June 5am COVID-19 Update – Pennsylvania American College of Physicians

June 5 Morning Pennsylvania COVID-19 Update

INSIDE THIS REPORT:
•             Yellow and Green Phase orders amended
•             Thursday’s COVID-19 numbers and links
•             Six Regional Contract Tracing Consortiums to be set up Statewide
•             DoH Distributes fourth shipment of remdesivir
 
Governor, Levine sign amended yellow phase and green phase orders
Governor Wolf and Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine Thursday signed amended yellow phase orders to include 10 counties moving to the yellow phase at 12:01 a.m. June 5. The counties are Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lehigh, Northampton, Montgomery and Philadelphia.
 
The governor and the secretary also signed amended green phase orders to include 16 counties moving to the green phase at 12:01 a.m. Friday. These counties are Allegheny, Armstrong, Bedford, Blair, Butler, Cambria, Clinton, Fayette, Fulton, Greene, Indiana, Lycoming, Mercer, Somerset, Washington and Westmoreland.
 
With these orders, there are no counties in the red phase. In total, on June 5, there are 34 PA counties in the green phase and 33 in the yellow phase.
 
Gov. Wolf’s Process to Reopen Pennsylvania includes details of each phase of reopening.

Thursday’s Report from the Department Of Health
The Pennsylvania Department of Health today confirmed as of 12:00 a.m., June 4, that there were 537 additional positive cases of COVID-19, bringing the statewide total to 73,942. All 67 counties in Pennsylvania have cases of COVID-19.
 
There are 5,817 total deaths attributed to COVID-19, an increase of 75 new deaths. County-specific information and a statewide map are available here. 
 
There are 618 patients who have a positive serology test and either COVID-19 symptoms or a high-risk exposure, which are considered probable cases and not confirmed cases. There are 416,942 patients who have tested negative to date. Of the patients who have tested positive to date the age breakdown is as follows:

  • Nearly 1% are ages 0-4;
  • Nearly 1% are ages 5-12;
  • Nearly 2% are ages 13-18;
  • 6% are ages 19-24; 
  • Nearly 37% are ages 25-49; 
  • 25% are ages 50-64; and
  • 28% are ages 65 or older.

 
Most of the patients hospitalized are ages 65 or older, and most of the deaths have occurred in patients 65 or older. More data is available here.
 
In nursing and personal care homes, there are 15,848 resident cases of COVID-19, and 2,740 cases among employees, for a total of 18,588 at 613 distinct facilities in 45 counties. Out of our total deaths, 3,895 have occurred in residents from nursing or personal care facilities. A county breakdown can be found here.
 
Approximately 5,601 of the state’s total cases are in health care workers.
 
For the latest information for individuals, families, businesses and schools, visit “Responding to COVID-19” on pa.gov.
 
Statewide – The Wolf Administration has since noon, June 3:

 
Six Regional Contract Tracing Consortiums to be set up Statewide
The Pennsylvania Department of Health announced Wednesday that it is working to set up contact tracing consortiums in each of the six regions in the state. Consortiums will work to assess the number of contact tracers needed in each area, help recruit contact tracers and ensure training and education is available, and coordinate information and data to ensure consistency within the region.
 
The consortiums will create an infrastructure that will support the growth of coordinated contact tracing efforts in each region and will establish partnerships that could assist in other public health priorities moving forward. The hope of this regional approach is that it will grow existing community infrastructure and incorporate local knowledge, experience and connections. More information on the state’s contact tracing plan is available here.

DoH Distributes fourth shipment of remdesivir
Yesterday, 4,400 doses of medication were sent to 73 hospitals. The federal government distributed the shipment to the department on Wednesday, June 3 and the entire allotment has been shipped to Pennsylvania hospitals.
 
“The department is working to give our hospitals every opportunity to treat patients with COVID-19,” Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said. “It is important to note that there is limited information on the safety and effectiveness of using remdesivir to treat people in the hospital with COVID-19. However, it was shown in a clinical trial to shorten the recovery time in some people, which is why the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized the emergency use of the medication for treatment.”
 
The Department of Health first distributed 1,200 doses of the medication to 51 hospitals across Pennsylvania on May 12. A second round of 7,938 doses was sent to 79 hospitals on May 15 and May 18, and a third round was distributed to 81 hospitals on May 22. The hospitals that have received these shipments were determined based on the number of COVID-19 patients at the hospital over a recent seven-day period, and the severity of the illness of those patients based on whether they are on a ventilator. The department will continue to work with its federal partners to acquire more doses of this medication to serve more patients across Pennsylvania.