More Philly-area coronavirus deaths; N.J. total cases surpass 1,000; CDC urges N.J., New York residents to avoid domestic travel

President Donald Trump abandons the idea to quarantine N.J., NY and Connecticut residents. The Centers for Disease Control issue a travel advisory instead. In Philadelphia, workers rush to turn a basketball arena into a makeshift hospital to brace for the coronavirus patient surge. And New Jersey sees the coronavirus death toll reach 140.

» READ MORE: Live coverage for March 29: Coronavirus death toll in U.S. tops 2,000; CDC advises N.J., New York residents to avoid domestic travel; Philly braces for coronavirus surge

Editor’s note: News about the coronavirus is changing quickly. The latest information can be found at inquirer.com/coronavirus.

Federal health officials on Saturday urged the residents of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut to refrain from “non-essential” domestic travel for 14 days, citing the high concentration of COVID-19 cases in those states.

The non-binding travel advisory was issued late Saturday night by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, hours after President Donald Trump indicated he might enforce a quarantine in the New York City area.

Trump abandoned that idea -- which had been attacked by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo -- and endorsed the travel advisory, which the CDC said does not apply to employees of “critical infrastructure” industries such as public health, trucking and food supply.

“The Governors of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut will have full discretion to implement this Domestic Travel Advisory,” the advisory said.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said he had spoken Saturday with Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, who briefed him on the advisory. Murphy, a Democrat, said the guidance “does not change the rules that have been established and in place for over a week” under his executive order imposing a statewide business shutdown and banning public gatherings.

“If you have been working as part of our frontline response effort, from health care workers to supermarket workers, we still need you on the job,” Murphy said in a statement.

—Andrew Seidman

Confirmed coronavirus-related deaths in the United States surpassed 2,000 Saturday, according to the Washington Post and CNN.

Johns Hopkins University reported that confirmed deaths rose to more than 30,000 around the world. The U.S. ranked sixth in deaths, after Italy, Spain, China, Iran and France. Italy alone had more than 10,000 dead.

The U.S. death toll has risen abruptly in recent days. It had topped 1,000 on Thursday.

Rhode Island announced its first two deaths from the coronavirus, leaving just three states with zero reported deaths: Hawaii, West Virginia and Wyoming.

The risk of death from COVID-19 is greater for older adults and people with other health problems. In most cases, the virus causes mild or moderate symptoms, which can include fever and cough and milder cases of pneumonia.

—Associated Press, Washington Post

Delaware County officials say they need 700 volunteers to help at a former school that’s being converted to a medical facility amid the coronavirus outbreak.

The facility will not treat COVID-19 patients. It’s being set up in case area hospitals fill up with people who have tested positive for the virus — and need to direct people with less severe conditions elsewhere for treatment.

Delaware County officials said Saturday there was an “urgent need” for volunteers such as active and retired doctors and nurses, medical and nursing students, behavioral health professionals, and support and administrative staff.

People can register to volunteer at www.delcocitizencorps.com.

» READ MORE: Glen Mills Schools will be turned into a medical treatment site to ease the coronavirus crush

—Andrew Seidman

President Donald Trump is backing off an idea he floated earlier Saturday to enforce a quarantine in the greater New York City area.

Trump wrote on Twitter Saturday evening that he had asked the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to “issue a strong Travel Advisory” to be administered by the governors of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, in consultation with the federal government.

“A quarantine will not be necessary,” the president said.

More details are forthcoming, he said.

Earlier Saturday, Trump said he was giving consideration to the idea, which New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo called a “declaration of war on the states.”

—Andrew Seidman

Bucks County officials on Saturday reported the county’s first death linked to the coronavirus.

A man in his 60s with underlying health conditions died Saturday less than a day after he was admitted to an intensive care unit, officials said. Testing confirmed the man had COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.

The county reported 36 new confirmed cases Saturday, bringing its total to 216.

—Andrew Seidman

Nearly 200 Rutgers medical students will graduate early and could soon start their residencies as hospitals continue to absorb a surge of coronavirus cases, the school said Saturday.

Rutgers New Jersey Medical School’s 192 final-year students would normally have graduated in May. Instead, the bulk will finish their courses and graduate April 10, and the rest will follow on April 21.

The students have already been matched to their residency programs, most of which are scheduled to begin July 1, the university said. But hospitals could decide to let them start early.

“I have total confidence that our students are ready to help the cause,” NJMS Dean Robert Johnson said in a statement. “They have learned and trained at Rutgers and will be much-needed support in our nation’s health care system.”

More than half of the students will be working at hospitals in New Jersey and New York City, two major hotbeds of the pandemic.

Rutgers’ announcement comes days after New York University said it would allow senior medical students graduate early to help fight the virus.

—Andrew Seidman

A Delaware assisted-living facility is reporting multiple coronavirus cases, with six residents of a memory-care unit testing positive for the virus.

Five of those residents at the HarborChase of Wilmington are now hospitalized, state health officials said Saturday. The memory-care unit has 36 people, and health officials said they are working to make sure those infected are isolated from other residents.

The facility is the second in Delaware to have an outbreak of coronavirus cases, officials said. Nursing homes around the region have been restricting visitors as they work to prevent the spread of the coronavirus among their residents, who are at particular risk due to age and underlying conditions.

—Maddie Hanna

» READ MORE: Nursing homes fear accepting patients who may have coronavirus exposure in hospitals

Members of the Pennsylvania National Guard on Saturday helped remake the shuttered Glen Mills Schools into a medical treatment site to help ease the burden on hospitals grappling with the coronavirus outbreak.

State and federal authorities this week approved the school’s conversion to a federal medical station. The Delaware County campus was closed after an Inquirer investigation exposed a pattern of abuse there.

» READ MORE: Glen Mills Schools will be turned into a medical treatment site to ease the coronavirus crush

Delaware reported three coronavirus-related deaths Saturday, bringing the state total to five.

The latest deaths were those of a 77-year-old man, who had been hospitalized, and two men, ages 74 and 76, who had not, officials said.

The 76-year-old was a New Castle County resident. The others resided in Kent County.

The Delaware Division of Public Health disclosed no additional details. The department said that so far 214 cases – 49 since Friday — have been confirmed in the state, 130 of those in New Castle County.

—Anthony R. Wood

Police cited a New Jersey man early Saturday morning for throwing a packed party in his Mercer County apartment in defiance of the state’s ban on large gatherings amid the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.

Ewing Township police issued disorderly persons citations to 54-year-old Wade E. Jackson for obstruction and violating an executive order after finding 47 people — including a DJ with speakers — inside the man’s 550-square-foot apartment, according to the county prosecutor’s office.

“The goal was to break up the party and send everyone home," Mercer County prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri said in a statement Saturday. He said police “made the right call” in only citing the party’s host.

During a news conference Saturday afternoon, Gov. Phil Murphy mentioned the party as an example of how officials would seek to enforce the state’s stay-at-home order.

“This is not a game. It is critical that you stay at home unless you absolutely need to go out,” Murphy said.

—Maddie Hanna

At least 180 immigration detainees held at the York County Prison have started a hunger strike to demand their release amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“We are chickens in a chicken coop here – we are like sitting ducks,” said one striker, Jesus, who was identified only by his first name by Movement of Immigration Leaders in Pennsylvania, an activist group.

The strikers fear that the virus will be brought inside by staff, and that once detainees become ill they will not get proper medical attention, according to MILPA and immigration attorney Alyssa Kane of ALDEA – The People’s Justice Center in Reading.

Migrants can be held at York for all kinds of reasons. Some are seeking asylum, a legal means of staying in the country. Others are legal permanent residents whose status became imperiled by a criminal issue. Many have been in the U.S. for years or decades.

Health officials have warned that detention centers, jails and prisons could be hotbeds of COVID-19 outbreaks.

“In our block there are older gentlemen, there are people with high blood pressure, diabetes,” Jesus said through MILPA, adding that detainees could be released with ankle monitors. “The majority of us are hardworking people who want to be home with their family, especially during a crisis like this.”

The prison holds male and female immigration detainees and sentenced prisoners, although the men’s side of the prison is generally all migrants.

Last summer a mumps outbreak at a few Texas immigration detention centers quickly surged through the system, sickening almost 1,000 migrants in 57 facilities across the country. An entire wing at York had to be quarantined for two months.

–Jeff Gammage

Patrolman John Freas wasn’t thinking about the coronavirus March 19 when he received a 911 call to help an elderly man who was unresponsive. He had been told the 71-year-old had a history of heart issues, and he sprung into action.

But when the officer from Birmingham Township, Chester County, got to the man’s home, he found him alert and awake. And coughing.

The next morning, hospital officials told Freas the man had tested positive for the pandemic sweeping the globe. They told Freas to self-quarantine at home, the same one he shared with his wife, where they would often watch their two granddaughters.

So Freas, 64, made some calls. Hours later, he became the inaugural resident at the “first responder refuge” that Delaware County officials created at the Glen Mills Schools campus. For eight days, and with six more to go, Freas has lived inside a converted dorm room at the shuttered reform academy so as not to risk infecting his family.

“It comes to a point where you say, 'What do I need to do to keep my family safe?’” Freas said in an interview Saturday. “And if this is it, I’ll come here and quarantine for 14 days.”

—Vinny Vella

» READ MORE: A Chester County cop was exposed to coronavirus. A ‘first responder refuge’ helps him quarantine safely.

Starting Monday, Philadelphians will be able to pick up boxes of free food at sites around the city.

City officials said Saturday that residents will be able to pick up food between 10 a.m. and noon on Monday and Thursday. Each household will be limited to one box, which officials said is expected to last up to five days.

No ID or proof of income is required.

The program — separate from the sites offering food for students during the school closures — is a partnership between the city, the Share Food Program and Philabundance.

A list of the sites can be found on the city’s website here.

—Maddie Hanna

New Jerseyans who have been hurt financially by the coronavirus outbreak may get extra time to make their mortgage payments, state officials said Saturday.

Gov. Phil Murphy announced the state had reached a deal with a number of financial institutions — including Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, U.S. Bank, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America — to implement a 90-day grace period for mortgage payments for borrowers “economically impacted” by the virus.

The grace period will not be used to downgrade a borrower’s credit rating, Murphy said, and lenders will waive late fees. He said the agreement mirrors a mortgage relief plan announced in California.

Borrowers should contact their lender directly to determine whether they qualify, Murphy said.

— Maddie Hanna

President Trump said Saturday that he is considering enforcing a quarantine for the greater New York City area.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said it would be for “a short period of time, if we do it at all.”

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said Saturday that he hadn’t spoken with Trump about a possible quarantine.

While Murphy said he had a “productive” conversation with Trump Friday afternoon, “nothing on quarantine came up,” the New Jersey governor said at a news conference. Murphy said he “literally saw the story” as he was walking into the news conference.

There is “no question the greater New York metro area is the number one hotspot in America right now,” Murphy said. “Until further notified, we’re going to keep doing exactly what we’re doing.”

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf said he has not been involved in discussions about possibly blocking travel from New York and New Jersey. But Pennsylvania officials said people from New York City coming to the state should quarantine for 14 days.

“At this point, I think what we all need to do — whether you’re coming from New York or someplace else — if you’re coming to Pennsylvania, stay home,” Wolf said Saturday.

» READ MORE: Trump raises idea of quarantines affecting N.Y., N.J. and Conn.

— Maddie Hanna, Laura McCrystal, Sarah Anne Hughes of Spotlight PA

More than 100 retired medical professionals have applied to reactivate their licenses to assist with the coronavirus crisis, Gov. Tom Wolf said Saturday.

He said the state is also waiving restrictions on nurse practitioners, who currently must practice within a speciality, and out-of-state doctors. Wolf said the state needs “all the hands we can get” to assist with the growing number of COVID-19 cases.

About 11.5% of people who have tested positive have required hospitalization, Health Secretary Rachel Levine said. Of those, 97 have required treatment in an intensive care unit and 56 of those have required a ventilator.

— Sarah Anne Hughes of Spotlight PA

Another 32 New Jerseyans have died of coronavirus-related complications, Gov. Phil Murphy said Saturday, as the number of cases in the state topped 11,000.

New Jersey’s coronavirus death count is now 140, Murphy said at a news conference, as he urged residents to continue to stay home.

“No one is getting graded on a curve for social distancing,” Murphy said. “This is a pass-fail test. This is life and death.”

The state reported another 2,289 positive coronavirus cases, bringing the total to 11,124.

Of the new cases, Burlington County has 27, Camden 28, and Gloucester, 8, according to state health commissioner Judith Persichilli. None of the new deaths reported Saturday — which were of people ranging in age from 30 to 100— occurred in the three local counties.

With the state continuing to face a shortage of personal protective equipment for health-care workers, Murphy said he would sign an executive order Saturday requiring health care facilities to report daily on their capacity and supplies.

—Maddie Hanna

New York postponed its April presidential primary until June on Saturday.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the primary would be held June 23. It had been scheduled for April 28. Pennsylvania’s primary had been scheduled for the same day but will now be held June 2.

Also in New York on Saturday, nurses held a rally to call for more masks and other gear to protect themselves from the coronavirus.

» READ MORE: N.Y. joins Pa. in delaying presidential primary; nurses rally to plead for masks

― Laura McCrystal, Associated Press

New deaths were reported Saturday in Philadelphia, as well as Delaware and Montgomery Counties, as the coronavirus continued its rapid spread.

Pennsylvania health officials said an additional 533 cases of the coronavirus had been confirmed, bringing the statewide total to 2,751 in 56 counties. The statewide death count is now 34, with 12 new deaths reported Saturday.

Philadelphia reported a total of 806 confirmed cases of the virus as of 9:30 a.m. Saturday. Of that total, 71 people have been hospitalized with the virus, city officials said.

City officials announced one new death from the virus Saturday — a Philadelphia man who was more than 100 years old and lived in a a nursing home. The death of another nursing home resident, who was a woman in her 70s, was reported Friday.

Philadelphia officials said the city had a total of four deaths from the coronavirus as of 1 p.m. Saturday. That number conflicted with state numbers released Saturday reporting a total of five deaths in Philadelphia.

“It is expected that the numbers reported here may change frequently, and may not be in complete agreement with other government agencies reporting,” city spokesperson Lauren Cox said when asked about the discrepancy.

City officials have previously said that state totals typically lag behind the city’s reported results, and that reported cases can be moved between counties if there is a difference between where they are hospitalized and where they live.

Delaware County, meanwhile, announced another death from the coronavirus Saturday that was not included in the state report, bringing the county’s total to five deaths. The patient was a 65-year-old man from Springfield Township, officials said.

Montgomery County officials reported the death of a 61-year-old Norristown woman, bringing that county’s total to five.

State health officials said most of the people hospitalized from the virus are aged 25-49, while most of the deaths have occurred in people 65 or older.

Gov. Tom Wolf on Saturday added three more counties — Beaver, Centre and Washington — to the state’s stay-at-home order, bringing the total under the order to 22. The order will take effect for those three counties at 8 p.m. Saturday.

— Maddie Hanna, Laura McCrystal

Rittenhouse Market at 17th and Spruce Streets has set up a dunking station to sanitize its shopping carts between uses.

Phil Cantor, Rittenhouse Market’s general manager, said the idea for the disinfecting dunk tank came as his employees were mulling ideas about how to keep customers safe during the pandemic.

“We were talking about how best to clean the handbaskets, and one of our ideas was to use the service sinks in the back,” Cantor said Saturday during a morning rush in the store. “We thought, ‘Why not blow it up to handle the carts?’”

It took Cantor and his staff a day to put the system together, and it has been in use at the market for a little over a week, he said.

The process is simple: Two maintenance workers at the store load the cart, drop it in a cleaning solution, rinse it off and apply a sanitizing agent.Industrial air-blowers are used to dry the carts off before they’re put back into circulation for customers.

“We figured this would work well,” Cantor said. “It’s not something people need to eat off of, so it makes washing it like this much faster.”

— Vinny Vella, Heather Khalifa, Laura McCrystal

The Holiday Inn Express at 13th and Walnut Streets in Center City will open as a quarantine site this weekend. The site was fenced off Saturday morning, and the hotel’s signs were covered as workers prepared to open the site.

City officials said they leased the hotel as a quarantine space for people who tested positive for the virus or had contact with someone who did, but do not require hospitalization. It is available to anyone who cannot quarantine in their own homes because they are homeless, have an immunocompromised relative, or other reasons.

Brian Abernathy, Philadelphia’s managing director, said the city contracted a third-party property manager to run the site and subcontract for other services, including care for people suffering from mental illness and addiction.

The site has about 150 rooms, Abernathy said. It is expected to be fully operational this weekend, and as of Saturday afternoon city spokesperson Lauren Cox said one person was staying there.

Abernathy said the city is working to secure as many as six hotels as additional quarantine space, to have a total of at least 800 rooms available.

Work was also underway Saturday to create a medical center at the shuttered Glen Mills Schools campus in Delaware County, where members of the National Guard began hauling supplies into facilities.

And in Philadelphia, setup was expected to begin at Temple University’s Liacouras Center for an overflow hospital space that could hold up to 250 patients. Both sites would likely not house any patients with COVID-19, officials have said, but would take in other patients to free up space in hospitals for those with the highly contagious virus. The hope is that the facilities aren’t needed at all, but authorities said they want to be prepared as they see other areas struggle with surges in hospitalizations as the coronavirus spreads.

— Laura McCrystal, Vinny Vella

The Four Seasons Hotel at the top of the new Comcast Technology Center has been turning on its lights to spread a message as the city is shut down and the coronavirus spreads.

The hotel, which occupies the top 12 floors of the Comcast Technology Center, opened last year.

— Laura McCrystal

Hundreds of runners had been expected to pack Philadelphia’s Martin Luther King Jr. Drive on Saturday morning for the 9th annual Stroehmann Bakeries Back on My Feet 5-Miler.

Although the official race was canceled, neither the coronavirus nor the rain stopped participants from running 5 miles on their own Saturday morning.

Organizers of the annual race, which raises money for Back on My Feet, a nonprofit that fights homelessness through running, encouraged participants to complete the run and submit their results online.

Val Johnson of South Kensington ran her 5 miles Saturday morning, marking her fourth year of participating in the run. She and other participants kept in touch by sharing selfie photos and sending messages of encouragement.

“It’s definitely sad to not get to see everybody this year, but we definitely want to make sure everybody is staying safe,” Johnson said. “I love to see our community kind of coming together even though they are very strange times right now.”

Although official events and large gatherings are prohibited, MLK Drive is closed to traffic indefinitely to encourage social distancing for residents who wish to walk, run, or bike outdoors.

— Laura McCrystal

An employee at the Whole Foods Market in Jenkintown who tested positive for the coronavirus last worked at the store on March 17, according to someone who was on a company robocall disclosing the information to store employees and their families.

The company announced the positive case in an employee at the Montgomery County store, located at 1575 The Fairway, on Friday night.

“We’ve been working closely with our store Team Members, and are supporting the diagnosed Team Member, who is in quarantine," the company said in a statement Friday night.

— Laura McCrystal

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf added nine more counties to his stay-at-home order Friday, bringing the total number of counties under some form of lockdown to 19 as the state tries to slow the rapid spread of the coronavirus.

The death toll passed 100 Friday in New Jersey, where Gov. Phil Murphy called on anyone with medical training to help the state’s health-care workers.

As Friday marked three weeks since Pennsylvania’s first positive coronavirus test was reported, layoffs rippled through the region, Philadelphia-area hospitals were bracing for the anticipated — and potentially disastrous — patient surge, and a Pennsylvania member of Congress, Rep. Mike Kelly of Butler County, said he had tested positive for the virus.

Philadelphia, meanwhile, announced an agreement with Temple University to use the Liacouras Center as overflow hospital space during the pandemic. Mayor Jim Kenney said setup for that space will begin in the next few days.

» READ MORE: Coronavirus peak is yet to come, officials warn; New Jersey death toll passes 100

— Justine McDaniel, Laura McCrystal

Before the coronavirus pandemic, only about 3% of grocery shopping was done online. Demand has now ballooned and customers must wait for days or weeks for their deliveries to arrive.

That leaves customers with health conditions that put them at higher risk unable to get food.

“I’m in the position where I really cannot get this,” said Shannon Locher of Newtown Square, who has cystic fibrosis.

— Erin McCarthy

» READ MORE: As grocery deliveries surge due to the coronavirus, the most vulnerable have to wait

Our unusually mild winter has led to a lovely early spring. The beauty of spring flowers is welcome, but for many, the annual botanical awakening brings bad news: allergies.

This year’s early tree pollen season brings a new worry. How can allergy sufferers tell whether they have allergies or the coronavirus? There’s some overlap in symptoms that could easily fuel anxiety.

“The timing right now is as awful as you can imagine,” said Tarum Kapoor, an internal medicine specialist who is senior vice president of clinical integration for Virtua Health. Patients are saying, “I’ve never had allergies in March.”

» READ MORE: How to know whether you have allergies or coronavirus

— Stacey Burling

The Pennsylvania prison system is taking steps to prevent or limit the spread of the coronavirus inside state prisons. But corrections officers and advocates worry that the spread of the virus among inmates and employees is inevitable.

While there were no confirmed cases of the virus inside the state prison system as of Friday evening, Philadelphia on Friday reported its confirmed cases in an inmate and an employee of the Department of Corrections.

Philadelphia officials said inmates were under quarantine but declined to provide more information about the confirmed cases or their locations.

» READ MORE: Pennsylvania corrections officers, advocates worry a prison coronavirus outbreak is inevitable

— Matt McKinney of Spotlight PA, Laura McCrystal