During the Lycoming County Commissioners work session on Tuesday morning at 10 a.m. a tone change occurred in response to the comments made yesterday by Governor Tom Wolf calling out counties attempting to move from Red status to Yellow status as reported by News Talk 104.1.
When challenged on withholding funding Governor Wolf doubled down on the threat of Cares Act Funding possibly being in limbo if his orders were not followed.
Congressman Keller also weighed in immediately, “Congressman Keller blasts Gov. Wolf’s threat to withhold funding and protections from PA counties and businesses.”
The claim made by Governor Wolf, of the US Supreme Court giving him power was pushed back on by News Talk 104.1, in fact the USSC only ruled in his favor regarding an immediate “Stay” of his business closure order. What remains at issue with the court is the constitutionality of the orders and other issues as well.
Answers from the Wolf Administration are due to the US Supreme Court in early June.
RURAL COUNTIES REMAIN CLOSED WITH LOW CASE COUNTS
News Talk 104.1 asked a number of questions of Secretary Levine on Tuesday and received the following from the Department of Health as noted.
Question: Sec. Levine, you answered News Talk 104.1 on the question of cases in rural PA by stating “we know cases are under reported in those counties”, Sullivan and Warren Counties each have one case nearly a month later, are cases still being under reported?
Question: What is your reaction to the Governor threatening to withhold funding to counties that defy his orders and your orders?
Question: Do you agree funding should be withheld that may have a negative impact on providing social services at the county level?
Question: 34 counties have less than 100 cases as of today, is that enough of a threshold to move to Green?
Question: 10 additional counties have less than 200 cases as of today (including Lycoming), is that enough of a threshold to move to Green?
Question: As a follow-up, what threshold will be used to move counties to Green and is a single case enough to immediately move to Green?
Question: Sullivan County had zero cases on March 28th, their only case was reported on April 4th, when will they be able to move into Green status?
“There are a number of metrics that are factored into reopening – low case counts is certainly one factor being considered in those decisions.
The Wolf Administration is taking a data driven approach as part of the process to reopen Pennsylvania. There will be a number of metrics that will be used to determine whether a region is prepared to move from the red phase to the green phase.
Metrics will include but are not limited to:
– Testing availability
– Available hospital beds
– Carnegie-Mellon modeling data
– Population-based rate of the number of confirmed cases over 14 days.
From the time this pandemic reached Pennsylvania, our priority has been to save lives and ensure that our health care system could treat people who become sick, without overwhelming the entire system.
Our social distancing efforts have paid off and we have been able to prevent a surge of patients needing urgent care. We need to continue this effort to ensure that Pennsylvanians remain safe.
At this time, we are still working to move counties and regions to the yellow phase and to provide guidance on what mitigation and social distancing will be required in that phase.
In the yellow phase, gatherings may not include more than 25 individuals and six feet of social distancing is still required.
As we move to the green phase, businesses will be required to follow Department of Health and CDC guidelines.
Individuals will also be required to follow guidelines in place. We will be working on what those guidelines look like from the department as we prepare regions and counties for the green phase.”
Maggi Mumma, Deputy Press Secretary, PA Department of Health Press Office
NURSING AND PERSONAL CARE HOME ISSUES
Question: Should the protocols just announced been in place prior to ordering patients into nursing homes? Why has it taken until today to put these measures in place?
Question: Sec. Levine, is the DOH sending in additional resources to address the outbreak at Manor Care in Jersey Shore which has nearly 70 cases and multiple deaths?
I cannot comment on specific facilities, although as Dr. Levine said today, we will be providing data on facilities with cases in the future.
We know that congregate care settings, such as long-term care facilities, face particular challenges from COVID-19. We are working to ensure the health and well being of all in these facilities.
The department never ordered patients into nursing homes.
Some of the measures announced today, such as the testing component, could not have been announced earlier because the capacity to provide widespread testing was not there.
Nate Nate Wardle, Press Secretary Department of Health, Office of Communications
The above statements were provided after the Tuesday Department of Health briefing at 2:00 p.m.
COMMISSIONER METZGER ISSUES COMMENTS CRITICAL OF GOVERNOR WOLF
Lycoming County Commissioner Scott Metzger in his own words.
“And then lastly I want to talk about what was said yesterday by the governor and and then our numbers.
Everyday we receive a Department of Health update on covid-19
It comes about 1150 (a.m.) everyday.
And In bold print they put provides update and it gives how many positives are for the day and it brings a Statewide total to such and such.
Everyday that number goes up and you hear that everyday 52,915 as of yesterday. Down at the very bottom in small print they put how many people tested negative today.
They don’t emphasize that, they emphasize the positives, what they also do is they don’t tell how many people have recovered from this?
We’re eight weeks into this.
I guarantee you 52,915 people still do not have covid.
I guarantee you.
I can tell you how many have passed away.
And out of those 3,700 that sadly passed away.
2,500 of them have been from nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Which is about 70%.
So our resources should be going to help those individuals.
We have 132 cases in Lycoming County.
And this is where people have to stop living in fear.
O.K., yesterday the governor says we need to understand the consequences of their cowardly act. They are engaging in behavior that’s both selfish and unsafe.
We’re surrendering to the enemy if you go out and do something that he says is a no-no.
He emphasized the discretionary funding from the CARES ACT Fund could possibly be at risk, if you don’t go by what he says.
The reward for deserting cannot be that you’re just like everybody else and you get the funding.
Businesses that do not, businesses that do follow the whims of local politicians and ignore the law and the welfare of their customers will probably find themselves uninsured.
To those politicians…
Yes, this is in reference to the County’s they were talking about going against his orders defying what he was saying.
So he refers to this is a cowardly act. He’s politicians. I’m not a politician. I never will be Iowa public. I am a public servant I serve the people. They don’t know serve, K, They don’t serve me I serve them.
And when I see businesses losing their livelihoods and say please get things open.
And I support that or I can encourage it.
I’m not going to go against a directive or an order.
When you sit there and you oppose it, you disagree you’re called a coward.
That’s just wrong.
What’s cowardly, is keeping people in the dark, scaring people keeping them suppressed, that’s what a coward is.
Fear.
Put fear in people.
So as I look at this nice these numbers all over the board.
Let’s get the numbers accurate.
What is say how many because out of the 132 in Lycoming County 73 are in Jersey Shore.
65 of those came from Assisted Living.
All eight deaths came from nursing home sadly.
You can talk to UPMC, they can tell you they know exactly where everyone got this virus that came in three ways.
Number one.
People were working in the metropolitan areas where people are on top of each other. They were either working there and came back to Lycoming County or they were there visiting for a period of time and acquired it, first wave.
Second wave, the people living with them.
The third wave, most recently the nursing homes.
They know where they got it.
They don’t know and you’re not a person walk around this County, did I get it from the grocery store?
Did I get it from a big-box store?
Did I get it from touching a doorknob?
The fear has to stop.
We have to be responsible.
Like anything when it comes to the flu season, this is a serious serious thing with respiratory.
So we protect the people that are in homes.
We need to protect the people that have health issues.
And we need to protect the elderly and the seniors.
To be questioned on anything else and be so afraid that if you come out of the house and you do something that may against to go against the directive that you’re immoral.
That you’re risking people’s help.
You’re being a responsible.
You’re not being a responsible.
I commend people that are trying to make a livelihood.
Because poverty will kill anybody quicker than anything out there.
So I say these aren’t cowardly acts, these are people that are trying to protect their rights the First Amendment rights to go to church Free Speech.
The rights to earn a living, honestly.
Those are the ones we need to listen to; their the people put me here.
I’m a public servant.
I’m not a politician and I’m not going to go according to what a special interest group wants me to do as I see three governors that have now postponed primaries, and put stay at home orders in the state of Virginia, the state of New Jersey and the state of Pennsylvania, now two days after the stay stay at home order.
Our case is now June 4th and the red counties with a primary June 2nd.
Is that a coincidence?
Thank you.”
On Tuesday, according the Lycoming County Coroner Charles Kieelsing confirmed to News Talk 104.1 the number of suicides (9) since the start of the year now matches the number of deaths attributed to COVID-19.
Is it fair to say the pandemic and its crippling economic impact contributed to those suicides?
Why is Governor Wolf putting County Commissioners at odds with his administration when 44 counties have less than 200 positive cases of COVID-19?
Lycoming County is currently in Yellow status.
When the move to Green status occurs is anyone’s guess.
A mass protest of the current business closure order and stay at home orders is scheduled for Friday on the Capitol steps in Harrisburg.
