Parents and kids fear a summer without camp | Coronavirus Newsletter
Plus, why a ventilator wasn’t enough to help this coronavirus patient
TL;DR: As summer approaches, and stay-at-home orders continue to be extended, parents are wondering what to do with their kids. Read more here about the camps that are closed and the ones still hoping to open. Read why a ventilator wasn’t enough to help this coronavirus patient, and the high-tech measures medical staff tried as a last resort. See photos of Gritty visiting HUP to thank health-care workers and photos of the staff at the Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts surprising their graduating class with signs on the front lawn of the school.
— Ellie Silverman (@esilverman11, health@inquirer.com)
What you need to know:
🇺🇸 Most people support coronavirus lockdowns. But President Donald Trump is fighting them as he comes to Pennsylvania tomorrow.
📚 Colleges are extending deadlines for admitted students to enroll, giving families more time to decide amid uncertainty about what schools will do in the fall.
🏞️ “Inordinate amount of urine and feces” have been left behind in New Jersey parks amid coronavirus bathroom closures.
🏖️ Coming to Cape May County boardwalks this summer: “Social distance ambassadors.”
🚧 New Jersey will allow nonessential retail businesses to reopen Monday for curbside pickup. Nonessential construction can also resume.
🍹 A bill permitting cocktails-to-go has been approved by the Pennsylvania Senate, and is on its way to Gov. Tom Wolf.
Local coronavirus cases
📈The coronavirus has swept across the Philadelphia region and cases continue to mount. The Inquirer and Spotlight PA are compiling geographic data on tests conducted, cases confirmed, and deaths caused by the virus. Track the spread here.
As summer approaches, and stay-at-home orders continue to be extended, parents are wondering what to do with their kids. Many were counting on camp for child care, or as something for their children to do for eight weeks while they most likely continued working from home. But now, families are worried COVID-19 will take away camp season, just like it wrecked the end of the school year. With so much uncertainty, not all facilities can offer straightforward answers on whether they’ll be open in July and August. Read more here about the camps that are closed and the ones hoping to open.
Daniel Bisset Jr.'s lungs were still inflamed, filled with fluid by the coronavirus, and they could not extract enough oxygen from the tube down his throat. The ventilator was not helping enough. As a last resort for Bisset, a 48-year-old sheet-metal worker from Clarks Summit, Pa., staff at the Geisinger health system tried a high-tech measure that has now been performed on more than 800 COVID-19 patients worldwide. They connected him to an external lung. Read more here about this procedure and Bisset’s story.
Helpful resources
Open or closed? What Pennsylvania businesses can open during the red, yellow, and green phases. And how Pennsylvania decides when counties can reopen.
Here are 8 principles of social distancing to help figure out what you can and can’t do.
Did you eat your two-week food supply? Here’s why you need to restock it. If you need help with that, here’s a list of local Philly stores that deliver groceries, meat, dairy, coffee beans, and more.
Why some get really sick from the coronavirus, and others don’t.
Have another question? Our reporters have tracked down almost 100 answers here.
You got this: Get creative
It’s hard to stay entertained at home, so my colleague Grace Dickinson thought of ways to have some creative fun. From baking cookies to building rockets to playing with clay dough, here is a roster of entertainment for all ages.
🏥 Is it safe to go to my doctor’s office? Your questions answered.
🍽️ Our restaurant critic Craig LaBan rounds up great ideas in suburban takeout food.
🍣 Roll with it: A sushi chef is selling DIY kits and will lead a class on Instagram.
Have a social distancing tip or question to share? Let us know at health@inquirer.com and your input might be featured in a future edition of this newsletter.
What we’re paying attention to
The New Yorker writes about what healthcare employees, who have been working throughout the pandemic, can teach us about how to lift a lockdown safely.
We don’t yet have a coronavirus vaccine, but WIRED reports that a debate over who gets it first has already started.
“The secret to why some people get so sick from COVID could lie in their genes,” MIT Technology Review reports.
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