Restaurants hope people keep eating outside as the weather cools | Coronavirus Newsletter
Plus, parents plead to bring kids back to classrooms
TL;DR: Even as indoor dining restrictions loosen, outdoor dining remains crucial for restaurants struggling to stay afloat. But as the seasons change and temperatures dip, will customers still want to eat outside? Parents across the region are putting pressure on school boards to bring students back for in-person instruction as soon as possible, insisting that online learning isn’t working.
— Ellie Silverman (@esilverman11, health@inquirer.com)
What you need to know:
🛑 Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf’s COVID-19 restrictions saved thousands of lives in Pennsylvania, Pitt researchers say.
😷 At a Philly town hall yesterday, President Donald Trump questioned the value of wearing masks. Meanwhile, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said masks may offer more protection to the coronavirus than a vaccine, and urged all Americans to wear them in public.
🏖️ New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy blasted YouTube pranksters for drawing a crowd of hundreds to the famed Jersey Shore house in Seaside Heights, calling it an “egregious display of knucklehead behavior.”
🏈 Philadelphia announced street closures ahead of the Eagles' home opener on Sunday, to prevent fans from tailgating at or near the stadium. Meanwhile, the Big Ten reversed course and will have a fall football season starting in late October.
🎰 Workers at Rivers Casino Philadelphia complain of coronavirus secrecy and lax safety.
🦠 Chester County will notify recipients of “questionable" COVID-19 test results, reversing course after an Inquirer article.
📚 Pro/Con: Should college students get tuition refunds during COVID-19 as virtual learning continues?
📰 What’s going on in your county? We organized recent coverage of the coronavirus pandemic by local counties mentioned in the stories to make it easier for you to find the info you care about.
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.
Parents across the Philadelphia area are putting pressure on school boards to bring students back for in-person instruction as soon as possible, insisting that online learning isn’t working. “I think about what this is normalizing, and what she’s not getting," one mother said about her daughter. "She’s on the screen for 12 hours a day. She never has any downtime, ever.” Read more here.
Even as restrictions on indoor dining have loosened, outdoor dining remains crucial for restaurants struggling to stay afloat. But as the seasons change, will customers still want to eat outside when the temperatures dip? William Reed, co-owner of Standard Tap and Johnny Brenda’s, hopes so. The Inquirer wants to know how you feel about dining outside in November and beyond.
Helpful resources
These 8 principles of social distancing can help you figure out what you can and can’t do.
If you’ve hit a COVID-19 wall, here are ways to cope.
The coronavirus is mainly transmitted through the air. Here’s how to tell if your ventilation is OK.
How does the virus affect your entire body?
Here’s what to know about traveling safely during the pandemic.
You got this: Make these easy soups
We’re entering soup season, and my colleague Cassie Owens reached out to local chefs and authors for easy recipes we can all try. Read here for how to make mushroom and seaweed chowder, khoresh karafs, and carrot ginger soup.
🖼️ Here are six new art installations to explore at the Navy Yard, including an orange monster in a “Jawn” T-shirt.
🎨 More Philly-area museums and attractions have reopened. Check them out here.
🎶 A Philadelphia jazz singer adapts to the pandemic with a drive-thru concert series.
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
Coronavirus testing rates are low among Philadelphia’s Latino population. WHYY reports on this disparity, saying for many of the city’s Latinos “getting sick is just impossible.”
Synthetic biologists have created a slow-growing version of the coronavirus to give as a vaccine, MIT Technology Review reports.
The top spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services is taking a two-month “leave of absence” following his conspiracy-laden rant against scientists, accusing them of working to undermine the president, CNN reports.
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