What happened when Montco tested its incarcerated people for coronavirus? | Morning Newsletter
And, how will COVID-19 change our children?
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The Morning Newsletter
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In the air yesterday, Blue Angels and Thunderbirds flew over Philly, bringing people out of their homes. And on the ground, first responders saluted health-care workers with a parade in Cherry Hill. When looking toward the future, though, psychologists are concerned about how children will be affected by the months of lockdown and isolation.
— Josh Rosenblat (@joshrosenblat, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
Last week, Montco officials set out to determine just how entrenched the coronavirus was behind bars. They tested every incarcerated person in their custody. And what they found was sobering and could indicate infection rates at corrections facilities across Southeastern Pennsylvania are several times higher than what’s currently being detected.
Of the 948 incarcerated people, 177 — about 18% of the county’s incarcerated population — tested positive. That’s a rate of infection more than 30 times greater than what Montco had identified before it started mass testing.
When it comes to the social impact of the coronavirus, psychologists my colleague Alfred Lubrano spoke with speculated that most kids will fall between the extremes of derailing and flourishing. Children are absorbing their parents’ tensions, and also contend with their own pressures. They are losing contact with friends. Milestones such as graduations are canceled. There’s also an overwhelming fear that their future might be compromised. But, children can also be remarkably resilient and some might not even talk about COVID-19 a year from now.
Bell & Evans is a family-owned poultry-processing plant in rural Lebanon County that specializes in organic, antibiotic-free chicken sold at Whole Foods. The company is one of the latest to be swept up in the pandemic. More than a dozen meat-processing plants have closed temporarily nationwide because so many employees contracted the virus. Bell & Evans is still operating, though, despite an outbreak that has killed two.
Fearful of meat shortages, President Donald Trump yesterday signaled his plan to use the Defense Production Act to order meat-processing plants to stay open.
What you need to know today
“We have no idea what is going on there or how this outbreak is being handled,” said Christina Vandepol, the Chester County coroner about a state-run nursing home for veterans where nearly 30 people have died.
Whenever Pennsylvania students eventually return to school, things will look much different.
Some tenants are calling for a Philly-wide rent strike on May 1. That’s making landlords hold their collective breath.
The tourism economy in Philly has already lost $1 billion.
It didn’t take long for the coronavirus to further upend the lives of the city’s homeless population.
A Bucks County man lost his job because of the coronavirus. Then he allegedly threatened to kill members of Gov. Tom Wolf’s family.
The coronavirus is leading to an “extraordinary” number of complaints about price gouging.
Through your eyes | #OurPhilly
Who else watched the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds yesterday? Thanks for this cool video, @chloemek.
🛩️My photojournalist colleagues were also around the city snapping pictures of how the city took in the sight.
Tag your Instagram posts or tweets with #OurPhilly and we’ll pick our favorite each day to feature in this newsletter and give you a shout out!
That’s interesting
📸Six weeks in, here are the images that show how Philly is coping with the coronavirus.
🍝🥃Some expert food and drink opinions: Our restaurant critic Craig LaBan writes about the 7 restaurants you should order takeout from and local bartenders pick 6 bottles of booze you should buy.
🎤A virtual music festival called Love From Philly features Philly bands playing for COVID-19 relief. Here’s how to watch Kurt Vile, John Oates, The War on Drugs, and more online.
😷More face mask tips: how to wear them in hot weather and how to keep your kids’ face masks on.
🏒The Flyers’ Oskar Lindblom will be undergoing his final cancer treatments. And head coach Alain Vigneault has been helping isolated senior citizens stay connected.
🎓To the Class of 2020: we want to hear your stories. We’re looking to share great tales from Philadelphia-area high school and college students.
Opinions
“Suddenly, just as my grandmother sidled alongside the table, the ropes binding one corpse gave way. The upper portion of a dead body sprang up to greet her like one of those ogres that pop up unexpectedly in amusement-park haunted houses.” — writes Frank Fitzpatrick, recounting his grandmother’s stories of his great-grandfather who was a mortician during the 1918-19 flu pandemic and had to keep corpses in his home.
What do health-care workers need? Blue angels? No, writes Solomon Jones. They need green money.
Anti-Asian discrimination is continuing, months into the coronavirus pandemic, writes Anne Ishii, the executive director of the Asian Arts Initiative in Philadelphia.
What you’re watching
Today’s rec comes from Andrew Sides. Andrew’s been binging Community. It’s now on Netflix and has been on Hulu for a bit, too. Personally, I’m a fan of the sitcom, which follows the adventures of a group of community college students who seemingly have nothing in common. It’s the “perfect vehicle for some laughs in a dark time,” Andrew writes. I totally agree.
Got any more recommendations? Keep 'em coming. Email morningnewsletter@inquirer.com.
Your Daily Dose of | 76 miles
A 44-year-old ultra runner from Philly ran 76 miles around the perimeter of the city using Wawas as pit stops after being inspired by a NASA astronaut’s Instagram post showing Philadelphia lit up from space.