In summary Deaths, hospitalizations and new cases fall sharply; For first time in 12 months, no patients on ventilators; State’s nursing home data remains murky; Only 17% of oldest seniors are fully vaccinated. Introduction All significant measures of the COVID-19 pandemic in Lancaster County fell steeply in February, accelerating the decline that began in mid-January:…
Information About Covid-19 Coronavirus in Lancaster County, PA
Forums offered on rental assistance program
(Source: Lancaster County Housing Authority) Landlords have an opportunity coming up to learn about Lancaster County’s new Emergency Rental Assistance program and ask questions of the administrators who are running it. The Lancaster County Housing Authority is hosting online information sessions via Zoom on Wednesday, March 10, to discuss the program, the application process and…
Emergency Rental Assistance opens Monday, March 8. Here’s what you need to know (FAQ)
Apartment buildings and row homes in Columbia Borough are seen from the air. (Photo: Kevin Flounlacker) Lancaster County’s Emergency Rental Assistance program will open for applications this coming Monday, March 8, and officials expect to have nearly $36 million in relief funds to draw on. The Lancaster County Housing Authority is administering the program locally.…
News: Friday, Mar. 5
The interior of Lancaster’s Community Vaccination Center at Park City Center. (Source: Commissioner Josh Parsons) Headlines: • Lancaster County mass Covid-19 vaccination site to open as soon as Wednesday: The site at Park City Center will not be able to start at “full throttle,” but is planned eventually to vaccinate up to 6,000 per day.…
Pa. offers details on pharma program to vaccinate child care workers
Pa. Acting Health Secretary Alison Beam speaks at an online media briefing on Thursday, March 4, 2021. Beginning next week, pharmacies participating in the federal Covid-19 vaccine partnership will contact child care workers in Pennsylvania and offer to schedule them for appointments to receive the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The three pharmacy chains, Rite Aid,…
News: Thursday, Mar. 4
Susquehanna River (Source: Envision the Susquehanna) Headlines: • Law enforcement agencies call for Gov. Wolf to prioritize them for vaccines: Now that teachers are in line to receive the Covid-19 vaccine, law enforcement are wondering when it will be their turn, given their front-line duties. (Source: WGAL) • Pa. being taken to court over blocking…
Revised Covid-19 vaccine allocation model expected to help Lancaster County
State Sen. Ryan Aument, R-Lancaster, speaks during an online media briefing on Wednesday, March 3, 2021. Lancaster County got a shout-out during Gov. Tom Wolf’s online media briefing Wednesday morning. Wolf cited Lancaster’s planned community vaccination center as an example of the “mass vaccination” prong of the state’s three-pronged Covid-19 vaccination strategy. The other two…
Lancaster city seeks ideas for better traffic safety on South Duke Street
(Source: City of Lancaster | OUL) Lancaster city is seeking public input through Sunday on traffic safety in the South Duke Street corridor. The city is planning improvements to the southeast Lancaster thoroughfare between Church Street and just south of Chesapeake street. Residents, it says, know where problems exists and where changes could help. “Data…
Gov. Wolf announces Covid-19 vaccination plan for teachers, school staff
Pa. Gov. Tom Wolf speaks during an online media briefing on Wednesday, March 3, 2021. Pennsylvania will use its allocations of the newly approved Johnson & Johnson single-dose Covid-19 vaccine to inoculate teachers and school staff, and those who work with younger children will be among the first in line, Gov. Tom Wolf announced Wednesday.…
News: Wednesday, Mar. 3
Headlines: • Gov. Wolf asks federal government for $1 billion in food stamp money: The money would go to students who have learned remotely this year and didn’t have access to free or reduced meals. The Wolf administration estimates that includes 928,000 students. The first round of benefits would be given six weeks after approval,…
Here’s how local leaders answered questions about Lancaster’s Covid-19 mass vaccination plan (Q&A)
Panelists in Tuesday’s town hall were, clockwise from top left: State Sens. Scott Martin and Ryan Aument, Dr. Michael Ripchinski, county Commissioner Ray D’Agostino, and Joan Bradbury, executive director of the state Senate Health & Human Services Committee. Well over 100 people tuned in to an online town hall Tuesday evening to learn about Lancaster…
Aument: Teachers to get J&J vaccine, won’t be added to Phase 1A
State Sen. Ryan Aument speaks during an online town hall on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. Despite media reports suggesting otherwise, teachers will not be added to Pennsylvania’s Phase 1A of Covid-19 vaccinations, state Sen. Ryan Aument said Tuesday. Rather, the state plans to vaccinate teachers through a separate system using a shipment of the newly…
Factory Ministries’ remodeling of ‘Factory Market’ conveys message of dignity
Volunteers Mike and Deb Sensenig join Factory Market director Kerri Burns, right, in the remodeled space. (Photo: Provided) When you walk into The Factory Market, it feels like entering a small specialty grocery, something along the lines of the Strasburg Market Place. That’s exactly the ambiance The Factory Ministries’ wanted to create when it decided…
Pa. adding Spanish, Chinese, German to ‘Your Turn’ vaccine screening tool
(Source: Health.pa.gov) Beginning Wednesday, “Your Turn,” Pennsylvania’s online Covid-19 vaccine eligibility tool, will be available in Spanish, Chinese and German, Department of Health Senior Advisor Lyndsey Mauldin said during an online media briefing Tuesday. Your Turn allows users to determine whether they fall within Pennsylvania’s current guidelines for receiving a vaccine, and to sign up…
Pa. health officials mum for now on J&J vaccine deployment plans
Pa. Department of Health Senior Advisor Lyndsey Mauldin speaks to reporters during an online media briefing on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. Pennsylvania will receive its first shipments of the newly approved Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine this week, Department of Health Senior Advisor Lyndsey Mauldin said Tuesday, but despite repeated questioning, she declined to say…
Sens. Aument, Martin hold town hall tonight on Covid-19 vaccination plan
Sens. Scott Martin and Ryan Aument are both promoting this evening’s town hall on social media. Lancaster County’s two state senators will host an online town hall this evening on the community’s Covid-19 vaccination plan. Sens. Ryan Aument’s and Scott Martin’s event begins at 5:30 p.m. You can participate through either senator’s “Access Live” page…
Speakers to discuss pandemic and what follows it in online Lancaster Chamber ‘State of the County’ forum
The speakers in the 2021 virtual State of the County event, from left to right; top to bottom: Kevin Ressler, Dr. Mike Diller, Jan Bergen, Naomi Young, Pedro Rivera and Commissoner Josh Parsons. (Source: Lancaster Chamber) The Lancaster Chamber 2021 State of the County event will feature a half-dozen experts from Lancaster County commenting on…
News: Tuesday, Mar. 2
Berks County Residential Center (Source: berkscounty.gov) Headlines: • How the new Lancaster County mass vaccination site work, from location to logistics : Experts and leaders behind the Park City Center site answer questions about the vaccination center’s logistics and plan. (Source: LNP) Lancaster County currently has about 12% of its population at least partially vaccinated;…