As the holiday weekend approaches, Pennsylvania Governor Wolf’s Administration is reminding Pennsylvanians to avoid large gatherings and to wear masks around other people to help prevent further spread of COVID-19. On July 1, Governor Tom Wolf announced an order, signed by Secretary of Health Dr. Levine, requiring masks to be worn whenever anyone leaves home.

On July 3, Lebanon County, the remaining county still in yellow, will join the green phase with the rest of the state. The green phase prohibits large gatherings of more than 250 people. The newly expanded mask-wearing order also requires mask-wearing in any public space, not just in businesses.

If you have traveled, or plan to travel, to an area where there are high amounts of COVID-19 cases, it is recommended that you stay at home for 14 days upon return to Pennsylvania. If you travel to the following states, you will need to quarantine for 14 days upon return:

• Alabama
• Arizona
• Arkansas
• California
• Florida
• Georgia
• Idaho
• Louisiana
• Mississippi
• Nevada
• North Carolina
• South Carolina
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Utah

Pennsylvanians are encouraged to continue to practice social distancing and other preventive measures, including washing your hands frequently, covering coughs and sneezes, cleaning surfaces often, wearing a mask and staying home if you are sick to help reduce the spread of COVID-19.

The COVID-19 Map Series is a searchable data base offering data of confirmed COVID-19 cases, county trends, number of days since last new case, recent outbreaks, mortality rates, active cases per 100,000 people, deaths per 100,000 people, and more in each of the nation’s counties. The data is collected by Johns Hopkins University CSSE, and also appears in their US Cases by County Dashboard. Due to frequent changes, it is advised that users refresh their browsers often when viewing the map. As of today, July 2nd, at 10:30 am (ET), there were 110,639 cases in 418 Appalachian counties.

For more information about COVID-19 trends, visit the Country Level Trends Story Map for global data and check out the full methodology for details.

Expanding on the business safety order signed by Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine in April that requires the wearing of masks in businesses, Governor Tom Wolf today announced a new order signed by Dr. Levine that takes the mask-wearing directive one step further.

With this order, signed under Dr. Levine’s authority under the Disease Prevention and Control Act, masks must be worn whenever anyone leaves home. The order takes effect immediately.

The order outlines the situations when a mask must be worn and includes limited exceptions to the face-covering requirement.

Each of the state’s mitigation efforts has helped to slow the spread of COVID-19, kept our health care systems from being overwhelmed, and allowed for Gov. Wolf’s measured, phased reopening to proceed. But, with nearly every county is the green phase of reopening, complacency cannot be the norm.

More and more health experts have called for mask wearing, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who said during a June 30 Senate hearing on COVID-19, “Americans who don’t wear masks may ‘propagate the further spread of infection.’”

The mask-wearing order will be sent to state and local officials, law enforcement and others tasked with education about the order for those not in compliance.

Pennsylvania Governor Wolf’s Administration reminded Pennsylvanians of the requirements put in place for restaurants and bars to protect the health and safety of workers and patrons from COVID-19.

Under the governor’s Process to Reopen Pennsylvania, in the green phase of the state’s reopening plan restaurants and bars may open at 50 percent occupancy.

Pennsylvania’s restaurant industry guidance was developed in coordination with the Restaurant and Lodging Association. Pursuant to the guidance, all businesses and employees in the restaurant and retail food service industry are required to do the following:

• Require all customers to wear masks while entering, exiting, or otherwise traveling throughout the restaurant or retail food service business. Face coverings may be removed while seated.
• Provide at least six feet between parties at tables or physical barriers between customers where booths are arranged back to back. If tables or other seating are not movable, seat parties at least six feet apart.
• Where possible, stagger work stations to avoid employees standing next to each other. Where six feet of separation is not possible, consider spacing options that include other mitigation efforts with increased frequency of cleaning and sanitizing surfaces.
• Establish a limit for the number of employees in shared spaces, including break rooms, and offices to maintain at least a six-foot distance.
• Don’t use shared tables among multiple parties unless the seats can be arranged to maintain six feet of distance between parties.
• Train all employees on the importance and expectation of increased frequency of handwashing, the use of hand sanitizer with at least 60 percent alcohol, and provide clear instructions to avoid touching hands to face.
• Assign employee(s) to monitor and clean high touch areas frequently while in operation.
• Provide physical guides, such as tape on floors or sidewalks and signage on walls to ensure that customers remain at least six feet apart in lines or waiting for seating or in line for the restroom.

All businesses must follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Department of Health guidance for social distancing and cleaning.

No business is required to conduct in-person operations and should not do so if unable to follow applicable guidance.

As the Wolf administration closely monitors public health indicators, strict compliance with the guidance is critical to prevent spread, and the need for more stringent restrictions.

The administration also supports local governments’ more stringent protections for dining establishments’ workers and customers, such as those actions taken this week by Allegheny and Philadelphia counties.

The Pennsylvania State Police Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement (BLCE) will be conducting compliance checks at licensed facilities to ensure that the requirements of the guidance are observed. Failure to comply risks citation by the BLCE, a fine of up to $1,000, and possible suspension and/or revocation of the liquor license.

By Liz Carey

Lexington Regional Health Center in Nebraska had to stave off the surge of Covid-19 cases as well as misconceptions about the pandemic.

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The Pennsylvania Department of Health launched an online early warning monitoring dashboard that provides information statewide and county COVID-19 prevalence to track increases in disease in the community on a weekly basis.

“This dashboard provides the entire community with early warning to changes in COVID-19 infection so that we can take action to prevent spread,” Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine said. “Recent increases in COVID-19 cases in parts of the state have shown the need for Pennsylvanians to continue to take simple steps to prevent the spread of this virus. Wear a mask, wash your hands frequently, maintain social distancing and stay home if you are sick.”

The dashboard shows data points being used to assess the spread of the virus in the state and in each county, including:

• Difference in confirmed cases (last 7 days vs. previous 7 days);
• Incidence rate (last 7 days and previous 7 days) per 100,000 residents;
• PCR positivity rate (last 7 days and previous 7 days);
• Difference in the average daily number of COVID-19 hospitalizations in the last 7 days and the previous 7 days;
• Difference in the average daily number of COVID-19 patients on ventilators in the last 7 days and previous 7 days; and
• Percent of hospital emergency department visits in the last 7 days and previous 7 days due to COVID-like-illness (CLI).

The dashboard will be updated on a weekly basis to assist in providing information regarding the prevalence and severity of COVID-19 in Pennsylvania.

On Friday, June 26, Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding wrote a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue pleading for his continuance of Pennsylvania’s waiver for the need to collect client names and addresses and verify income eligibility for those receiving USDA Foods through The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) through the end of the fiscal year on September 30, 2020.

Senator Bob Casey, PA Congressional Delegation, Hunger Free PA, Feeding Pennsylvania, PA State Council of Farm Organizations, and PA State Grange echoed Secretary Redding’s message to Secretary Perdue by writing letters of support.

As a direct result of COVID-19, Pennsylvania’s charitable food system continues to experience stress from unprecedented demand. A survey of Feeding American member food banks in Pennsylvania revealed that they are seeing an average increase in demand of more than 50 percent since the pandemic began. In a state that normally serves approximately two million people annually through our emergency food response in all 67 counties, data collected since the end of March shows that Pennsylvania’s charitable food system has served more than 5.5 million people in just three months. Allowing Pennsylvania’s food banks to forgo data collection for providing USDA Foods can help to alleviate further bottlenecks at food distributions, where lines are already long.

A new investigation from KFF’s Kaiser Health News (KHN) and The Associated Press examines the troubling state of the public health infrastructure the nation is relying on to navigate the health and economic threats presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The multipart investigation, which launched today, finds that the public health workforce in the United States is underfunded and under threat, lacking the basic tools to confront the worst pandemic in a century. The novel coronavirus has infected at least 2.6 million people in the U.S., killed more than 12,000 people and cost tens of millions of jobs and $3 trillion in federal rescue money.

Among the key findings in the series’s first story, “Hollowed-Out Public Health System Faces More Cuts Amid Virus”:

• Since 2010, spending on state health departments has dropped by 16% per capita, and in local health departments by 18%, in 2019 dollars after adjusting for inflation, according to the KHN and AP analysis.
• At least 38,000 state and local public health jobs have been eliminated since the Great Recession in 2008, leaving an inadequate workforce in what was viewed in the mid-20th century as one of the world’s best public health systems.
• At least 14 states have already cut or are actively considering cuts to health department budgets or positions. States, cities and counties, facing declining revenues amid the economic downturn, are laying off and furloughing the already limited staff.

For their first investigative collaboration, KHN and AP journalists interviewed more than 150 public health workers, policymakers and experts, analyzed state and federal financial records, and surveyed statehouses around the country. Their investigation finds that governments at every level have failed to provide the public health system with the resources — both human and financial — that are required to protect the nation from pandemics.

The reporting also shows how public health officials, who already work on an array of tasks for their communities — such as administering vaccination programs, tracking and preventing infectious diseases, screening infants, monitoring water and air quality, and conducting food and restaurant inspections — are stretched thinner than ever as they work to reduce and monitor the effects of the pandemic. Departments are having to spend already constrained budgets on adequate supplies to keep workers safe as they try to implement preparedness plans and mount effective contact tracing efforts with limited staff. And they have been targeted for criticism by frustrated elected officials and members of the public who blame them for unpopular lockdowns and safety restrictions.

“Bringing together the resources of both The Associated Press and KHN enabled us to marry hard-to-wrangle data with compelling stories from the front lines of the nation’s public health system as it grapples with this pandemic,” said KHN national editor Kytja Weir.

“We are pleased to be working with Kaiser Health News to take a deep look at what is really happening inside the U.S. public health system,” said AP investigative editor Alison Kodjak. “This is important public service journalism at a critical time.”

Through the collaboration, AP and KHN have shared data and offered guidance to news organizations that are AP members and customers to help them localize the findings of the investigation for their regions. KHN and AP expect to publish more stories in the series over the coming weeks and months.

About KFF and Kaiser Health News

Filling the need for trusted information on national health issues, KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation) is a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California. KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a nonprofit news service covering health issues. KHN is an editorially independent program of KFF and, along with Policy Analysis and Polling, is one of the three major operating programs of KFF. KFF is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.

About AP

The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting. Founded in 1846, AP today remains the most trusted source of fast, accurate, unbiased news in all formats and the essential provider of the technology and services vital to the news business. More than half the world’s population sees AP journalism every day. Online: www.ap.org

Contacts:

Chris Lee | KFF | (202) 654-1403 | chrisl@kff.org
Patrick Maks | The Associated Press | (212) 621-7536 | pmaks@ap.org

Providing Peace of Mind to Parents

Recently, we have found ourselves confronted with a different kind of “normal.” For many across the country, that suddenly meant adjusting to online learning and schooling. It has also elevated the concerns parents have if their children get sick and need care.

With this in mind, the Connecting Kids to Coverage National Campaign created new resources that partners can share to remind parents and caretakers that Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) provide free or low-cost health insurance for eligible children

and teens up to age 19. With Medicaid and CHIP, parents get the peace of mind that comes with knowing their children have access to essential medical care, such as preventive services or emergency care should they get sick or injured. The resources also remind parents that even if they have applied before and were not able to obtain coverage, they may now be eligible.

In addition to an animated video in English and Spanish, the Campaign offers a print-ready palm card, poster, and direct-mail insert in English and Spanish for use in community outreach. There is also a digital button that can be added to websites to easily connect to families with health insurance information in their state through the “Find Coverage for Your Family” map on InsureKidsNow.gov.

CMS hosts varied recurring stakeholder engagement sessions to share information related to the agency’s response to COVID-19. These sessions are open to members of the healthcare community and are intended to provide updates, share best practices among peers, and offer attendees an opportunity to ask questions of CMS and other subject matter experts.

Call details are below. Conference lines are limited so we highly encourage you to join via audio webcast, either on your computer or smartphone web browser. You are welcome to share this invitation with your colleagues and professional networks. These calls are not intended for the press.

Calls recordings and transcripts are posted on the CMS podcast page at: https://www.cms.gov/Outreach-and-Education/Outreach/OpenDoorForums/PodcastAndTranscripts

 

CMS COVID-19 Office Hours Calls (Tuesdays at 5:00 – 6:00 PM Eastern)

Office Hour Calls provide an opportunity for hospitals, health systems, and providers to ask questions of agency officials regarding CMS’s temporary actions that empower local hospitals and healthcare systems to:

• Increase Hospital Capacity – CMS Hospitals Without Walls;
• Rapidly Expand the Healthcare Workforce;
• Put Patients Over Paperwork; and
• Further Promote Telehealth in Medicare

This week’s Office Hours:

Tuesday, June 30^th at 5:00 – 6:00 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 5125839

Audio Webcast link: https://protect2.fireeye.com/url?k=ccf5edaa-90a1f4d6-ccf5dc95-0cc47adc5fa2-2782135e59a172be&u=https://engage.vevent.com/rt/cms2/index.jsp?seid=2186

Additional Office Hours:

Tuesday, July 7^th at 5:00 – 6:00 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 3048844

Audio Webcast link: https://protect2.fireeye.com/url?k=80796fa5-dc2c66b6-80795e9a-0cc47adb5650-a4afd45c4f2c47d5&u=https://engage.vevent.com/rt/cms2/index.jsp?seid=2279

Tuesday, July 14^th at 5:00 – 6:00 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 2550919

Audio Webcast link: https://protect2.fireeye.com/url?k=93dafa05-cf8ee379-93dacb3a-0cc47adc5fa2-f063f3b0b409199d&u=https://engage.vevent.com/rt/cms2/index.jsp?seid=2284

Tuesday, July 21^st at 5:00 – 6:00 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 7477995

Audio Webcast link: https://protect2.fireeye.com/url?k=dadd7914-86896068-dadd482b-0cc47adc5fa2-cc1fccd04b4fd82b&u=https://engage.vevent.com/rt/cms2/index.jsp?seid=2289

Tuesday, July 28^th at 5:00 – 6:00 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 1492795

Audio Webcast link: https://protect2.fireeye.com/url?k=c408e7b1-985cce9a-c408d68e-0cc47a6d17cc-d6428ab37156e652&u=https://engage.vevent.com/rt/cms2/index.jsp?seid=2297

 

Weekly COVID-19 Care Site-Specific Calls

CMS hosts weekly calls for certain types of organizations to provide targeted updates on the agency’s latest COVID-19 guidance. One to two leaders in the field also share best practices with their peers. There is an opportunity to ask questions of presenters if time allows.

Home Health and Hospice (twice a month on Tuesday at 3:00 PM Eastern)

Tuesday, July 7th at 3:00 – 3:30 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 9480618 Audio Webcast Link: https://protect2.fireeye.com/url?k=9e9be372-c2ceeaa2-9e9bd24d-0cc47a6a52de-f0c8f791d3db00d2&u=https://engage.vevent.com/rt/cms2/index.jsp?seid=2302

Tuesday, July 21^st at 3:00 – 3:30 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 6080197 Audio Webcast Link: https://protect2.fireeye.com/url?k=df50ec0d-8305e51e-df50dd32-0cc47adb5650-2de630be928fb779&u=https://engage.vevent.com/rt/cms2/index.jsp?seid=2312

Nursing Homes (twice a month on Wednesday at 4:30 PM Eastern)

Wednesday, July 8^th at 4:30 – 5:00 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 2997138 Audio Webcast Link: https://protect2.fireeye.com/url?k=24763b39-78221212-24760a06-0cc47a6d17cc-c50990cab1b82984&u=https://engage.vevent.com/rt/cms2/index.jsp?seid=2327

Wednesday, July 22^nd t 4:30 – 5:00 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 1143564 Audio Webcast Link: https://protect2.fireeye.com/url?k=24c25ae7-789673cc-24c26bd8-0cc47a6d17cc-8b19f356735ac629&u=https://engage.vevent.com/rt/cms2/index.jsp?seid=2332

Dialysis Organizations (twice a month on Wednesday at 5:30 PM Eastern)

Wednesday, July 8^th at 5:30 – 6:00 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 8481378 Audio Webcast Link: https://protect2.fireeye.com/url?k=bbcd4d81-e79964aa-bbcd7cbe-0cc47a6d17cc-2ef526ca9b6e6aa3&u=https://engage.vevent.com/rt/cms2/index.jsp?seid=2307

Wednesday, July 22^nd at 5:30 – 6:00 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 7692208 Audio Webcast Link: https://protect2.fireeye.com/url?k=8dd709e8-d1831094-8dd738d7-0cc47adc5fa2-a95a30cf29c61d98&u=https://engage.vevent.com/rt/cms2/index.jsp?seid=2316

Nurses (twice a month on Thursdays at 3:00 PM Eastern)

Thursday, July 9^th at 3:00 – 3:30 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 9386539 Audio Webcast Link: https://protect2.fireeye.com/url?k=71ee84db-2dba9da7-71eeb5e4-0cc47adc5fa2-f9b0e675e63411da&u=https://engage.vevent.com/rt/cms2/index.jsp?seid=2336

Thursday, July 23^rd at 3:00 – 3:30 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 7971869 Audio Webcast Link: https://protect2.fireeye.com/url?k=69050b19-35512232-69053a26-0cc47a6d17cc-d054f6ea80376c59&u=https://engage.vevent.com/rt/cms2/index.jsp?seid=2341

 

Lessons from the Front Lines: COVID-19 (twice a month on Fridays at 12:30 – 2:00 PM Eastern)

Lessons from the Front Lines calls are a joint effort between CMS Administrator Seema Verma, FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn, MD, and the White House Coronavirus Task Force. Physicians and other clinicians are invited to share their experience, ideas, strategies, and insights with one another related to their COVID-19 response. There is an opportunity to ask questions of presenters.

Next Lessons from the Front Lines:

Friday, July 17^th at 12:30 – 2:00 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 833-614-0820; Access Code: 3096434

Web Link: https://protect2.fireeye.com/url?k=e90f977f-b55a9eaf-e90fa640-0cc47a6a52de-94729173f725755c&u=https://engage.vevent.com/rt/cms2/index.jsp?seid=2322

 

To keep up with the important work the White House Task Force is doing in response to COVID-19 click here: https://protect2.fireeye.com/url?k=36fa2226-6aae0b0d-36fa1319-0cc47a6d17cc-2d06c219f858d641&u=http://www.coronavirus.gov/. For information specific to CMS, please visit the Current Emergencies Website.