DOH: One Northumberland County COVID-19 death linked to long-term care facility; State has 526 new cases – Sunbury Daily Item

Parts of Pennsylvania that were among the hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic will move next week into the less restrictive green zone for reopening businesses and restarting group activities, the Wolf administration announced Friday.

State Department of Health officials also announced Friday one person with ties to a Northumberland County long-term care facility has died as a result of COVID-19, according to its latest data released Friday.

The 12 counties going from yellow to green under Gov. Tom Wolf's color-colored reopening system include Philadelphia and its heavily populated collar suburbs of Montgomery, Bucks, Chester and Delaware counties.

Other counties moving to green next week will be Lehigh and Northampton in the Lehigh Valley; Erie County, where local officials have pressed for looser restrictions; Lackawanna and Susquehanna counties in the northeast; and Berks and Lancaster counties.

The changes will encompass the cities of Allentown, Bethlehem, Erie, Scranton, Lancaster and Reading.

In the green zone, gyms, barbers and theaters can reopen at reduced capacity. Bars and restaurants may allow indoor dining, also at reduced capacity. Gatherings of up to 250 people are permitted in green zones.

Wolf, a Democrat, said local officials in Philadelphia will maintain some additional restrictions for an additional week, until July 3.

The only county left in the yellow zone is Lebanon County in central Pennsylvania. In a release, the Wolf administration blamed Republican county officials for voting to open about a month ago. A message was left seeking comment from the Lebanon County commissioners and the county administrator.

"Lebanon County's partisan, politically driven decision to ignore public health experts and reopen prematurely is having severe consequences for the health and safety of county residents," Wolf's health secretary, Dr. Rachel Levine, said in the release. "Case counts have escalated and the county is not yet ready to be reopened. Lebanon County has hindered its progress by reopening too early."

The number of new infections has been rising in Lebanon County since late May, increase from 88 new cases over the 14-day period ending May 28 to 213 new cases in the 14-day period ending Thursday.

A Republican state lawmaker from Lebanon, Rep. Russ Diamond, was prime sponsor of a resolution passed by both chambers earlier this month to end Wolf's shutdown. The state Supreme Court will decide whether that resolution carries any legal weight.

New cases

Health officials confirmed another two cases in nursing or personal care homes in the county, the only two additional cases in Northumberland County. There is also one new case in Union County.

According to the state's latest data, there are 18 total cases among residents and four employees of nursing or personal care homes in Northumberland County. There is also one case among workers at two separate facilities in Union County.

At least 17 of the 22 cases in Northumberland County are at ManorCare Health Services-Sunbury, according to the parent company's most recent set of facility data updated Thursday evening.

The state has not disclosed which facility housed the person who died, nor whether the individual was a resident or an employee.

A separate statewide database, last updated on June 10, does not indicate which county facilities have had positive cases. ManorCare-Sunbury, operated by HCR ManorCare based out of Ohio, shows on its latest system-wide data that it has tested 53 patients. Of the 53 tests, 13 have come back positive along with four employees. The facility, located at 901 Court St., is listed among HCR ManorCare's "tier 3" facilities, a designation that comes with more strict protocols.

Calls to the HCR ManorCare headquarters were not returned on Thursday.

State health officials announced another 526 cases on Friday, pushing the statewide total to 80,762. There were also 38 COVID-19 related deaths, giving Pennsylvania 6,399 deaths since tracking began in March.

In nursing and personal care homes across the state, there are 16,895 resident cases of COVID-19, and 3,012 cases among employees, for a total of 19,907 at 651 distinct facilities in 47 counties. Of the state's 6,399 deaths, 4,345 have been residents of nursing or personal care facilities.

Approximately 6,092 of Pennsylvania's total cases are in health care workers.

Since the state began tracking data in March, there have been 467 cases in the Valley: 254 in Northumberland County, 84 in Union, 68 in Montour and 61 in Snyder.

The DOH estimates 77 percent of the state's positives have recovered already.

Statewide, 725 patients remain hospitalized due to COVID-19, including 162 on ventilators. Four of the patients on ventilators are in Montour County.

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DOH: One Northumberland County COVID-19 death linked to long-term care facility; State has 526 new cases - Sunbury Daily Item