Coronavirus is here. Now what?

We all have role to play in protecting the vulnerable

• Russ Walker
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  Russ Walker joined PA Post in 2019 as executive editor. He previously worked at KING 5 News, the NBC-affiliated TV station serving Seattle and Western Washington. At KING, Russ oversaw the award-winning investigative unit and managed the newsroom’s daily operations. His background includes stints as an editor for POLITICO, washingtonpost.com, FreedomChannel.com, American Health Line and U.N. Wire. He is a graduate of Vanderbilt University. Russ and his wife, journalist and cookbook author Kim O’Donnel, live in Lancaster.

 Courtesy PA Dept. of Health

Coronavirus (COVID-19) prevention tips published by the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

Courtesy PA Dept. of Health

Coronavirus (COVID-19) prevention tips published by the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

The coronavirus is in Pennsylvania. The six presumed cases, so far, don’t appear to be the result of “community spread” — as in, not the result of the virus circulating among lots of people in the state.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health is providing regular updates with lots of useful information. It’s a go-to resource for medical professionals and citizens alike. Some other good guides include:

• Don’t Panic: The comprehensive Ars Technica guide to the coronavirus

• Just For Kids: A Comic Exploring The New Coronavirus

• Pennsylvania Medical Society

• Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania

• Johns Hopkins University

• Penn Medicine

• PennState Health

• UPMC

For most people, getting the virus could be like having the flu — bad, but not fatal. There are even some cases reported where the infection is very mild or even asymptomatic.

But the situation in Washington state suggests the virus is very hard on seniors and anyone with a suppressed immune system. As a New York Times reporter tweeted, 16 of the 18 deaths in the state occurred at one nursing home, and that brings the mortality rate for the virus among this group of people to 13 percent.

Nursing homes in western Pa. are stepping up prevention efforts, according to this story from the Washington Observer-Reporter. “We are pushing the fact that you should keep your hands clean. It’s important to wash your hands frequently,” said one medical professional. Coronavirus was the topic of this week’s Pennsylvania Newsmakers show, and the head of the Pennsylvania Health Care Association appeared to discuss “preventive steps being taken to manage the Coronavirus risk in nursing homes, and needed assistance from state government.” Watch the full episode here.

Schools in parts of the state are grappling with how to respond. Some, like Germantown Academy in Montgomery County, are canceling classes for a week or long. Others are keeping a watchful eye on the situation, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Jeffrey Lord, a conservative commentator from Camp Hill, announced Sunday that he is going into self-quarantine because he attended the CPAC conference in Washington, DC, where it’s now known that a person with coronavirus was in attendance. That same news prompted two GOP lawmakers — Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar — to also announce they are going into two-week quarantines.

It looks like one of the presumed Pennsylvania infections is a man who works for the pharmaceutical company Biogen. The man attended a conference in Palm Beach County on Feb. 28, the Miami Herald reports. After returning home, he became ill and notified health officials of his symptoms.

Potentially good news for Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield members: The health insurer is waiving member copays for coronavirus testing. More details here from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. UPMC is also covering the costs, though WESA notes that both Highmark and UPMC will let employers who contract their health plans with the two providers to opt out and require patients to cover the costs.

Finally, I found this podcast episode to be very informative about the virus. It’s an interview conducted by Alan Alda (yes, THAT Alan Alda) with Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert. More about Fauci’s role from The New York Times and The Washington Post.

Stay healthy, and WASH YOUR HANDS!

Best of the rest

Russ Walker / PA Post

The state historical marker honoring Anne Brancato Wood, the first woman Democrat elected to the Pennsylvania legislature. The marker stands in downtown Philadelphia on Chestnut St. (Russ Walker / PA Post)

• International Women’s Day was Sunday, a day to celebrate “the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women,” and a “call to action for accelerating women’s equality.” This author was walking the streets of Philadelphia and came across the historical marker above about Anne Brancato Wood, a pathbreaking politician who became the first woman in the Democratic Party to be elected to Pennsylvania’s legislature. Here’s the entry about her on ExplorePAHistory.com. The Republican Party, meanwhile, sent eight women — 8! — to the legislature as a result of the 1922 elections. They were: Sarah Gerturde MacKinney, Alice M. Bentley, Rosa S. De Young, Sarah M. Gallaher, Helen Grimes, Lillie H. Pitts, Martha G. Speiser, and Martha G. Thomas.

• Tim Murtaugh is the communications director for President Trump’s reelection campaign. He’s also a Delaware County native. He was in the state this weekend to speak to the Lehigh Valley Republican Committee, and The Morning Call was there to cover his remarks. The strong economy will be central to the president’s reelection, Murtaugh told attendees. He also previewed a line of attack against Joe Biden, should the former VP wind up as the Democratic nominee: “Bernie Sanders has been the intellectual leader and thought leader for the Democratic Party for the entirety of this race,” Murtaugh said. “If Biden is the nominee, we have to educate people that Biden has endorsed every word of Bernie’s agenda. He has adopted all of Bernie’s positions.”

• Berks County officials are ramping up efforts to get as many people as possible to participate in the 2020 census. Some parts of the county were undercounted in 2010, leaders there say, and they want to avoid that this time. “County Commissioner Kevin S. Barnhardt, who is leading the local Complete Count Committee, said an undercount of just 4% would result in a loss of $350 million in funding for the county and its residents over the next decade,” the Reading Eagle reports.

• You’ve been warned! Starting Monday, PennDOT will be using cameras to catch drivers who speed through highway construction zones. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the state “will station up to 17 white Jeep Cherokees at work zones where there is concern about speeding. Ten of the vehicles will be deployed by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation on state roads and seven more will be placed by the Pennsylvania Turnpike.” The speed cameras will only operate when road crews are actually on duty, according to PennDOT.

• March 20 journalism education opportunity: Join PA Post and partners in Pittsburgh for a one-day conference on Pennsylvania’s Right to Know and Sunshine laws. Details here.

• March 21 investigative reporting workshop: Investigative Reporters & Editors is bringing its Watchdog Workshop series to Pittsburgh. Registration includes a FREE IRE membership. Cost is $55 for professionals and $25 for students. Find additional information here.