the nation and smashing the state's record for an entire week.
In the four days since then, Pennsylvanians have filed another 319,000, putting the state on course to break last week's record.
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STEEL SLOWDOWN
Pittsburgh-based United States Steel Corp. said Friday that it will delay the groundbreaking on a project of more than $1 billion to build state-of-the-art facilities in western Pennsylvania that were designed to improve its steelmaking efficiency and reduce emissions at its Mon Valley Works operations.
The length of the delay hasn't been determined, and will last until market conditions improve, it said. The delay comes after the Allegheny County Health Department halted the permitting process because of the challenges the coronavirus posed to the public comment process while public health orders are in effect.
U.S. Steel had initially expected the first coil production from the new facility in 2022.
Its Mon Valley facilities include Clairton Coke Works, Edgar Thomson Works and the Irvin plant. The complex employs about 3,000 people. ___
This story has been corrected to show that Rep. Mike Kelly was not in Washington on Friday.
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Follow AP coverage of the virus outbreak at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak.
ARTICLES BY CLAUDIA LAUER
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316 people are shot every day in America. Here are 5 stories
They panic if a balloon pops. They hold dying family members. They push their wounded bodies to heal and scroll longingly through photos and videos of their lost loved ones. Behind the statistics and the political blame game over rising gun violence are the victims.
316 people are shot every day in America. Here are 5 stories
They panic if a balloon pops. They hold dying family members. They push their wounded bodies to heal and scroll longingly through photos and videos of their lost loved ones. Behind the statistics and the political blame game over rising gun violence are the victims.