Pennsylvania

• 5,805 confirmed cases, 42,427 tested negative, Deaths 74

Cases by county in the 10-county region per Pennsylvania Department of Health
* case count last updated at 12:00 p.m. on 4/1/2020

State Updates

• *News outlets reporting that Governor Wolf will extend the stay-at-home order to all PA counties later today. Check back during 4 pm update for more details/confirmation.

• PA Department of Revenue Secretary Dan Hassell gave a briefing on the state’s revenue situation. Highlights include:
  • Overall, state revenues fell 6% short of estimates in March – a $295 M shortfall, but this is really just the tip of the iceberg.
  • For the current fiscal year, state revenues are 0.2% lower than estimated.
  • The latest numbers do not reflect the full extent of the economic damage caused by the coronavirus outbreak because of a lag in when some taxes are collected, and because of the order to close businesses about halfway through the month.
  • It is clear the state will not hit the revenue numbers projected in the governor’s budget – major adjustments will need to be made.
  • Almost every source of tax revenue will be affected by COVID-19.
  • Revenues from sales and income taxes — which is counted on for about three-quarters of general fund revenues — dipped in March and will likely plunge in the coming months.
  • The extended tax deadlines also create a cash flow problem for the state – roughly $2.1 B in PIT were expected to flow into the state during April, May, and June. Now, most of that will not be collected until July.

• Notes from Dr. Levine’s daily update from yesterday
  • PA has 756 new cases, with the statewide total being 4843 positive cases in 60 counties
  • 5% of total number of cases are health care workers
  • 63 total fatalities related to COVID-19
  • 37,645 Pennsylvanians have tested negative for COVID-19
  • New counties as of today added to “Stay At Home” order: Cameron, Crawford, Forrest, Franklin, Lawrence, Lebanon and Somerset.
  • There are 33 Counties now covered with the order

• As of Monday this week, PA State Police have issued 11 warnings, bringing the total to 107 since enforcement of the order started March 23. Business names are not being released.
  • Troop A, which includes Westmoreland, Cambria and Indiana counties, has warned 19 businesses — the most warnings issued by any troop in the state.
  • Troop B, which includes Allegheny, Fayette, Greene and Washington counties, has warned five businesses.
  • Troop D, which includes Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Lawrence and Mercer counties, has issued seven warnings.

Regional Coronavirus Update

Allegheny County

• The Allegheny County Jail Oversight Board won’t be having its monthly meeting Thursday — either in-person or virtually. In the past two weeks, the Allegheny County Jail has released 622 inmates as COVID-19 continues to spread across our region. Officials did not identify any of the released inmates, nor did they specify what they had been charged with prior to release.
• Allegheny County Health Department officials said the county is testing about 500 people per day for the novel coronavirus. In a press conference Tuesday, Dr. Debra Bogen — head of the county health department — said they are also practicing “smart testing,” which means only people who meet specific criteria for COVID-19 (fever, cough, shortness of breath, underlying health issues, age) are getting tested right now.

Federal Coronavirus Update

The White House

• At yesterday’s briefing, the president stated that the next two week will be very painful. Dr. Deborah Birx, Coronavirus Response Coordinator, projected that 100,000– 240,000 people could die in the coming months in the coronavirus pandemic. This information is based on a modeling and other data and the increased mortality is based on several demographics – the individual’s age and pre-existing conditions.
• In a letter to the president, Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown is calling for companies deemed essential during the coronavirus pandemic to pay employees hazard pay. Under Brown’s proposal, doctors, nurses, grocery store workers, home healthcare workers, building cleaners, deliver workers, letter carriers, transit workers and others working in essential businesses would receive the pay.

U.S. House of Representatives

• House Democrats are crafting a fourth stimulus package that would include resources for water systems, broadband and 5G and more direct payments for individuals and local and state governments.
• House Democrats are beginning their review of how the government is implementing the trillions of dollars and are starting to discuss probing what went wrong with the initial federal response. The focus at the moment is to scrutinize whether the federal government is effectively spending the money — and to pressure the White House if there are delays in implementing programs that could amount to roughly $3 trillion in the first three massive bills that were rammed through Congress. To that end, House Democrats are holding a series of conference calls starting Wednesday with key committee chairmen to discuss what they are learning about how the money is being spent — and whether there needs to be additional action taken by Congress to draw attention to lags in implementing the laws.

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

• Anthony Fauci predicts that a second wave of the COVID-19 will happen in the fall but the country will be better prepared to combat the virus.

Department of Homeland Security

• Defense Secretary Mark Esper approved a request from the Department of Homeland Security seeking 540 military personnel to support Customs and Border Protection operations on the Mexico border to prevent people infected with covid-19 from entering the U.S.