Philly staying home might have saved over 6k lives | Morning Newsletter
Plus, Pa. issues new guidance for testing at nursing homes.
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The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
President Donald Trump is headed to Pennsylvania tomorrow to visit a Lehigh Valley medical equipment distributor after earlier this week calling for Gov. Tom Wolf to reopen the state more quickly. So far, though, stay-at-home orders like the one in Philly seem to have been saving lives, according to public health researchers at Drexel University.
— Josh Rosenblat (@joshrosenblat, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
When someone dies in a nursing home or a hospital or a home, Preston Griffin’s phone will ring. These days, a funeral director is usually telling him that the coronavirus was to blame. Then, Griffin’s routine begins. He dresses in a suit and tie, and drives in his Yukon Denali with a mask, gown, booties, and gloves on the passenger seat. He has two stretchers and body bags in the back. He’s off to collect another body.
Funeral directors know Griffin as their representative in life’s darkest hour. He meets families who are grieving, and they often remember him fondly. It’s common for Griffin to be the face associated with the family’s final goodbye.
Public health researchers at Drexel are modeling the deaths and suffering that have been — and could be — averted by coronavirus shutdown measures.
They found that, compared with having no safeguards, the first 45 days of Philly’s lockdown helped avoid about 57,000 hospitalizations and 6,200 deaths. And if the city stays hunkered down until May 22, it could help save an estimated 7,100 lives.
Pennsylvania released new guidance to nursing homes suggesting that the locations with confirmed coronavirus cases should test all of their residents and staff.
Specifically, Secretary of Health Rachel Levine called the strategy “universal testing” and Gov. Wolf characterized it as “fairly radical.” But an advisory state officials said was sent to facilities notes that all residents “should be considered” for testing if the place had confirmed COVID-19 cases.
What you need to know today
President Trump will travel to Allentown tomorrow to visit a medical equipment distributor.
The deadline for entering your direct deposit info on the IRS website’s Get My Stimulus Payment portal is today at noon. If the IRS doesn’t have your bank account details, then you might have to wait weeks for a paper stimulus check.
Temple University Hospital workers say the masks they use while treating COVID-19 patients are breaking, splitting, and sprouting holes.
If you lost your health insurance because you got laid off, here’s how you can get coverage.
Over a third of the incarcerated people and staff at Delaware County’s jail tested positive for coronavirus antibodies, which suggests that they were infected at some point during the pandemic, according to results my colleagues obtained.
If you need help paying rent, Philly has a new rent-assistance program.
Through your eyes | #OurPhilly
Love the bird’s-eye view of this street art. Great find, @kees2life.
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
⚕️Doctors’ offices are starting to reopen across the Philadelphia area. But there are things you need to know before you go back to the doctor.
🐶A Wharton MBA has launched a start-up that takes telemedicine to pets.
🏟️Columnist Marcus Hayes writes that sports leagues including the NBA and NFL should slow their roll when it comes to playing games.
🥒The member-owners of the South Philly Food Co-op have waited 10 years to open their community-owned grocery store. Now, it’ll finally open, but during a pandemic.
😷Experts warn that now is not the time to expand your quarantine circle and defy stay-at-home orders.
🏕️Parents and campers are worried about whether their summers will be filled with s’mores or boredom.
Opinions
"It nearly killed me. It’s like a computer hacker. It gets into your body and tries to find things that it can prey on to shut your body down for good.” — COVID-19 survivor Brian Robinson told columnist Jenice Armstrong about his experience fighting the virus.
The budget cuts that may be headed for Pennsylvania schools could be devastating, writes Donna Cooper, executive director of Public Citizens for Children and Youth.
For the 35th anniversary of the MOVE bombing, the Inquirer Editorial Board writes about Philadelphia needing to say “sorry.”
What we’re reading
Philadelphia Magazine reports on what Philly might look like when businesses reopen.
Take a trip to Flavortown with this Buzzfeed essay about Guy Fieri, who has raised more than $20 million for a relief fund for restaurant workers.
Have you ordered anything from Amazon recently and experienced an unpredictable delivery delay? CNBC has the story on why that’s happening more often.
Your Daily Dose of | Flyover pics 📸
In case you missed the New Jersey Air National Guard’s flyover yesterday, my colleagues were on the scene to capture both the sky and those watching down below. The flyover was meant to honor COVID-19 first responders.