The Week that Was: News and features around Harrisburg

June 12, 2020 | by Lawrance Binda and Maddie Conley

Hundreds of protestors rallied and marched at last weekend’s Black Lives Matters protest.

Judging by this week’s news, life seems to be returning to normal around the Harrisburg area. Yes, COVID and protests still predominate, but we’re increasingly seeing a greater mix of stories. We have all our coverage listed and linked below, in the greatest number of online stories we’ve ever published in a single week.

African American Music Appreciation Month continues locally, with an online profile of musician Sourface. So, who is this masked stranger, and what about his unique style of “bedroom rap?” Our story contains some revealing details.

Black Lives Matters movement showed its strength again around Harrisburg last weekend, with a rally and a march. We were there to cover the protest, which centered around calls for unity, action and peace.

Calobe Jackson Jr. has seen it all in his 90 years—and, when it comes to Harrisburg history, he definitely knows it all. In our June magazine, we profiled this local legend, the connecting tissue between a city past, present and future.

COVID-19 continues to affect the commonwealth, despite slowly dropping case numbers. We followed the ups and downs in our daily updates, the most recent of which is found here.

Dauphin and Perry counties will enter the green stage of reopening next Friday, joining most of the rest of the greater Harrisburg area. What does green mean? Our online news story has the details.

Harrisburg was worried that a “large number” of groups planned to converge on the city on Monday, perhaps in conflict with one another. The city closed several streets as a precaution, but the rally ended up being small and calm, as our news story described.

Harrisburg Bike Share has fallen victim to the COVID-19 pandemic, as the operator running it has called it quits. The three-year-old program gained thousands of supporters, but, as our online story explains, couldn’t overcome the larger economic forces at play.

Harrisburg City Council has hired Wildheart Ministries to disassemble an enormous solar array at the former headquarters of D&H Distributing. The property’s new owner is donating thousands of solar panels, but needs them removed immediately. Our online story tells the tale.

Harrisburg Regional Chamber & CREDC held a webinar examining issues of systemic racism in the business community. As our online story states, it contained advice for businesses dedicated to fighting racism and ensuring equality in their organizations.

Home sales in the Harrisburg area predictably took a tumble in May, but prices held firm. The Greater Harrisburg Association of Realtors released its monthly report, and we have the local data in our online story.

Hudson Building has a new owner and a new plan, as a Harrisburg-area native plans to gut and rehabilitate the long-dilapidated building. What’s in store? Our online feature tells the story.

Independence Day celebration in Harrisburg will go on this year—mostly as normal. The city announced plans for its fireworks show and food truck festival, though the latter will move to City Island. For all the information, check out our online story.

Nonprofits have been hit especially hard by the pandemic. The Foundation for Enhancing Communities, along with United Way of the Capital Region, has been trying to patch financial holes until better days arrive, as described in our online feature story.

Sara Bozich is finally breaking free from her house, and she has some ideas for people itching for something fun to do. Check out her list of both in-person and online activities and events.

“Saturday Nights in the City” was so successful last weekend that Harrisburg decided to expand it in hours and scope. What’s new for this weekend? Our online story has the details you’ll need before venturing out.

Small businesses have had to get creative in order to survive during pandemic times. Our June magazine feature describes what some Harrisburg businesses are doing until times return to normal.

Summer camp is an important part of the school break for many young people, but COVID-19 has greatly affected this rite of passage. Our online feature describes how some Harrisburg area organizations are adapting to the restrictions imposed by the pandemic.

TheBurg Podcast, June edition, dropped into feeds everywhere this past week, expanding upon several features from the June magazine. And, yes, it includes an interview with the ubiquitous, yet still mysterious, Sharkman! Tune in and find out what motivates the skating fish, and hang around for other segments, as well.

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Dauphin, Perry counties to enter “green” reopening phase next Friday, Wolf says

June 12, 2020 | by Lawrance Binda

PA Gov. Tom Wolf (right) at a recent press briefing.

Dauphin County is among the next batch of Pennsylvania counties poised to go green, as Gov. Tom Wolf today announced that eight more counties will enter the less-restrictive reopening phase next week.

In addition to Dauphin County, Wolf said today that Perry, Franklin, Huntingdon, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike and Schuylkill counties will move from the yellow to the green phase of reopening on June 19.

Wolf credited efforts to lower rates of new COVID-19 infections for the gradual reopening of the commonwealth’s economy.

“In Pennsylvania, not only did we flatten the curve, but we are continuing to keep case counts down even as we open our commonwealth,” he said. “We will continue to take a measured, phased approach to reopening that relies on science and health experts.”

Today, 15 counties jumped from the yellow phase to the green phase, including, locally, Cumberland, York and Adams counties. Currently, 46 counties are in the green phase, with 21 in the yellow phase.

After next Friday, only Lancaster and Lebanon counties locally will remain in the yellow phase, along with the entire Philadelphia metro area.

The green phase eases most restrictions by lifting the stay-at-home and business closure orders. Some restrictions, such as mask-wearing, do remain in place.

Under the green phase, restrictions on large gatherings also remain. Notably, restaurants, bars, theaters and personal care services, such as salons, are able to operate, but at 50 percent capacity.

New COVID-19 cases bump up in PA, but remain in long-term downward trend

June 12, 2020 | by Lawrance Binda

COVID-19 case and test charts in PA. Source: Department of Health

New COVID-19 cases bumped up somewhat today in Pennsylvania, exceeding 500 daily cases once more.

The state Department of Health today reported 686 new cases for the 24-hour period ending at midnight. This breaks a trend of four days around or below 500 daily cases.

Cases peaked in early April at nearly 2,000 daily new cases. Since then, cases have shown a gradual decline, despite increasingly greater testing levels for the virus.

With the additional cases, 77,999 Pennsylvanians have now been diagnosed with the coronavirus.

Locally, total diagnosed cases are as follows:

Adams County: 284 cases (yesterday, 279)
Cumberland County: 709 cases (yesterday, 692)
Dauphin County: 1,587 cases (yesterday, 1,561)
Franklin County: 837 cases (yesterday, 827)
Lancaster County: 3,682 cases (yesterday, 3,632)
Lebanon County: 1,140 cases (yesterday, 1,106)
Perry County: 70 cases (yesterday, 69)
York County: 1,141 cases (yesterday, 1,117)

Overall, 13.7 percent of PA residents tested have shown to be positive for the virus.

The department also reported an additional 49 deaths, meaning that 6,162 Pennsylvanians have died from the disease since March.

Around central PA, the COVID-19 fatality data now stands as follows:

Adams County: 9 deaths (yesterday, 9)
Cumberland County: 58 deaths (yesterday, 58)
Dauphin County: 107 deaths (yesterday, 104)
Franklin County: 42 deaths (yesterday, 40)
Lancaster County: 325 deaths (yesterday, 322)
Lebanon County: 39 deaths (yesterday, 38)
Perry County: 5 deaths (yesterday, 4)
York County: 31 deaths (yesterday, 31)

Statewide, Philadelphia County continues to have the most confirmed cases with 19,746 cases, followed by Montgomery County with 7,834 cases. The two counties also have reported the most deaths statewide from the disease: 1,487 and 753, respectively.

“With more than half of the state now in the green phase of the process to reopen, it is essential that we continue to take precautions to protect against COVID-19,” health Secretary Rachel Levine said. “The commonwealth’s careful, measured approach to reopening is working as we see case counts continue to decline even as many other states see increases. But the virus has not gone away.”

Today, three local counties—Cumberland, York and Adams—entered the “green” phase of reopening, which means fewer restrictions on businesses and gatherings. The rest of the Harrisburg area remains in the more-restrictive “yellow” phase.

Nursing homes and personal care facilities have been particularly hard hit by the virus. Of total deaths, 4,249, or 69 percent, have occurred in residents from nursing or personal care facilities, according to the health department.

In nursing and personal care homes, there are 16,450 resident cases of COVID-19, and 2,899 cases among employees, for a total of 19,349 at 635 distinct facilities in 45 counties, according to the health department.

In addition, about 5,931 of total cases in PA are in health care workers.

Statewide, 566,384 coronavirus tests have been performed, with 488,385 people testing negative, according to the state health department. Yesterday, the state reported that 553,752 people had been tested for the virus.

Of the patients who have tested positive to date, the age breakdown is as follows, according to the health department:

Nearly 1 percent are aged 0-4
Nearly 1 percent are aged 5-12
Nearly 2 percent are aged 13-18
6 percent are aged 19-24
Nearly 37 percent are aged 25-49
25 percent are aged 50-64
28 percent are aged 65 or older.

Most of the patients hospitalized are 65 or older, as are most of the reported deaths, according to the state.

Levine continued to emphasize that Pennsylvanians should do the following:

Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available.
Cover any coughs or sneezes with your elbow, not your hands.
Clean surfaces frequently.
Stay home to avoid spreading COVID-19, especially if you are unwell.

“Each of us has a responsibility to protect ourselves, our loved ones and others by wearing a mask, maintaining social distancing and washing our hands frequently,” Levine said. “Together, we can protect our most vulnerable Pennsylvanians, our essential workers and our healthcare system.”

For more information, visit the PA Department of Health’s COVID-19 website.

Harrisburg Regional Chamber talks systemic racism, changes needed in business

June 12, 2020 | by Maddie Conley

Screenshots from today’s “Chamber Live: A Conversation about Systemic Racism.” Pictured: Meron Yemane (left) and Amma Johnson (right).

Every so often, the Harrisburg Regional Chamber & CREDC hosts a seminar, but this one was different.

It was one that chamber board Vice Chair Meron Yemane has waited years for.

Today, the Chamber held a webinar entitled, “Chamber Live: A Conversation about Systemic Racism.”

“Today’s event is part of the desire of our board to try to do better and try to make a difference,” President David Black said.

Yemane explained how he believes this is the beginning of the process towards change for the Chamber. He pointed out the power structures within the organization itself and the hope he has for positive movement towards inclusivity.

“Next year, I’ll be the first black chair of the Chamber, and that doesn’t mean anything if there’s not a second,” Yemane said. “The Chamber can lead in this.”

He cited statistics showing black people are less likely to occupy executive positions, have a seat in Wall Street and even less likely to be hired if their name sounds black on an application.

Another panelist, Amma Johnson, member of the Chamber board of directors, recommended specific ways for businesses to make changes in their organizations. She encouraged making a clear statement against racism, considering hiring a diversity and inclusions professional, letting employees and customers in on the conversation and promoting black employees to leadership positions.

“I’m a big fan of internal task forces and councils,” she said. “Blending voices is the most helpful.”

Johnson suggested hiring black interns, as well, and looking for ways to mentor and provide opportunities for youth.

Black addressed the growing percentage of people of color in the central Pennsylvania region, about 20%, and the Chamber’s awareness of that.

“Your workforce should look like your customer base […] your workforce should look like your executive team,” he said.

The Harrisburg Chamber did release a statement against systemic racism on June 2 and called for more inclusivity and diversity within the organization. Johnson thinks more businesses need to take this important first step.

“I would encourage any organization who has not made a statement to not be silent,” she said.

For more information on the Harrisburg Regional Chamber & CREDC, visit https://www.harrisburgregionalchamber.org/.

African American Music Appreciation Month: Sourface

June 12, 2020 | by Yaasmeen Piper

Jason McNeil, aka Sourface

I’ve heard of bedroom pop before, the lo-fi genre filled with purposeful imperfections in the name of aesthetics. But, I never heard of bedroom rap before. That was until I was introduced to Jason McNeil.

The 20-year-old Camp Hill resident fits the genre to a “T.” Under the pseudonym Sourface, McNeil creates unique DYI-sounding music that mixes rap, R&B, punk and electronic all into one song. His lyrics are almost like spoken word at times, pulling from words in his notes app, notebook or even freestyled; sometimes rhyming, sometimes not.

The rapper lives in an aura of mystery. You’ll rarely find a picture of him when scrolling through his social media. If you do, he’ll be rocking a custom-made mask filled with doodles and symbols.

“People tell me that [my music] has a very different sound and they enjoy it, and people say that they connect to it,” he said. “I appreciate it when they reach out and tell me stuff like that.”

McNeil’s love for music had a legendary start. When he was only 4, his grandmother took him to see Michael Jackson in concert. Before Jackson even hit the stage, people were screaming and falling all over the place.

“I was like ‘What is this? What is this guy about to do?’ Then I saw him perform, and I was like ‘Okay, that makes sense’ and I was like ‘That is something that I need to do.’”

Years later, McNeil started crafting his own music and developing his own sound. Then came the name. Originally, it was Golden Gordon and Fritz the Cat and a bunch more after that.

Then his friend, whom he was making music with, said to him: “I know you’re changing your name a lot. So, what is your new name?”

So, McNeil mixed “Bearface,” a singer from the R&B group Brockhampton, along with the rapper Busdriver’s song “King Cookie Face” and his favorite candy, and created “Sourface.”

But, his favorite artist and love for sour candy weren’t the only reasons why he landed on the name Sourface.

“I feel like a lot of the time, Black people are stereotyped as having mean faces,” he said. “So, I was thinking made I could have this alternate personality where I’ve very aggressive and mean and strange all the time. So, that’s why I picked Sourface.”

Our expressions aren’t the only Black stereotypes that he hopes to diminish. Too often, he felt like the “weird Black kid” for liking the type of music and activities that he did, such as skateboarding. That was until he was introduced to the rapper Tyler the Creator.

Like McNeil, Tyler the Creator was given the “strange Black kid” label when he first broke into the music scene in 2011. Instead of trying to change himself, Tyler embraced it.

“I was like ‘Oh, I can be Black and like skateboarding, and I can like fashion, and I can like color….I feel like all the stereotypes that people put on me got shed away,” McNeil said. “I genuinely think that Tyler gave me that confidence that you can just be you. You don’t have to conform to whatever people want you to be. You can be yourself.”

And McNeil plans to continue being himself in his life and music. Currently, he doesn’t have any big projects planned, but the quarantine has caused a lot of artists to reach out to him. He hopes a few projects come out the situation, as well as more solo music.

In the next few years, McNeil plans to move to Lancaster and join the folk-punk music scene there and even help build more of a rap scene.

Overall, he plans to keep moving and making music and making sure he doesn’t become stagnant and is always challenging himself.

His only goals are to make good music, get his own place, and buy his mother a house. If he achieves those three things, in his book, he’s successful.

“If I hit that point, I’ll be happy.”

To hear McNeil’s music, visit his SoundCloud, and follow him on Instagram.

This story is one in a series of local musician profiles in celebration of African American Music Appreciation Month.

TheBurg Podcast: Innovation Inspiration, June 2020

June 11, 2020 | by Karen Hendricks

In the face of the pandemic, innovation and creativity abound.

TheBurg’s June podcast expands upon several examples of innovative change, forged by the crisis, found within the pages of our June magazine:

First, innovative strategies are helping to feed the hungry—and capitalizing on the timing of the summer produce season—at the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank. Joe Arthur, executive director, provides details. (Based on the magazine story, “Hunger Pains.”)

Secondly, we hear from Sheila Dow-Ford, executive director of Impact Harrisburg. Their innovative grant program swung into action in record time, to help city businesses lessen the pandemic’s impact—with a significant portion going to minority-owned businesses. (Based upon the magazine’s “News Digest.”)

Editor of TheBurg Lawrance Binda reflects on the links between tension and change, city and state, in his reoccurring TMHT feature (“the most Harrisburg thing”).

Finally, we switch gears, to innovation with a “fun factor.” Straight from the front cover of TheBurg’s June issue, we bring you an exclusive interview with Harrisburg’s newest celeb, “Sharkman” himself. (Here’s our digital June issue.)

Meet some of the Harrisburg area’s most fascinating people, and hear their own authentic stories, expanded from every month’s magazine, on TheBurg Podcast—because there’s always “more to the story.”

Hosted by Karen Hendricks. TheBurg is a monthly community magazine based in Harrisburg, Pa.; Lawrance Binda, co-publisher/editor.

Interested in sponsoring TheBurg Podcast? Contact Lauren at [email protected].

Karen Hendricks is a lifelong journalist; visit her website here.

Camp in the Burg: Summer youth programs test out virtual, in-person approaches

June 11, 2020 | by Maddie Conley

The Bethesda Mission Community Center on Herr Street in Harrisburg

School is finally done, now what?

Many Harrisburg summer camps are still planned despite having to adapt in the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bethesda Mission’s Community Center in Allison Hill plans to hold camps for all age groups of kids. Beginning June 22, they will launch a program spanning about seven weeks.

“We are looking forward to opening,” Executive Director Scott Dunwoody said.

The program will only take around 25 kids in each age group for safety reasons, and much of the activities will be outdoors, Dunwoody said. Programming for elementary, middle and high school students is included.

Dunwoody explained how the teen group is especially beneficial because it provides internships and job training for young people.

Similarly, the Harrisburg Area YMCA will offer a youth program. However, this year it will look more like summer childcare than summer camp, explained Director of Marketing and Communications Rosie Turner.

“We know parents are going to have to go back to work so we had to provide some type of bridge care,” she said.

The capacity for children will be smaller than usual due to the limited number of schools allowing groups on their properties.

Opting out of the in-person approach Open Stage of Harrisburg announced it will hold virtual summer camps.

The program will run for 10 weeks and include live and pre-recorded instruction on musical theater, acting, theater history, design and tech. There will be two different age groups including 8- to 12-year-olds and 13 and up.

“Things are different this summer, but I think that has given us license to change things up,” Producing Artistic Director Stuart Landon said. “We’ve put together a really cool curriculum.”

Landon added that the course will be low-cost this summer as part of Open Stage’s effort to make their education accessible.

Open Stage has been more hesitant to reopen, but others, like Whitaker Center, are ready to open their doors.

They are offering a range of STEM, culinary and theater classes. Campers’ temperature will be checked at the door each day and all equipment and classrooms will be sanitized after each group’s use, according to a statement on their website.

Bethesda Mission’s Community Center is at 1438 Herr St., Harrisburg. For more information, visit https://www.bethesdamission.org/our-ministries/community-center/. To learn more about the Harrisburg Area YMCA’s summer childcare, visit https://ymcaharrisburg.org/. For more information on Open Stage’s Alsedek Theatre School, visit https://www.thealsedektheatreschool.com/. Whitaker Center is located at 222 Market St., Harrisburg. For more information or to register for camp, visit https://www.whitakercenter.org/camps.

Pandemic Pinch: More than 50 grants help nonprofits’ needs

June 11, 2020 | by Karen Hendricks

The Habitat for Humanity ReStore was one of the nonprofits helped by the COVID-19 Community Response Fund.

Janice Black was in a unique position to recognize the scope of the COVID-19 crisis—and to do something about it.

The 25-year president and CEO of The Foundation for Enhancing Communities (TFEC) also has a background in healthcare and nursing.

“When I realized the depth this virus was going to have, I knew we would be in trouble, and I immediately in early-to-mid March realized we needed to do something quickly,” said Black (pictured). “We needed to start thinking about the ultimate effects on nonprofits.”

She approached Tim Fatzinger, president and CEO of United Way of the Capital Region and proposed a powerhouse of a partnership. The two organizations quickly came together to pool resources, secure corporate as well as individual donations, and offer area nonprofits an emergency grant program.

To date, their COVID-19 Community Response Fund has awarded $127,000 in grants to 54 nonprofits in five counties (Cumberland, Dauphin, Lebanon, Perry and York).

Two rounds of grants have been awarded; a third round is expected in about a week. Nonprofits can request up to $2,500.

Black said three major trends are emerging in grant requests.

Many nonprofits are trying to offset food insecurity; others need to purchase personal protective equipment (PPE) such as masks and cleaning supplies; and still other nonprofits need funding to provide job skills to adapt their services amid the COVID-19 landscape.

“The way I look at these funds is that they’re helping to close the gaps because of COVID-19’s unexpected administrative costs beyond the scope of their regular needs,” Fatzinger said. “Some are using technology creatively, creating virtual environments.”

One of the grant recipients is Habitat for Humanity of the Greater Harrisburg Area. Their $2,500 award is being used to purchase cleaning supplies, PPE items such as masks and gloves, and plexiglass barriers for the nonprofit’s retail store (ReStore).

“Going forward in the future, I think we’re going to see a lot more folks experiencing housing insecurity, so we’re expecting increased asks for home repair services, and extra traffic at the ReStore because people will be in need of items for their homes on a budget,” said Lyndsey Sturkey, Habitat’s executive director.

The nonprofit had three home repair projects underway, with three more in the pipeline, when the pandemic struck. Sturkey is optimistic that work can resume soon. The ReStore is currently open to customers and donors.

The LGBT Center of Central PA, located in Harrisburg, has been operating virtually since mid-March. A $1,000 grant from the COVID-19 Community Response Fund is underwriting general operating expenses.

“We’re seeing mental health as well as economic impacts,” said Amanda Arbour, executive director. “Within the LGBTQ population there are higher mental health needs such as suicidality due to social isolation in two specific sub-groups—youth isolated at home and older adults vulnerable to the virus.”

Her organization created a mutual aid network on Slack where people can post their needs—such as someone to pick up their medication or groceries—while others can post their availability to help.

At Diakon Permanency Services for the Capital Region, a $2,500 grant is allowing children’s foster and adoptive services to creatively continue online via Zoom. The platform is allowing training of foster parents to continue, as well as communication between birth parents and children, communication between separated siblings and court hearings.

“We have been pleasantly surprised by utilizing this new format,” said Kimberly James, director of Diakon’s Permanency Services.

“On a typical orientation night to learn about being foster families, we might normally have four or five families in person. During the past couple months via Zoom, that number has not gone down at all—in fact, one evening we had 30 families on Zoom and we were blown away.”

She actually credits the COVID-19 crisis with reenergizing families’ interest in fostering.

“I think it’s a combination of people having a little more time to follow their dreams of becoming foster families and taking the time now to invest in the process,” James said.

The nonprofit is currently overseeing the cases of 80 children in foster care. But she expects that number, sadly, to rise.

“One of the things we are sadly anticipating, as we move through the phases and more counties move to green, is that people and families will have more contact. We anticipate the number of reports to area children and youth services will increase, which will mean more referrals to us and higher placements in foster care,” said James.

Many nonprofits, Fatzinger noted, are facing financial hardships due to the forced cancellations of major annual fundraisers, and he predicts long-term impacts.

“During the 2007-08 recession, within a two-year period, charitable giving dropped 20%, and it took eight years for the charity sector to recover fiscally,” Fatzinger said.

He encourages people to make donations of any size if they can.

“The ask I make is on behalf of people in need,” Fatzinger said. “Significant mid- and long-term needs will come out of this. Some people are getting rent assistance, but those payments will come up. The same with utilities, and unemployment checks will be running out. This is far from being over.”

Major donors include The Hershey Company, Highmark Health and private donors, but Fatzinger said many individual donations of $5 each are quickly adding up, as well.

Black draws upon her background in healthcare to put the COVID-19 crisis in perspective.

“I never have experienced anything like this, even with outbreak of AIDS working at Georgetown University Hospital,” Black said. “When I think of COVID-19 and the effect it’s having… there isn’t a quick fix—it’s going to be ongoing until we have a vaccine, and the community needs to rally together and work together.”

Ongoing community-wide health and safety efforts are vital, she said.

“I want to stress that people need to be ready for more,” Black said. We cannot let our guard down. We need to maintain cleanliness and the physical safety of ourselves and others by wearing masks. I guess that’s the nurse coming out in me.”

Donations to the COVID-19 Community Response Fund can be made at tfec.org/covid19. Individual donors can also text “TFEC” to 56512 to receive a link to donate. Nonprofit organizations based in Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Lebanon, Perry and Northern York Counties are invited to apply for assistance through the fund at tfec.org/covid19resources. For more information, see tfec.org and uwcr.org.

New COVID-19 cases remain flat in PA as much of Harrisburg area prepares to enter “green” phase

June 11, 2020 | by Lawrance Binda

An image from the state Department of Health lab in Exton, Pa.

New COVID-19 cases remained below 500 today, as the state health department reported 467 new positives.

Cases peaked in early April at nearly 2,000 daily new cases. Since then, cases have shown a gradual decline, despite increasingly greater testing levels for the virus.

With the additional cases, 77,313 Pennsylvanians have now been diagnosed with the coronavirus.

Locally, total diagnosed cases are as follows:

Adams County: 279 cases (yesterday, 278)
Cumberland County: 692 cases (yesterday, 688)
Dauphin County: 1,561 cases (yesterday, 1,541)
Franklin County: 827 cases (yesterday, 807)
Lancaster County: 3,632 cases (yesterday, 3,600)
Lebanon County: 1,106 cases (yesterday, 1,091)
Perry County: 69 cases (yesterday, 68)
York County: 1,117 cases (yesterday, 1,102)

Overall, 13.9 percent of PA residents tested have shown to be positive for the virus.

The department also reported an additional 51 deaths, meaning that 6,113 Pennsylvanians have died from the disease since March.

Around central PA, the COVID-19 fatality data now stands as follows:

Adams County: 9 deaths (yesterday, 9)
Cumberland County: 58 deaths (yesterday, 58)
Dauphin County: 104 deaths (yesterday, 101)
Franklin County: 40 deaths (yesterday, 39)
Lancaster County: 322 deaths (yesterday, 322)
Lebanon County: 38 deaths (yesterday, 38)
Perry County: 4 deaths (yesterday, 4)
York County: 31 deaths (yesterday, 30)

Statewide, Philadelphia County continues to have the most confirmed cases with 19,572 cases, followed by Montgomery County with 7,754 cases. The two counties also have reported the most deaths statewide from the disease: 1,471 and 748, respectively.

Last week, the state moved the last of Pennsylvania’s “red” counties into the less restrictive yellow phase, including the entire Philadelphia metro area. Tomorrow, three local counties—Cumberland, York and Adams—are slated to enter the “green” phase.

Nursing homes and personal care facilities have been particularly hard hit by the virus. Of total deaths, 4,215, or 69 percent, have occurred in residents from nursing or personal care facilities, according to the health department.

In nursing and personal care homes, there are 16,357 resident cases of COVID-19, and 2,871 cases among employees, for a total of 19,228 at 627 distinct facilities in 45 counties, according to the health department.

In addition, about 5,888 of total cases in PA are in health care workers.

Statewide, 553,752 coronavirus tests have been performed, with 476,439 people testing negative, according to the state health department. Yesterday, the state reported that 544,175 people had been tested for the virus.

Of the patients who have tested positive to date, the age breakdown is as follows, according to the health department:

Nearly 1 percent are aged 0-4
Nearly 1 percent are aged 5-12
Nearly 2 percent are aged 13-18
6 percent are aged 19-24
Nearly 37 percent are aged 25-49
25 percent are aged 50-64
28 percent are aged 65 or older.

Most of the patients hospitalized are 65 or older, as are most of the reported deaths, according to the state.

Levine continued to emphasize that Pennsylvanians should do the following:

Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available.
Cover any coughs or sneezes with your elbow, not your hands.
Clean surfaces frequently.
Stay home to avoid spreading COVID-19, especially if you are unwell.

For more information, visit the PA Department of Health’s COVID-19 website.

Expanded hours, locations this Saturday for Harrisburg’s outdoor dining event

June 11, 2020 | by Lawrance Binda

Diners chow down along N. 2nd Street during the first “Saturday Nights in the City” last weekend.

Harrisburg is making some big changes to its Saturday outdoor dining event, expanding hours, locations and street closures.

Mayor Eric Papenfuse today said the decision to expand “Saturday Night in the City” was made because of the success of last weekend’s initial event.

“We are pleased with the success of the first event last weekend, ” Papenfuse said. “This program is a great way for us to support our city restaurants, and I encourage residents to come out again this upcoming Saturday night.”

The city and the Harrisburg Downtown Improvement District launched the al fresco dining event to help restaurants comply with state regulations, as Dauphin County is in the “yellow” phase of the state’s reopening plan during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This Saturday, the event will run an additional two hours—from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., meaning it will start an hour earlier and end an hour later.

In addition, several more streets will be closed as the number of participating restaurants has grown. The following streets will close beginning at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday:

2^nd Street from Market to Pine streets
State Street from Church to N. 2^nd streets, westbound
North Street, from Susquehanna to N. 3^rd streets, westbound, and from N. 2^nd to Buttonwood streets
Conoy Street (Shipoke)
3^rd Street, from Market to Chestnut streets

The participating restaurants now include:

El Sol
Stock’s on Second
Carley’s Ristorante and Piano Bar
Café Fresco
Taco Solo
Ad Lib Craft Kitchen and Bar
Sawyer’s
Bourbon Street Saloon
Zembie’s
McGrath’s
Arooga’s
Taste Buffalo
Cork & Fork
Federal Taphouse
Rubicon
Mangia Qui
BurgerIM
Bollywood
The Brick Haus
Los Tres Cubanos
Second Street Shawarma
JB Lovedraft’s
The Vegetable Hunter

Saturday Nights in the City also has been extended through July 4. Originally, the program was due to run just through the month of June. In addition, the city plans to have a food truck festival on City Island, along with Independence Day fireworks.

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