Wolf closes schools indefinitely
By KRISTIE LINDEN
klinden@yourmvi.com
Gov. Tom Wolf ended speculation that things might return to normal any time soon Monday when he announced schools will remain closed until further notice.
“Until now, I’ve been saying ‘another two weeks, another two weeks,’” Wolf said. “Now I’m going to leave the date indefinite. We’re going to keep our schools and businesses closed as long as we need to keep them closed to keep Pennsylvania safe. Right now, it isn’t safe.”
Non-life-sustaining businesses will remain closed and all 26 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties under the stay-at-home order will remain so until April 30.
Allegheny, Washington and Westmoreland counties are under the order.
According to the state department of health, there are 4,087 cases of coronavirus here and there have been 48 deaths.
Nationally, there are 140,904 cases according to the Centers for Disease Control and, of those, 2,405 have died.
Across the country, about 1.7% who have contracted the illness have died of it, and in Pennsylvania the rate is slightly lower at about 1.1%. Typically, about .1% of those who contract influenza die from it.
There are just eight counties in the state who have no reported cases as this point.
Allegheny has 290 cases and has reported two deaths. Fayette has 11 cases, Washington has 26 and Westmoreland has 55.
“The continued rise in cases combined with our increasing deaths from COVID-19 reflects the seriousness of this situation,” Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said. “We need everyone to listen to the orders in place and to stay calm, stay home and stay safe. We know that these prolonged mitigation effects have been difficult for everyone, but it is essential that everyone follows these orders and does not go out unless they absolutely must.”
Allegheny County
Allegheny County Health Department has designed an interactive map for its website that enables people to find out how many cases have been reported in their communities.
Other area counties have lamented not being able to do the same, in particular Washington and Westmoreland, which do not have their own health departments. Officials have said they’ve tried to get the same information from the state and haven’t had success.
In the Valley, there has been one reported case in Elizabeth Township, one in Elizabeth borough, one in White Oak, three in McKeesport and two in Glassport.
Westmoreland County
The Westmoreland County Department of Public Safety posted a chart on its Facebook page that depicts how quickly the number of patients has increased. In the last week, cases went from less than 10 to 55 and counting.
“Westmoreland County DPS cannot stress enough the importance of following the mitigation guidelines as we continue to respond to COVID-19,” the post states. “We encourage everyone to help follow the social distancing orders on their own merit to reduce community spread within our county.”
