Death tolls climb, but Pa. and N.J. say there’s a leveling of coronavirus cases and talk reopening plans

While the number of confirmed coronavirus cases across the country passed a million, and Philadelphia’s death toll climbed above 500, with measured optimism the governors of New Jersey and Pennsylvania spoke of pressing ahead with plans to reopen their states.

Their timetables suggested a pace more glacial than expeditious, and no one could predict when an outbreak of normality might sweep across the region.

But who could have predicted that the U.S. Navy Blue Angels and U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds jets would find a window of clear blue sky on Tuesday afternoon for their inspiring flyovers in an April that is setting standards for dreariness — meteorologically and psychologically?

» READ MORE: Navy Blue Angels and Air Force Thunderbirds fly over Philadelphia

Masked and unmasked, hundreds gathered in Philadelphia and across the Delaware River to watch the celestial 12-jet salute to health-care workers during the coronavirus crisis, and many of them clearly were flouting government decrees imploring them to keep their distances from each other lest the disease continues to spread and the closings persist.

Growing impatience with those closings was evident in Trenton, as protesters gathered and called the lockdowns a form of “fascism.”

“We are absolutely, desperately trying to save every life we can,” countered Gov. Phil Murphy, who added that he wished the demonstrators had made their case virtually, rather than in person. “That’s our only objective.”

The protests occurred on the same day that New Jersey added 402 deaths to its coronavirus-related death toll, the biggest single jump in any of its daily reports, and the national total for confirmed cases passed a million.

In all, 6,422 have died as a result of the virus in New Jersey, and more than 1,700 in Pennsylvania, with 500 of those in Philadelphia.

However, the case numbers evidently have peaked, officials said. Hospitalizations in New Jersey are “flattening,” said Department of Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli, and Rachel Levine, her Pennsylvania counterpart, agreed that the coronavirus wave in Philadelphia had crested.

Murphy and Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf said they were looking at the first steps toward a slow recovery.

Murphy said he hoped that life at the Jersey Shore could impersonate “some semblance” of normality during the Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial opening of the summer season.

And he announced that members of his Restart and Recovery Commission would begin meeting “immediately” to discuss core economic issues, including public health, workforce development, and the prying loose of federal support.

In advance of a gradual reopening, Pennsylvania officials said they were adding “the final touches” to a contact tracing program, aimed in part at identifying those who might be at risk of infection. More comprehensive plans will be unveiled Friday, along with the disclosure of which areas of the state could reopen around May 8, Levine said.

The densely populated Philadelphia region, hard hit by the virus, likely would be among the last to reopen.

Officials in Lancaster County, say they hope they don’t have to wait for Philadelphia. So far, 78 have died in the county from the virus, and officials say they have been worried about being “lumped in” with the city and its collar counties, according to local news reports. Wolf, however, said no county will automatically be linked to another.

Wolf said that he believed his decision to reopen golf courses and marinas — with social distancing restrictions — would be beneficial to the public’s mental health. He also suggested that he feared some had misunderstood his stay-at-home order, which he said always allowed for solitary outdoor exercise or walks with members of one’s own household.

“Anybody can misinterpret anything, but right from the start the stay-at-home order was accompanied by the idea … to keep yourself mentally healthy.”

Looking to the summer, he said the state has no plans to limit travel within the state or keep out-of-state residents from vacationing at tourist destinations, such as the Poconos. “I don’t see that as constitutional or even fair,” Wolf said.

When summer ends and Pennsylvania students return to classes — whenever that happens — it won’t be like it was before March, said Secretary of Education Pedro Rivera.

“We’re planning for the best, but we’re preparing for the worst,” said Rivera. In the mix are masks, smaller class sizes, and rethinking school transportation, and other things that students, teachers, and parents have not seen in the past.

“We’re looking at a hybrid staggered model that addresses not only the academic needs of students, but also their health needs, and I would encourage parents to think the same way,” Rivera said in a call with reporters.

The coronavirus outbreak continues to eviscerate the economy across the country and around here. With shuttered restaurants and museums and a long roster of canceled meetings and events, it is estimated that the virus already has cost the city over $1 billion in lost tourism.

Mayor Jim Kenney has ordered pay cuts for some city workers, and the impacts on municipal, county, and state treasuries have been immeasurable.

» READ MORE: Gov. Tom Wolf says he won’t abandon ambitious spending plan as massive budget deficit looms

Nevertheless, despite the state’s Independent Fiscal Office projection of an up to $4 billion budget shortfall, Gov. Wolf is sticking by his original budget proposal that includes a 4% increase in spending over the current fiscal year — and relies on relatively robust revenue growth.

When the revenue would start growing is uncertain.

The governor’s three-tiered reopening plan spells out a gradual process starting with a less-restrictive phase that would allow for some businesses that can’t operate remotely to recall workers, who would be required to practice social distancing. Wolf said residents need to temper expectations.

“One of the problems with where we are right now is people have too much faith in policy,” Wolf said. “You can’t snap your fingers and say, ‘OK, everything is going to be open.’ Because it won’t.

“If people don’t feel safe, they’re not going to go back to work. If people don’t feel safe, they’re not going to be customers.”

Staff writers Kristen A. Graham, Tom Gralish, Laura McCrystal, Ellie Rushing, Rob Tornoe, Catherine Dunn, and Sean Collins Walsh, and Gillian McGoldrick of Spotlight PA contributed to this article.