COVID-19 UPDATE: Resources, information, and helpful tips to protect you and your family!
Senator Fontana Hosts a Telephone Town Hall on the Coronavirus
Senator Fontana Hosts a Telephone Town Hall on the Coronavirus
LIVE daily briefings from the PA Department of Health:
pacast.com/live/doh or www.governor.pa.gov/live/ or watch on Facebook
Vaccine Information
I co-hosted a virtual townhall on January 11, 2021 with Department of Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine and officials from PEMA and the PA Department of Health who are responsible for overseeing the rollout of the COVID vaccine.
Latest News
Department Of Health Encourages Food Safety, COVID-19 Precautions For Upcoming Holidays
Harrisburg, PA - Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine today urged Pennsylvanians to take COVID-19 and food safety precautions as they plan household celebrations during the upcoming holidays. “We know that one of the best parts of the holiday season is spending...
Department Of Health Provides Update On COVID-19: 6,026 Patients Hospitalized And 1,249 Patients In The Intensive Care Unit
Harrisburg, PA - The Pennsylvania Department of Health today confirmed as of 12:00 a.m., December 15, that there were 9,556 additional positive cases of COVID-19, bringing the statewide total to 509,320. There are 6,026 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19,...
Department Of Health: Pennsylvania To Receive 97,500 Doses Of COVID-19 Vaccine Going To 87 Hospitals; Philadelphia County To Receive 13,650 Doses
Harrisburg, PA - Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine today announced that Pennsylvania is slated to receive 97,500 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for 66 counties, with Philadelphia County receiving its own allotment of 13,650 doses, for a total...
State Police Bureau Of Liquor Control Enforcement December 11-13: 526 Compliance Checks; 14 Notices Of Violation
Harrisburg, PA – Pennsylvania State Police Liquor Control Enforcement Officers visited 526 licensed liquor establishments from Friday, December 11 through Sunday, December 13 to ensure businesses are abiding by COVID-19 mitigation requirements, including the...
Department Of Health Provides Update On COVID-19: 5,970 Patients Hospitalized And 1,227 Patients In The Intensive Care Unit
Harrisburg, PA - The Pennsylvania Department of Health today confirmed as of 12:00 a.m., December 14, that there were 7,962 new cases, in addition to 10,684 new cases reported Sunday, December 13 for a two-day total of 18,646 additional positive cases of...
Pennsylvania COVID-19 Early Warning Monitoring Dashboard Update for Dec. 4 – Dec. 10: Case Increases Above 60,400; Percent Positivity at 16.2% and All 67 Counties with Substantial Transmission
Governor Tom Wolf and Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine today released a weekly status update detailing the state’s mitigation efforts based on the COVID-19 Early Warning Monitoring System Dashboard, highlighting a seven-day case increase of 60,412 cases, a...
Gov. Wolf, NJ Gov. Murphy, Protect Our Care Coronavirus War Room Call on Congress to Provide COVID-19 Relief Package Now
Governor Tom Wolf participated in a media call today with New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and Protect Our Care Coronavirus War Room Director Zac Petkanas to make the case for immediate passage of a much-needed state and local bipartisan Congressional COVID relief...
Department Of Health Provides Update On COVID-19: 5,668 Patients Hospitalized And 1,151 Patients In The Intensive Care Unit
Harrisburg, PA - The Pennsylvania Department of Health today confirmed as of 12:00 a.m., December 12, that there were 11,084 additional positive cases of COVID-19, bringing the statewide total to 481,118. There are 5,668 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19. Of...
Secretary Of Health Testifies On COVID-19 Vaccine In Front Of Congress
Harrisburg, PA – Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine yesterday testified in front of the Senate, Commerce, Science and Transportation Subcommittee on Transportation and Safety at a hearing entitled, “The Logistics of Transporting a COVID-19 VaccineOpens In...
Gov. Wolf Receives Second Negative COVID-19 Test
Governor Tom Wolf announced that on Thursday evening, he received his second negative PCR test since his diagnosis. The governor had a positive PCR test on Tuesday and negative PCR tests on Wednesday evening and Thursday evening. It appears the positive PCR test on...
Health Care Systems, Others Show Support for Latest COVID-19 Mitigation Efforts
One day after Governor Tom Wolf and Sec. of Health Dr. Rachel Levine announced stricter mitigation measures to help stop the spread of COVID-19 cases to protect Pennsylvanians and the state’s health care systems, workers and businesses, health care organizations and...
State Police Bureau Of Liquor Control Enforcement December 7-10: 766 Compliance Checks; 10 Notices Of Violation
Harrisburg, PA – Pennsylvania State Police Liquor Control Enforcement Officers visited 766 licensed liquor establishments from Monday, December 7 through Thursday, December 10 to ensure businesses are abiding by COVID-19 mitigation requirements that include...
Department Of Education Provides An Update To Help School Communities Safely Navigate COVID-19
Harrisburg, PA - Acting Education Secretary Noe Ortega and Deputy Secretary Matt Stem hosted a media-only virtual press conference to provide school-specific information related to Governor Wolf's recently announced updated mitigation order. Ortega and Stem also...
Department Of Corrections Reorganizes System For Continued Improvement Efforts To Mitigate COVID-19
Harrisburg, PA – Yesterday, Department of Corrections (DOC) leaders began to reorganize the state prison system to continue and improve its COVID-19 mitigation efforts. This 13-day system reset will maximize bed space throughout the DOC and changes the mission of...
Gov. Wolf, Sec. of Health Announce New Protective Mitigation Efforts to Put Pennsylvania on Pause through Early January
As COVID-19 cases continue to rise, Governor Tom Wolf and Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine today implored Pennsylvanians to take the next three weeks and stand united against the virus by adhering to existing mitigation orders and stricter efforts announced...
First Lady Frances Wolf Tests Negative for COVID-19
First Lady Frances Wolf announced today that she has tested negative for COVID-19. She will continue to quarantine at home, as per CDC and Department of Health guidelines. This comes after Governor Tom Wolf tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday, December 8. Governor...
Department Of Health Provides Update On COVID-19: 5,852 Patients Hospitalized And 1,191 Patients In The Intensive Care Unit
Harrisburg, PA - The Pennsylvania Department of Health today confirmed as of 12:00 a.m., December 10, that there were 11,972 additional positive cases of COVID-19, bringing the statewide total to 457,289. There are 5,852 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19. Of...
Department Of State Releases COVID-19 Enforcement Actions, Nov. 29 – Dec. 6
Harrisburg, PA – The Department of State's Bureau of Enforcement and Investigation (BEI) today released data related to COVID-19 enforcement actions from Nov. 29 through Dec. 6. With COVID cases increasing across the commonwealth, the Department of State is...
Gov. Wolf Tests Positive for COVID-19
Governor Tom Wolf announced today that he tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday and is in isolation at home. The governor released the following statement: “During a routine test yesterday, I tested positive for COVID-19. I have no symptoms and am feeling well. I am...
Department Of Health Provides Update On COVID-19: 5,561 Patients Hospitalized And 1,160 Patients In The Intensive Care Unit
Harrisburg, PA - The Pennsylvania Department of Health today confirmed as of 12:00 a.m., December 9, that there were 8,703 additional positive cases of COVID-19, bringing the statewide total to 445,317. There are 5,561 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19. Of...
Department Of Agriculture Releases COVID-19 Restaurant Enforcement Actions, November 30 – December 6
Harrisburg, PA - The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture today released data related to COVID-19 restaurant enforcement actions from November 30 through December 6, 2020. The information is specific to COVID-19 mitigation requirements for restaurants including...
What You Need to Know About COVID-19
The Coronavirus was first discovered during an outbreak in Wuhan, China. The 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is a new virus that causes respiratory illness in people and can spread from person-to-person. Symptoms of COVID-19 can include: fever, cough, and shortness of breath. Symptoms often do not appear in a person until 2 to 14 days after exposure.
Prepare Yourself and Your Family
The best way to avoid contracting COVID-19 is by practicing vital social distancing procedures. It is recommended to work remotely and severely limit contact with others.
If you think you have come into contact with someone exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms or are exhibiting them yourself, please follow the instructions on the graphic below:
PennDOT/Real ID Updates
Federal REAL ID Enforcement Deadline Postponed to October 2021
The Department of Homeland Security has postponed the enforcement date for REAL ID from October 1, 2020, to October 1, 2021, in response to COVID-19 and the national emergency declaration.
PennDOT closed all driver and photo license centers on March 16 and paused REAL ID issuance in the state out of an abundance of caution and in the interest of public health. Centers will reopen no sooner than April 3. PennDOT also sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, requesting that the agency consider extending the October 1, 2020 REAL ID enforcement deadline.
REAL ID is a federal law that affects how states issue driver’s licenses and ID cards if they are going to be acceptable for federal purposes. A federally-acceptable form of identification (whether it’s a Pennsylvania REAL ID driver’s license or ID card, a valid U.S. Passport/Passport Card, a military ID, etc.) must now be used on and after October 1, 2021, as identification to board a commercial flight or visit a secure federal building that requires a federally acceptable form of identification ID for access.
REAL ID is optional in Pennsylvania. There is no requirement that any resident obtain a REAL ID; PennDOT will continue to offer standard-issue driver’s licenses and photo IDs once issuance has resumed.
More information about document requirements, including a printable document checklist, can be found on the Document Check page of the PennDOT Driver and Vehicle Services website.
Protect Yourself
Medical Costs
As of March 9, the Governor announced that all major health insurers in Pennsylvania have agreed to cover “medically appropriate” COVID-19 testing and treatment.
The 10 major insurers are:
- Aetna
- Capital Blue Cross
- Cigna
- Geisinger
- Highmark
- Independence BlueCross
- Oscar
- Pennsylvania Health & Wellness
- UnitedHealthcare
- UPMC Health Plan
For anyone with questions about their insurance policy, please contact your insurer or the Pennsylvania State Insurance Department with questions. They can also be reached at (877) 881-6388.
Remote Medical Attention and Care
Health officials are urging people who have symptoms to stay home and contact their doctor remotely rather than opting for an in-person visit. Nearly all major health systems offer some form of virtual visits and assistance. Some insurers do, too. People interested in a specific virtual visit should check to see what illnesses it can be used for. Be sure to reach out to your insurance provider to verify this service is covered with your plan.
Here’s an brief overview of virtual visit services offered to local residents:
Capital BlueCross – is offering free medical Virtual Care visits for members who currently have the Virtual Care benefit. The waiving of fees will be effective March 13 through April 15, 2020.
Highmark – is providing many of their members with a virtual clinic visit service. Any fees related to COVID-19 will be waived.
UPMC Pinnacle – is welcoming Online Video Visits for those experience flu like symptoms or just in need of a follow-up appointment. Video visits are available through the MyPinnacleHealth portal for $49.
WellSpan Health – WellSpan Online Urgent Care offers a video visits with Teladoc physicians for patients 3 months and older for their standard fee of $49.
CALLING ALL PSYCHOLOGIST! Things may be picking up for you at this time, so we want to make sure you are covered too. Here are some COVID-19 resources on how to best protect yourself and serve your patients from the Pennsylvania Psychologist Association.
How to Stay Informed
Below is an extensive list of information, statistics, and resources to ensure you stay up-to-date with any changes happening due to COVID-19.
My Office
While our offices are closed, we are working remotely. Please call 412-344-2551 and leave a message or email [email protected] and someone will get back in touch with you as soon as possible.
ENewsletters
- Make sure you are signed up to receive my electronic newsletter (you can sign up HERE)
- To view all past issues of “News & Views” eNews, CLICK HERE
Pennsylvania Department of Health
- The PA DoH Daily COVID-19 report. Updated regularly throughout the day.
- Follow the PA Health Department on Twitter.
- Follow them on Facebook.
A complete list of information and resources available to you by county:
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Track confirmed cases in the US. (This site is updated weekdays at noon and shows numbers that were current as of 4 p.m. the previous day.)
- CDC provided information regarding “What you should know about COVID-19”
- Follow the CDC on Twitter.
- Follow the CDC on Facebook.
- Learn how best to prevent “community transition” with specific details on what to do before, during, and after outbreaks.
World Health Organization
- Learn what’s happening Worldwide with the WHO’s Daily report. The most recent report is located at the top of the page. It includes confirmed case and death tallies.
- Additional COVID-19 information is provided on their website.
- Stay informed on Twitter.
- Follow their Facebook page.