On Monday Governor Tom Wolf and Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine responded to News Talk 104.1 questions on various COVID-19 topics.
Press Secretary for the Department of Health, Nate Wardle offered the following in response:
Question: Sec. Levine, what is the current lag time in receiving testing results?
Your question about lag time in test results really depends on which lab you are speaking about. Our public health lab, and many of the academic clinical labs have 24 hour or less turn around times from when the specimen reaches the facility.
Many of the commercial labs do take longer to provide results, but the majority of results are now coming in in around 3-5 days or less.
Question: Is there a plan to test larger portions of the population that are currently asymptomatic?
At this time we are working to test those individuals who are most at-risk. We are telling people who are sick but do not need medical treatment to stay home. However, an antibody test, once developed, will be able to assist in finding out who has had the virus, and who has not. This will help us to fully know how many Pennsylvanians had COVID-19.
Question: After the stay at home order is lifted, what type of social distancing efforts do you see going forward?
As far as social distancing efforts that would continue after the stay-at-home order is lifted, those are conversations that are currently occurring between the Governor and his cabinet, and more information will be shared as we determine when the stay-at-home order can be lifted.
The other question posed by News Talk 104.1 this afternoon (listed below), has at this writing gone unanswered.
UPDATED: Monday, 5:12 P.M.
Question: Gov. Wolf, what would you say to those rural PA business owners who had to close and in a 10 county area where the case count just reached 100?
Lyndsay Kensinger, Press Secretary for Governor Wolf offered the following response Monday evening:
The governor’s highest priority remains protecting all Pennsylvanians’ health and safety as the state works to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. As we prepare for the surge, we should be focused on the implementation of our mitigation plan across the state. Now is not the time to ease up on the commonwealth’s strong mitigation tactics that can help flatten the curve and ease the burden likely to be placed on our healthcare system. The governor is as eager as anyone to see Pennsylvanians headed back to work, but reopening businesses too early will only extend the length of the economic hardships created by the pandemic.
Stay tuned to News Talk 104.1 & 1600 WEJS as well as talkwilliamsport.com for more on this developing story.
