New Jersey and Delaware prepare to release plans for reopening; Philly region is still “in the thick” of the pandemic

Seven weeks after the first diagnoses in Pennsylvania, Philadelphia is “still in the thick” of the coronavirus pandemic, and the infection rates in neighboring counties are not slowing enough to consider reopening, officials said Friday. In New Jersey, the number of people infected passed 100,000, the second-highest case count in the nation, with more than 5,600 dead.

“We had 253 people die today; positive tests are still going up,” said Gov. Phil Murphy, indicating it remained unclear when New Jersey will restart its economy. “We’re not out of the woods yet.”

Philadelphia officials said the same, reporting 651 new confirmed cases on Friday, while Delaware County officials said the county had “a ways to go.” Montgomery County’s current rate of infection is substantially higher than the state’s benchmark for possible reopening — a calculation clarified Friday by the state Department of Health — and officials said it was also far from opening.

Statewide, an additional 1,600 people had tested positive for the coronavirus as of Friday, meaning about 38,600 Pennsylvanians have confirmed infections. Nearly 1,500 people have died, Health Secretary Rachel Levine said Friday.

» READ MORE: What is ‘contact tracing’ and why is it back in vogue for tracking coronavirus?

The Army Reserve has assigned 85 military medical personnel to bolster the response to the coronavirus pandemic in Pennsylvania, including some staff who have been at Temple University’s Liacouras Center field hospital since at least last week, according to a Friday statement from the reserve. Where the rest of the military’s doctors, nurses, and personnel would be stationed was not clear, and state health officials said they did not know.

Schools in Delaware will remain closed through the rest of the school year, Gov. John Carney announced Friday. Students and teachers will continue using remote online learning for the next two months. Pennsylvania schools are also closed for the rest of the year. New Jersey’s closure is set to expire May 15, but earlier this week Murphy said he “cannot rush to reopen” them.

Delaware is preparing a plan for reopening the state’s economy based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, such as declining cases, strong testing, and diligent contract tracing, to determine when restrictions can be eased, Carney said.

New Jersey is expected to see a blueprint for reopening from Murphy on Monday, but the governor said a number of counties — including Camden, Gloucester and Burlington Counties — had “slid backwards” in recent days, as the rate at which cases were doubling rose.

As President Donald Trump signed a $484 billion bill Friday to aid employers and hospitals and the nationwide death toll passed 50,000, Trump denied that he had seriously encouraged people to ingest disinfectants to fight the virus. He told reporters he was being “sarcastic” when he said Thursday that “disinfectant knocks it out in a minute.… Is there a way we do something like that by injection inside or almost a cleaning?”

Pennsylvania and New Jersey health officials on Friday told residents not to ingest cleansers.

» READ MORE: As pandemic was peaking, Philadelphia undercounted the cases, city officials say; N.J. death toll passes 5,000

“I have seen young children who have ingested cleaning materials, and they have had very, very severe burns of their esophagus, requiring intensive care and operations,” said Levine, a former pediatrician. “From my clinical experience, that is an extremely dangerous thing to do. I can offer my highest recommendation not to do that.”

Officials at various levels took further steps to offer protections for people who have lost income due to the pandemic.

Murphy signed an executive order allowing renters to “direct their landlord” to use security deposits toward a portion or all of their unpaid rent, lifting a ban preventing landlords from using security deposits for rent.

» READ MORE: Here’s how low Philly’s case count has to be for the state to consider reopening Southeastern Pa.

The order requires landlords to use a renter’s security deposit for rent if a tenant requests it and forbids them from asking for another security deposit for at least six months after the end of the emergency or the resident’s lease, whichever is later.

“We can only emerge stronger when no one fears for their home or residence,” Murphy said. “Renters should have the ability to tap this deposit to help them secure their place in their home.”

And New Jersey municipal courts, which are set to resume all sessions remotely on May 11, will be able to start remote proceedings as early as Monday if the parties in a case agree, the state’s Supreme Court announced Friday. All jury trials, landlord and tenant hearings, and grand jury sessions remain suspended till May 31, court officials said.

» READ MORE: Can coronavirus cases be deduced from sewage? An MIT start-up tried it in Delaware and the governor wasn’t impressed

About 90,000 Pennsylvanians who are self-employed or gig workers have applied for unemployment compensation, a benefit those workers are newly able to qualify for under federal relief passed amid the pandemic, Wolf said Friday. His administration expects initial payments to go out in the next several weeks.

Delaware County officials announced Friday a new program to help small businesses with a total of $1.75 million in grants to cover up to three months of rent, mortgage payments, utility payments, and inventory. Brick-and-mortar businesses with 50 or fewer employees may be eligible, with businesses in blighted areas given priority, said County Council Member Elaine Paul Schaefer.

Staff writers Erin McCarthy, Sean Collins Walsh, Vinny Vella, Ellie Rushing, Jason Laughlin, and Rob Tornoe contributed to this article.