Coronavirus 'is all over the city’ | Coronavirus Newsletter

TL;DR: Coronavirus cases are confirmed in every zip code in the city, but those numbers are expected to grow in the days and weeks ahead as officials, hospital workers and the community brace for a surge in cases. The new data shows how few tests have been administered in Philadelphia; it appears less than .5% of the population has been tested for the virus, and the actual number of infections is likely much higher.

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— Allison Steele (@AESteele, health@inquirer.com)

🏥More coronavirus deaths were confirmed in Philadelphia, Delaware and Montgomery Counties, bringing the total to 34 deaths and 2,751 cases statewide. New Jersey’s death toll reached 132, as the known number of cases in the state surpassed 11,000.

🛑President Trump is considering an enforced quarantine for the greater New York City area, including part of New Jersey.

💰New Jersey state officials reached a deal with banks to allow a 90-day grace period for mortgage payments from borrowers who have been economically hurt by the outbreak.

👐Plans are underway in Philadelphia and the region to open quarantine sites for people who have the virus, and field hospitals to handle an overflow of patients.

📈As of Saturday afternoon, there are at least 1,850 reported cases in the Philadelphia area.

COVID-19 has spread to all corners of Philadelphia, according to data released by the city this week. Some city zip codes have fewer than five cases, while one has more than 40, but officials say those numbers are likely far smaller than the actual numbers of people who are infected, and that they will grow significantly as the virus continues its path through the region.

The numbers do serve to highlight how little testing has been completed thus far: People in Philadelphia have received the results of 5,601 tests as of Saturday, and about 14% of those were positive.

Jennifer Nuzzo, an epidemiologist and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, said a difference among zip codes is not large enough to say one part of the city is worse off than others. Determining which neighborhoods are hardest-hit would require testing efforts that are more widespread than what the city is currently able to carry out.

Testing sites have opened in Philadelphia and the region, but officials have urged otherwise healthy residents to stay home and self-isolate if possible, so that testing can be prioritized for healthcare workers, first responders and those with underlying health conditions or those at high risk for infection.

After responding to a call about an elderly man who needed help, Patrolman John Freas of Birmingham Township, Chester County, learned the man had tested positive for COVID-19.

Freas was told to self-quarantine, but he shares a house with his wife, and the couple often spend time with their grandchildren. So instead of hunkering down at home, Freas became the first resident of a “first responder refuge” that Delaware County officials created at the Glen Mills Schools campus. For eight days, Freas has lived inside a converted dorm room at the shuttered reform academy.

“It comes to a point where you say, 'What do I need to do to keep my family safe?’ ” Freas told reporter Vinny Vella in an interview Saturday.

🎶When this musicians’ pension fund lost big on risky investments, a local saxophonist fired back with a lawsuit that won a $27 million settlement.

📰From the Inquirer archives: How art brightened the day for pediatric patients in New Jersey.

🌱Why your home garden needs both annuals and perennials.

Last week, thousands of our readers watched Rocky together-but-separately as part of an impromptu One Movie, One Philadelphia initiative. This weekend, revisit the locally filmed 1985 noir thriller Witness, starring Harrison Ford as a Philly cop who has to protect a young Amish boy after the child sees a murder in 30th Street Station.

Watch it anytime this weekend, and share your thoughts here in the comments section. We’ll publish the best ones Monday.

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.

Local theater publicist Bryan Buttler is determined to spread a counterattack of kindness, community, and concern. He’s made a commitment to daily small acts of caring, like helping a mother replenish her supply of Pedialyte for her ill child, or putting together care packages with sanitizing wipes.

News about coronavirus is changing quickly. Go to inquirer.com/coronavirus to make sure you are seeing the newest information.