State officials, area residents brace for impact of coronavirus in Southwestern Pennsylvania
Gideon Bradshaw/Observer-Reporter
Megan Petersen’s trunk is full of groceries Thursday afternoon following her trip to Sam’s Club in South Strabane Township.
Harry Funk/The Almanac
Gov. Tom Wolf in a file photo from February
Megan Petersen filled her trunk with groceries Thursday afternoon in Sam’s Club’s crowded parking lot in South Strabane Township.
The South Park Township mother of two young children said stocking up on groceries was the prudent thing to do. About two weeks ago, she said, she had bought toilet paper and over-the-counter medicine like Tylenol and Mucinex, just in case.
“The reality is, you might get stuck in your house for two weeks,” Petersen said.
Full shopping carts at the Trinity Point bulk retailer were just one of the signs of intensifying reactions to the coronavirus, a contagious and sometimes-lethal respiratory illness, across the region and state. As the number of presumptive positive cases in Pennsylvania climbed to 20, with another two confirmed as of Thursday afternoon, Gov. Tom Wolf ordered the closings of schools and many other public places in Montgomery County, the epicenter of the outbreak in the state.
Wolf also ordered all health-care facilities in that county, including hospitals, pharmacies and urgent-care locations, to remain open. He asked the same of grocery stores, gasoline stations and mass transit there, but ordered the closure of nonessential stores.
He asked promoters of large gatherings like concerts of 250 or more people across the state to cancel or postpone events to help curtail the epidemic, which is also known as COVID-19.
“We all need to work together to do our part to control the spread,” Wolf said.
So far, no cases have been identified in Southwestern Pennsylvania.
Wolf did, however, urge people to stay home, work from home if possible, and avoid public places. He suggested people keep a 6-foot distance from each other. He said states like California and Washington, where the virus began to show up earlier, now regret not taking such mitigating measures to slow its spread. He added people should avoid public places like gyms, cinemas and malls.
Echoing that sentiment, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh said it was canceling “nonessential, diocesan-sponsored gatherings,” starting Monday. Church officials said services, confessions, religious education and classes at its schools would continue, but encouraged parishes holding fish fries fries to limit themselves to serving take-out.
Diocesan Bishop David Zubik said he and his counterparts around the state were giving believers a dispensation from attending Sunday Masses.
“Despite the suspension of the obligation to attend Sunday Mass, all regularly scheduled Masses will remain open to the public for those who wish to attend,” Zubik said in a statement. “Regarding other sacramental events, such as confirmation, further announcements will be forthcoming in the near future.”
In Washington, Immaculate Conception Church intended to proceed its Friday fish fry as planned. Spokesperson Tracy Suschel said the parish continues to monitor recommendations from Zubik and health officials.
“We’re going on a day-by-day basis,” Suschel added.
Washington & Jefferson College officials said that the school’s classes would move online as of March 23. That measure would last until April 13, at earliest.
Meanwhile, Wolf’s office said the state Department of Corrections had banned visitors to its facilities to ensure the safety of inmates and staff.
State Health Secretary Rachel Levine said 219 people have been tested for the virus in Pennsylvania and 116 of them were negative. There were 81 test results pending as of Thursday afternoon.
“If you are sick, stay home,” Levine said.
Estimates put the morality rate of the newly identified virus in the low single digits, but it’s proved more lethal for vulnerable populations like the elderly.
Citing the low mortality rate, Krystal Landsittel, of Canonsburg, said she thought fears of the virus were overblown. The nursing assistant had just been in the Trinity Point Walmart, where she said people were buying out water, cleaning supplies and toilet paper.
“I feel like they’re going overboard with it, because they’re buying more than they need,” she said.
Moe Morales, of Peters Township, agreed.
“They’re taking this to another level,” he said in the Walmart parking lot.
He compared the illness to previous epidemics, including the 2009 H1N1 strain of the flu, that drew widespread attention before receding from the spotlight.
“All of this is going to pass,” Morales said.
Uncertainty about the spread of the coronavirus also fostered rumors.
On Wednesday evening, the Observer-Reporter received an anonymous tip from someone claiming a student from Waynesburg University in Greene County had been “quarantined.” That report turned out to be false, but appeared to have started with a case of the flu.
“Waynesburg University currently has no presumed or confirmed cases of COVID-19 on its campus, nor are any students in quarantine,” spokesperson Ashley Wise said in an email. “Out of an abundance of caution, we did have a student self-isolate after testing positive for influenza in an effort to minimize the spread to others.”