Latest Secret data reveal how COVID-19 swept through Philadelphia nursing homes
The first confirmation that the coronavirus had infiltrated a Philadelphia nursing home came on March 20, an unseasonably warm Friday that hit 79 degrees. A test of a resident at the Renaissance Healthcare & Rehabilitation Center for COVID-19 came back positive.
In the weeks since, the coronavirus has torn through almost all of Philadelphia’s long-term care facilities, infecting at least 1,800 seniors, according to city records obtained exclusively by The Inquirer.
This first-ever picture of the havoc, how it spread, where and which homes were hit first and hardest is based on data the city inadvertently made available online that charted test results of residents at those homes from the start of the pandemic through April 23.
The consequences have been catastrophic: At least nine Philadelphia nursing homes had 50 or more cases by then. As of Saturday, 374 nursing home residents have died of the virus, accounting for more than half of Philadelphia’s COVID-19 deaths.
— Sean Collins Walsh, Dylan Purcell, Harold Brubaker
NJ park officials note state parks overrun amid warm weekend weather
As warm weekend weather and shutdown fatigue combined to draw scores of people out of their homes Saturday, New Jersey park officials warned that a number of state parks were overrun and urged residents to go elsewhere Sunday.
“REMEMBER, COVID-19 IS NOT GONE," Department of Environmental Protection officials said in a statement Sunday. “In order to KEEP PARKS OPEN and all visitors a safe distance from one another visit close to home, mask up, and make your stay short.”
Officials noted the following state parks were swarmed with visitors Saturday: Barnegat Lighthouse State Park; Bulls Island Recreation Area; Delaware & Raritan Canal State Park; Hacklebarney State Park; Round Valley Recreation Area; Wharton State Forest; Wawayanda State Park; Worthington State Forest.
Gov. Phil Murphy had said he would be watching “very closely" how park attendees behave over the weekend at the state’s parks, and would revise his reopening order if he felt it was going to worsen the spread of the coronavirus in the state.
— Pranshu Verma
Gas prices increase for the first time since February, though not in Pa. and N.J.
For the first time in 10 weeks, the national average price for a gallon of regular-unleaded gas showed a daily increase, rising to $1.77, from $1.76, from Friday to Saturday, according to AAA.
An Inquirer analysis of cell-phone data showed that people have been traveling more in recent weeks, and the automobile club noted that the Energy Information Administration reported an uptick in gas demand.
However, the national average price still is $1.10 cheaper than it was this time last year.
In Pennsylvania and New Jersey, prices were unchanged from Friday. The Pennsylvania price-per-gallon, $2.05, was down 2 cents from last week’s, and New Jersey’s $2.01 was a penny cheaper.
— Anthony R. Wood
Schools brace for budget cuts as the coronavirus wreaks havoc on the economy
The Upper Darby School District was hoping to invest next year in its elementary schools, with a plan to hire more reading specialists and guidance counselors for its youngest students.
That was before the coronavirus. Now the Delaware County district is scaling back those plans while it prepares for a blow to its budget.
"To know all the hard work we’ve done might be wiped away … is difficult,” said Superintendent Dan McGarry.
Districts like Upper Darby have spent years rebuilding from the Great Recession, which hit school budgets a decade ago. To make ends meet in Philadelphia, for instance, administrators slashed programs and laid off thousands of employees, including teachers, school nurses, aides, and every guidance counselor, secretary, and assistant principal in the system. Elsewhere, extracurriculars were cut and programs lost; class sizes swelled and support programs were gutted. Some districts have still not fully recovered.
The coming economic storm could ultimately be worse, experts say.
— Maddie Hanna, Kristen Graham
Glorious weather offers respite from the pandemic; reopening plans continue as cases and deaths grow
The spectacular blue skies and warmth almost made Saturday feel like part of a normal spring, a respite from the mean reality of the coronavirus as gardeners dug into backyard plots, hikers trod woodland trails, and golfers teed off on newly reopened courses.
Friends Tibor Kobolak and John Ahn hit the links at the Riverton Country Club in South Jersey, as happy as if it were Christmas morning. “I felt like I was a 10-year-old kid,” Kobolak said, his voice muffled by a protective mask.
Pennsylvania authorities prepared to ease restrictions in 24 counties this week, allowing many businesses to resume in-person operations and freeing residents to leave their homes, provided they take precautions.
At the same time, the slow, welcome seep of normality put the disparities of the crisis on full display, as people rejoiced in the sun even as coronavirus cases and deaths grew in the Philadelphia region and elsewhere, and health authorities bayed like the ancient Cassandra, cursed to know the future but not to be believed.
— Jeff Gammage, Laura McCrystal, Vinny Vella
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