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Pa. businesses organize to defy mandates | Coronavirus Newsletter

Plus, home health workers don’t know when they will be vaccinated

Panico's Neighborhood Grill is shown in Landsale, Pa. Friday, December 18, 2020.
Panico's Neighborhood Grill is shown in Landsale, Pa. Friday, December 18, 2020.Read moreJOSE F. MORENO / Staff Photographer

TL;DR: A growing number of Pennsylvania businesses, mostly restaurants and gyms, are openly defying the state’s recent orders. Read more here about how officials are responding. As hospital workers are getting their first COVID-19 vaccinations, home care providers are wondering when they will get their shots, too.

— Ellie Silverman (@esilverman11, health@inquirer.com)

What you need to know:

💰 Congress is working to reach an agreement on a new round of coronavirus stimulus that would provide $600 direct payments to Americans and extend federal unemployment benefits.

🏥 For Philly health-care workers, their vaccinations are a quick reprieve from the exhausting work of caring for COVID-19 patients. St. Christopher’s doctors, who treat Philly’s youngest COVID-19 patients, jumped at the chance to get vaccinated.

😷 Vice President Mike Pence and wife Karen have also received the COVID-19 vaccine.

📚 Teachers are in short supply as more and more must quarantine due to COVID-19 exposure.

🦠 Philadelphia urgent care centers are still coping with shortages of coronavirus tests.

📰 What’s going on in your county or neighborhood? We organized recent coverage of the coronavirus pandemic by local counties and Philly neighborhoods 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.

Pa. businesses are organizing to defy pandemic mandates

Panico’s Neighborhood Grill & Sports Tavern is operating at 100% capacity, despite Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf’s order prohibiting indoor dining statewide. It is just one of a growing number of Pennsylvania businesses, mostly restaurants and gyms, that are openly defying the state’s recent orders, my colleague Anna Orso reports. Read more here about how officials are responding.

Home health workers are a top priority to get COVID-19 vaccines, but don’t know when or where

Hospital workers are getting their first COVID-19 vaccinations and home care providers are wondering when they will get their shots, too. “It’s still very much up in the air,” said Dave Totaro, chief government affairs officer for Bayada Home Health Care, which operates in 23 states. “We don’t know not only when but where. We don’t even know how we’re going to be notified.” Read more here.

Helpful resources

  1. Symptoms of COVID-19, flu, common cold, and allergies can overlap. How to tell the difference.

  2. These 8 principles of social distancing can help you figure out what you can and can’t do.

  3. The coronavirus is mainly transmitted through the air. Here’s how to tell if your ventilation is OK.

  4. How does the virus affect your entire body?

  5. Here’s what to know about traveling safely during the pandemic.

You got this: Stay safe, do stuff

Here is one highlight from our weekly events calendar:

  1. 🎊 New Year’s Resolution Wall at the Kimmel Center (Seasonal / virtual / kid-friendly / free) You can post your 2021 New Year’s resolutions on social media, tagged with #KimmelResolutions2021 and they’ll be collected and shared by the Kimmel on multiple platforms, including the huge digital sign outside of the theater. (Free, through Jan. 14, kimmelcenter.org, add to calendar)

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

  1. Coronavirus is still spreading behind bars, with data showing that one in five prisoners in the United States has had COVID-19, the Marshall Project reports.

  2. In Southern California, ICU availability is at 0%, the Los Angeles Times reports. Officials warn it will only get worse.

  3. “If COVID-19 vaccines bring an end to the pandemic, America has immigrants to thank,” NPR reports.

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