Artsfest to go “virtual” this year, as coronavirus forces change

March 30, 2020 | by Lawrance Binda

A scene from last year’s Artsfest

From music to theater, the arts world increasingly is opting for online performances and exhibits during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Harrisburg’s annual Artsfest is the latest arts-related event to choose that path.

On Monday, the city announced that it would not hold its annual, three-day arts celebration in Riverfront Park. Instead, Artsfest will be held “virtually.”

“Our top priority is the heath and safety of our residents, visitors and vendors,” said Mayor Eric Papenfuse. “We urge everyone to follow the guidelines and protocols put forth by public health officials.”

The city had few additional details to share on Monday about its plan for the virtual event, but said that more information would be forthcoming. Those interested should follow the Facebook event and harrisburgpa.gov/Artsfest.

For many years, the Greater Harrisburg Arts Council and then another arts group, Jump Street, organized the annual juried exhibit and sale along the city riverfront. Last year, after Jump Street disbanded, the city decided to take the event in-house.

Papenfuse today asserted that that “virtual” Artsfest is expected only for this year, to prevent mass gatherings during the pandemic. The city intends to bring back the event to the park over the Memorial Day weekend in 2021.

Harrisburg’s other major summer waterfront celebration, Kipona, is still scheduled for the Labor Day weekend and will feature an enhanced artist’s market, according to the city.

COVID-19 cases surge again, with positives topping 4,000 in PA

March 30, 2020 | by Lawrance Binda

The state Department of Health’s shaded map of positive COVID-19 cases

Positive COVID-19 cases continued to jump in Pennsylvania, as the Department of Health today reported 693 new cases.

This represents the largest number of new cases reported yet for any 24-hour period during the coronavirus pandemic.

The new cases bring the statewide total to 4,087 total positive cases, up from 3,394 cases yesterday.

Moreover, the health department today reported 11 additional deaths from the virus, bringing that total to 49 fatalities. Locally, two people from Lancaster County and one person from Cumberland County have died from the disease.

“The continued rise in cases combined with our increasing deaths from COVID-19 reflects the seriousness of this situation,” Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said.

The virus has now spread to 59 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties.

Locally, Dauphin County now has 36 confirmed cases, Cumberland County has 24 cases, Lancaster County has 97 cases, York County has 54 cases, Lebanon County has 27 cases, Adams County has eight cases and Perry County has one case.

Philadelphia County continues to have the most confirmed cases with 1,007 cases, followed by Montgomery County with 540 cases.

Twenty-two counties remain under “stay at home” orders from the state, including Lancaster and York counties in central PA.

Statewide, 37,864 coronavirus tests have been performed, with 33,777 people testing negative, according to the state health department. Yesterday, the state reported that 33,455 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:

Less than 1 percent are aged 0-4
Less than 1 percent are aged 5-12
1 percent are aged 13-18
10 percent are aged 19-24
41 percent are aged 25-49
28 percent are aged 50-64
19 percent are aged 65 or older

Most of the patients hospitalized, as well as most deaths, have occurred in patients 65 or older, the state said today. There have been no pediatric deaths to date.

“We need everyone to listen to the orders in place and to stay calm, stay home and stay safe,” Levine said. “We know that these prolonged mitigation effects have been difficult for everyone, but it is essential that everyone follows these orders and does not go out unless they absolutely must.”

In addition, the Pennsylvania State Police issued 18 warnings over the weekend for failure to comply with Gov. Tom Wolf’s order that “non life-sustaining” businesses shut their physical locations. The police have now issued 96 warnings since last Monday, but have not yet issued any citations.

The state Department of Corrections also announced today a statewide inmate quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Yesterday, the state announced the first positive case of coronavirus for an inmate housed at the State Correctional Institute, Phoenix, in Montgomery County.

Under the quarantine, inmates will be fed in their cells, and they will be afforded out-of-cell time for video visits, phone calls, access to the law library, as well as being provided with in-cell programming, according to the department. Also, all inmate movement will be controlled to conform to social distancing recommendations.

“We realize this is an inconvenience for staff and the inmates, but again, we are doing this to protect everyone’s wellbeing,” said department Secretary John Wetzel.

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.

Harrisburg extends local tax-filing deadline to July 15

March 30, 2020 | by Lawrance Binda

Harrisburg’s MLK Jr. Government Center

Harrisburg is joining the federal and state governments in extending its tax-filing deadline to mid-July.

The city announced its decision today to postpone the deadline for filing 2019 local tax returns until July 15. In addition, the deadline for filing first-quarter estimated taxes has been extended to July 15.

Typically, the annual deadline for filing federal, state and local tax returns is April 15. However, those deadlines have now been extended by three months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Harrisburg business mercantile tax filing and payment is also extended until July 15, the city said today. This includes the first quarter 2020 estimated payment.

Positive COVID-19 cases top 3,000 in PA, as state sees highest daily total yet

March 29, 2020 | by Lawrance Binda

PA Secretary of Health Rachel Levine (right) at the state’s daily press briefing today.

The COVID-19 pandemic now has exceeded 3,000 cases in Pennsylvania, as the state Department of Health today reported 649 new positive cases.

The new case total is the most yet for any single day since the first case was detected in Pennsylvania about three weeks ago.

The commonwealth now has 3,394 positive cases, up from 2,751 cases yesterday.

Moreover, the health department reported four additional deaths from the virus since yesterday, bringing the statewide total to 38 fatalities. In central PA, two people from Lancaster County and one from Cumberland County have died, according to the state.

“Our notable increase in cases over the last few days indicate we need everyone to take COVID-19 seriously,” Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said.

The virus has now spread to 58 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties.

Locally, Dauphin County now has 35 confirmed cases, Cumberland County has 22 cases, Lancaster County has 67 cases, York County has 43 cases, Lebanon County has 19 cases, Adams County has eight cases and Perry County has one case.

Philadelphia County continues to have the most confirmed cases with 865 cases, followed by Montgomery County with 488 cases.

Currently, 22 counties are under “stay at home” orders, including Lancaster and York counties locally.

Levine today could offer no timeline if or when other counties, such as Dauphin and Cumberland, would be put under stay-at-home orders. She said that the state makes the decision over whether to expand the order on a “day to day basis.”

“We are taking a very measured and sequential approach in regards to the governor’s order,” Levine said.

Statewide, 33,455 coronavirus tests have been performed, with 30,061 people testing negative, according to the state health department. Yesterday, the state reported that 28,005 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:

Less than 1 percent are aged 0-4
Less than 1 percent are aged 5-12
1 percent are aged 13-18
10 percent are aged 19-24
41 percent are aged 25-49
27 percent are aged 50-64
19 percent are aged 65 or older

Most of the patients hospitalized are aged 25 to 49, and most of the deaths have occurred in patients 65 or older. There have been no pediatric deaths to date.

In addition, Gov. Tom Wolf today said that he has requested “a major disaster declaration” from the federal government. If granted, this would offer additional relief for state and local governments and some nonprofits, he said.

“The COVID-19 outbreak has taxed our commonwealth and our communities in ways that are almost incomprehensible,” Wolf said. “I am calling on the president and the federal government to make available to us the assistance that will make a tangible difference in the lives of our friends and neighbors, and the dedicated public servants who are working in overdrive to support them.”

Impacted programs could include Disaster Unemployment Assistance, crisis counseling, community disaster loans, the Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Program and Statewide Hazard Mitigation, according to the governor’s office.

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.

New coronavirus cases again exceed 500; first deaths in central PA reported

March 28, 2020 | by Lawrance Binda

The first coronavirus-related fatalities has been reported in central Pennsylvania, a patient from Cumberland County and another from Lancaster County.

The state Department of Health today reported that 12 people have died statewide from the disease since yesterday, including the midstate’s first fatalities. Overall, 34 people in the commonwealth have died from the COVID-19 epidemic.

The department also reported that another 533 cases have been confirmed since yesterday, with 2,751 cases statewide. That’s up from 2,218 positive COVID-19 cases yesterday.

“Our notable increase in cases over the last few days indicate we need everyone to take COVID-19 seriously,” Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said.

Friday marked the third straight day that new cases have exceeded 500 throughout the commonwealth.

The virus has now spread to 56 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties, with another six counties reporting cases since yesterday.

Locally, Dauphin County now has 23 confirmed cases, Cumberland County has 22 cases, Lancaster County has 45 cases, York County has 37 cases, Lebanon County has 15 cases and Adams County has eight cases. Perry County reported its first case, as well.

Philadelphia County continues to have the most confirmed cases with 709 positive cases, followed by Montgomery County with 411 cases. These counties each have reported five deaths from the disease, the most statewide.

Moreover, Gov. Tom Wolf today expanded his “stay at home” orders to three additional counties: Beaver, Centre and Washington counties. This expands the order to 22 counties statewide, including Lancaster and York counties in central PA.

“We’re beginning to see this disease rear its ugly head in every corner of the commonwealth,” Wolf said today.

Statewide, 28,005 coronavirus tests have been performed, with 25,254 testing negative, according to the state health department. Yesterday, the state reported that 23,234 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:

Less than 1 percent are aged 0-4
Less than 1 percent are aged 5-12
1 percent are aged 13-18
Nearly 11 percent are aged 19-24
39 percent are aged 25-49
Nearly 28 percent are aged 50-64
19 percent are aged 65 or older.

Most of the patients hospitalized are aged 25 to 49, and most of the deaths have occurred in patients 65 or older. There have been no pediatric deaths to date.

“Pennsylvanians have a very important job right now: stay calm, stay home and stay safe,” Levine said. “We have seen case counts continue to increase and the best way to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is to stay home.”

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.

The Week that Was: News and events around Harrisburg

March 27, 2020 | by Lawrance Binda

Bottles of hand sanitizer are ready to ship from Gettysburg’s Mason Dixon Distillery.

You know the drill: the news was all coronavirus, all the time. So, let’s cut to the chase with the weekly recap of our coverage, all listed and linked below for your reading pleasure.

COVID-19 cases skyrocketed this past week in Pennsylvania. We summarized the increasingly grim numbers each day, and you can read our latest story from Saturday by clicking here.

Distilleries in our area have stepped up to convert their facilities to the manufacture of hand sanitizer. Our online feature describes how several craft distilleries are uniquely filling a niche during the health crisis.

Harrisburg has put a moratorium on residential evictions for the duration of the city’s emergency declaration. Our online story offers all the details.

Harrisburg University still has students in its residence halls, and they need to be fed. This week, the Central PA Food Bank showed up to offer supplies for these students, and we carried several pictures of the event.

Harristown and the Harrisburg Downtown Improvement District are teaming up to install temporary comfort stations near Market Street. They hope the portable toilets and basins will assist the area’s transient population and help reduce the spread of COVID-19. Click here for our online story.

Lancaster and York counties became the first midstate counties issued “stay at home” orders by Gov. Tom Wolf. What does that mean? We have a list of permissible and non-permissible activities in our online story.

Midtown Scholar Bookstore held its first virtual book talk this past week. Our writer sat in to see if technology could mimic the experience of a live author event. She shares her experience in our online story.

Parking in Harrisburg will remain free for the foreseeable future, as the city and its parking operator have extended their enforcement moratorium. Get the details from our online news story.

Pennsylvania’s primary election has been delayed about five weeks, to early June. This past week, Gov. Tom Wolf also signed significant bills regarding the school year and funding for medical supplies. We have the rundown in our online story.

Sara Bozich, like everyone else, is stuck at home, which may not be her natural way of doing things. Nonetheless, in her weekly column, she has some ideas on virtual events, as well as ways to support our community during this time.

School and state issues were in focus during Harrisburg’s second Facebook Live event, hosted by Mayor Eric Papenfuse. Click here to find out what he discussed with school district and elected officials.

Schools in PA were ordered to remain closed for at least two more weeks. The state Department of Education ordered schools to be shut down until at least April 6. Get the details from our online news story.

Small businesses are getting hit hard, as stores have been shut down and people mandated to stay home. To help, the state announced a new small business loan program with a zero-percent interest rate. Click here to find out more.

Do you receive TheBurg Daily, our daily digest of news and events delivered right to your email inbox? If not, sign up here to keep informed each day.

Harrisburg’s Facebook Live event focused on school, state issues

March 27, 2020 | by Maddie Conley

A screen shot of Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse, left, along with school district Acting Superintendent Chris Celmer and Chief Academic Officer Susan Sneath.

While Harrisburg students are not in school due to the coronavirus pandemic, district officials today made it clear that they are working on continuing education outside the classroom.

“This is not a weeklong blizzard, this is not a Christmas vacation,” said Susan Sneath, chief academic officer for the Harrisburg school district. “We still have a lot of work to do.”

Through a Facebook Live event on Friday, Sneath and Acting Superintendent Chris Celmer sat down with Mayor Eric Papenfuse to discuss developments within the school district in light of the COVID-19 health crisis.

District teachers reached out to about 5,000 Harrisburg students and families and discovered that over 95 percent had access to television, Celmer said.

With that in mind, Sneath announced a new partnership with WITF, the Harrisburg area’s public broadcasting station, to link the district’s current curriculum with the station’s resources. This allows for television programming catered to all grades, K-12.

“When you can work with such an expert partner like WITF, who already has tried-and-true educational programming in place, maybe we can do something together,” Sneath said.

Papenfuse added there have been discussions with the district to use the city’s TV station, Channel 20, as a tool, as well. Sneath mentioned the possibility of having teachers broadcast lessons through the channel.

“If we are going to stay closed, we would like to take the opportunity to customize what we broadcast as much as humanly possible to truly meet the direct needs of our students,” Sneath said.

While the district is officially closed until April 9 with a return date for students of April 14, Papenfuse acknowledged that it likely could be longer. Wolf signed a bill this week that waives the 180-day requirement for school to be in session.

To support students during the crisis, Celmer announced a teacher parade for Monday at 4 p.m. Students and families are encouraged to watch from their porches as Harrisburg educators drive through the streets.

Also on Friday, Harrisburg city held another “Community Conversation” via Facebook Live. In it, Papenfuse spoke with state Rep. Patty Kim and Dauphin County Commissioner Mike Pries.

Kim brought to attention a few other bills passed on Friday regarding the COVID-19 crisis. They include additional funds for medical equipment in the state and a postponed Pennsylvania primary election date.

Wolf added two more central Pennsylvania counties to the “stay-at-home order” and, while Dauphin County remains off the list, Kim sees it as a looming possibility.

“I think we should all follow the same shelter-in-place order,” she said. “I’m sure the shelter-in-place will happen eventually, but why not practice it now to slow the spread?”

The following are a list of resources mentioned by the city from today’s event:

Mental health assistance, text PA741741
Dauphin County Crisis Intervention
COVID-19 Working Capital Access Program
Filing for unemployment benefits (717) 783-9342
Educational resources for Harrisburg School District students
Information on Food Assistance for students

Click here to watch the full Facebook Live event with Harrisburg school district officials.

Click here to watch the full Facebook Live event with state Rep. Patty Kim and Dauphin County Commissioner Mike Pries.

Harrisburg plans to continue Facebook Live events each Friday at noon during the COVID-19 health emergency.

Harristown, HDID team up to install comfort stations in downtown Harrisburg

March 27, 2020 | by Lawrance Binda

The comfort stations will be located on the plaza near the escalators at 333 Market Street.

The streets of downtown Harrisburg are largely empty, and most buildings are locked up.

While this means no restaurant or bar patrons for businesses, it means something else very important–nowhere for the city’s under-housed and transient community to wash up or use a bathroom.

Therefore, two downtown organizations are teaming up to provide comfort stations for homeless men and women to use.

On Saturday, Harristown Enterprises and the Harrisburg Downtown Improvement District will install comfort stations consisting of four Port-a-Potties and two wash stations. They will be located in the plaza area adjacent to the escalators at the 333 Market Street office building, according to Harristown.

“We are all facing challenges in this situation that are new to us,” said Harristown CEO Brad Jones. “We thought this would be a positive way to try to help people in need during this difficult time.”

Jones said that he hoped the comfort stations would help in two principal ways. First, they will provide support for the transient population that often relies on facilities in buildings that are now closed. And, secondly, they might help reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus by allowing people to wash up.

The stations will remain in place for at least two weeks, Jones said. Afterwards, the partners will determine, based on public health recommendations, whether to extend the service, he said.

For similar reasons, the city recently set up portable sinks in two city facilities–Riverfront Park and Reservoir Park.

“Our top priority is the health and safety of our residents, especially the elderly and most vulnerable,” said Mayor Eric Papenfuse, in announcing installation of the sinks earlier this week.

For more ways to assist the homeless population in the Harrisburg area, please read our feature story from our March issue.

Nine more PA counties, including two in midstate, added to “stay at home” order

March 27, 2020 | by Lawrance Binda

A screen shot today of Dr. Rachel Levine (right) during a virtual press conference.

Nine more counties were added today to the state’s “stay at home” order, including the first two counties in central Pennsylvania.

Gov. Tom Wolf today added Lancaster and York counties to the directive, as well as Berks, Butler, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Pike, Wayne and Westmoreland counties. The order takes effect at 8 p.m. today and will remain in place until at least April 6.

“As those [positive COVID-19) numbers increase to a significant level, and we have evidence of community spread . . . the governor issues the order,” said state Secretary of Health Rachel Levine, during a press conference this afternoon. “In those new counties, we were seeing those trends.”

The orders will remain in place until the number of COVID-19 cases plateaus and then begins to decrease, Levine said.

“When it goes down in a significant way, then we’ll discuss that with the governor, and we’ll slowly relax some of the mitigation orders,” she said.

As of today, the state has reported 33 positive COVID-19 cases in Lancaster County and 29 in York County. Neither county has reported a fatality from the disease.

The other counties under this order are Allegheny, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Erie, Lehigh, Monroe, Montgomery, Northampton and Philadelphia counties

Under the “stay at home” order, people may leave their residence only to perform any of the following allowable activities and travel:

Tasks essential to maintain health and safety, or the health and safety of their family or household members (including pets), such as obtaining medicine or medical supplies, visiting a health care professional, or obtaining supplies they need to work from home
Getting necessary services or supplies for themselves, for their family or household members, or as part of volunteer efforts, or to deliver those services or supplies to others to maintain the safety, sanitation, and essential operation of residences
Engaging in outdoor activity, such as walking, hiking or running if they maintain social distancing
To perform work providing essential products and services at a life-sustaining business
To care for a family member or pet in another household
Any travel related to the provision of or access to the above-mentioned individual activities or life-sustaining business activities
Travel to care for elderly, minors, dependents, persons with disabilities, or other vulnerable persons
Travel to or from educational institutions for purposes of receiving materials for distance learning, for receiving meals, and any other related services
Travel to return to a place of residence from an outside jurisdiction
Travel required by law enforcement or court order
Travel required for non-residents to return to their place of residence outside the commonwealth
Anyone performing life-sustaining travel does not need paperwork to prove the reason for travel.

The following operations are exempt:

Life-sustaining business activities
Health care or medical services providers
Access to life-sustaining services for low-income residents, including food banks
Access to child care services for employees of life-sustaining businesses that remain open as follows: child care facilities operating under the Department of Human Services, Office of Child Development and Early Learning waiver process; group and family child care operating in a residence; and part-day school age programs operating under an exemption from the March 19, 2020 business closure Orders
News media
Law enforcement
The federal government
Religious institutions

People experiencing homelessness are not subject to the order but are strongly urged to find shelter and government agencies are urged to take steps needed to provide shelter for those individuals, according to the governor’s office.

Coronavirus cases top 2,000 in PA, six more deaths reported

March 27, 2020 | by Lawrance Binda

Coronavirus cases show no sign of easing in Pennsylvania, as the state Department of Health today reported 531 new positive cases.

The latest data bring the total to 2,218 cases statewide since the pandemic began, up from 1,687 yesterday. Moreover, the state Department of Health today reported six additional deaths from the virus, bringing that total to 22 fatalities.

“Our notable increase in cases over the last few days indicate we need everyone to take COVID-19 seriously,” Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said.

The virus has now spread to 50 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties.

Locally, Dauphin County now has 18 confirmed cases, Cumberland County has 16 cases, Lancaster County has 33 cases, York County has 29 cases, Lebanon County has 12 cases and Adams County has eight cases.

Philadelphia County continues to have the most confirmed cases with 530 cases, followed by Montgomery County with 374 cases.

Statewide, 23,234 coronavirus tests have been performed, with 21,016 testing negative, according to the state health department. Yesterday, the state reported that 18,128 had been tested for the virus.

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

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

Most of the patients hospitalized are aged 25 to 49, and most of the deaths have occurred in patients 65 or older. There have been no pediatric deaths to date.

In addition, the Pennsylvania State Police yesterday issued 21 warnings for failure to comply with Gov. Tom Wolf’s order that “non life-sustaining” businesses shut their physical locations. The police have now issued 78 warnings since Monday, but have not yet issued any citations.

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.

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