Inside Philly’s busiest coronavirus hospital | Morning Newsletter
Plus, how the region celebrated Easter.
The Morning Newsletter
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A powerful storm could hit Philly today and bring soaking rain, thunderstorms, and, possibly, more 50-mph-plus winds. Forecasters told my colleague that the winds could pose a risk to some power lines.
And in today’s newsletter, my colleagues detailed for you what’s going on inside Philly’s busiest coronavirus hospital, what the economy could look like when businesses reopen, and how the region celebrated a different sort of Easter yesterday.
— Josh Rosenblat (@joshrosenblat, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
Temple University Hospital’s Esther K. Boyer Pavilion was an office building for the cardiology, neurology, and surgery departments just two months ago. Patients would typically come to see their doctors for routine exams.
But, last month, Temple turned the building into its coronavirus hospital. More COVID-19 patients have come through Temple’s Boyer building than any other single hospital in Philly.
The scene inside Boyer is quiet, eerie even, my colleague Lisa Gartner reports. No visitors talk, and the staff stays quiet, too. There’s just the constant mechanical whoosh of the ventilators. The sound of survival. Patients sleep on stretchers because regular hospital beds can’t fit through the entries to Boyer’s rooms.
This is what it’s like inside a Philly COVID-19 hospital.
Frankly, it’s complicated, and some of that has to do with a major question: When will the economy reopen? It looks as if it might not happen for a while. Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said last week that social distancing could be our “new normal” at least through the summer. And, because of testing scarcity and a lack of data, it might be hard for Pennsylvania to reopen certain parts of the state, whenever that may be.
There’s also the matter of unemployment. While the federal government did pass a major rescue package, it won’t stop unemployment from surpassing Great Recession levels, according to a Wharton analysis. And, some are reaching even further back for learning how to deal with the economic crisis. The Great Depression can offer some lessons. (Also, here’s how you can make sure you get your coronavirus check direct-deposited to your bank account.)
A new effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus by thinning the city’s jail population led to about 235 inmates being released. Inside jails, the coronavirus outbreak was growing at a rate five times the rest of Philadelphia’s. Candidates for release included nonviolent offenders who had already completed their minimum sentences and people who were being held on cash bail or low-level charges. Over three days, four judges reviewed the potentially releasable inmates.
In both Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Govs. Tom Wolf and Phil Murphy authorized the early release of potentially thousands of state prison inmates.
What you need to know today
It was a different kind of Easter in Philly yesterday. My photojournalist colleagues captured what the weekend was like in images and a video of an Easter service for some of the city’s most vulnerable.
In 2018, The Inquirer reported previously undisclosed claims of sexual abuse by a famous chess coach in Philadelphia public schools. He hasn’t been charged though, despite a police inquiry. It might be because the alleged crimes occurred outside Pennsylvania’s statute of limitations for child sex abuse.
SEPTA has reversed its coronavirus face mask requirement after a video went viral that shows a mask-less man being dragged off a bus.
Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and other states are struggling to avoid repeating Wisconsin’s election fiasco. And some officials in Southeastern Pennsylvania want the state to make the June 2 primary an all-mail election.
With New Jersey hospitals near capacity, the state has put out a call for volunteers and loosened regulations to allow more people to respond. The state is even reactivating medical licenses for recently retired providers.
What is it like to deal with the coronavirus and dementia at the same time?
Through your eyes | #OurPhilly
🌈Hoping today’s rain gives us another one of these pics. Thanks for sharing, @mattiemylo!
Tag your Instagram posts or tweets with #OurPhilly and we’ll pick our favorite each day to feature in this newsletter and give you a shout out!
That’s interesting
🚽Here’s what happened to all the toilet paper, according to psychology and supply-chain experts.
😷An “infodemic” of fake coronavirus news is putting some well-meaning Philadelphia mask-makers into Facebook jail.
🥘From fish sauce to coffee, Philly chefs offer advice on the most versatile pantry staples to improve your stay-at-home cooking game.
🏞️Can you go for a hike? What about state parks? Are they open?
😄People throughout the region are doing their best to spread cheer in dark times. In South Jersey, a photographer is capturing drive-by “porchraits.” And in Philly, folks are donning weird costumes and handing out free beer.
🛍️Doordash and Caviar are cutting their delivery fees on food orders in half. And, here are restaurant critic Craig LaBan’s takeout highlights.
📹Our video team wants you to submit your videos showing your shelter-in-place lives. You can drop your 60-second clip here.
Opinions
“Should Leta catch this virus, her preexisting lung disease and cognitive challenges make her a highly unlikely candidate for a ventilator because not only does she have a lower chance of survival — she does not have the attributes that society deems worth fighting for. In other words, this virus is a death sentence for my daughter.” — writes Lainey Moseley, a freelance producer, about her daughter’s life and how coronavirus guidelines punish those with disabilities.
The Inquirer Editorial Board writes about what Joe Biden needs to do to unite the Democratic Party now that he’s the presumptive presidential nominee.
Though he dropped out of the race for president last week, the coronavirus pandemic has shown that Sen. Bernie Sanders was right about a number of his policies, writes national opinion columnist Will Bunch. And, if you want more Will Bunch in your life, sign up for his new weekly newsletter.
What we’re reading
Billy Penn captured a silver lining of the pandemic: building community with notes written from across the street.
The Washington Post wrote about Philly’s attempt to curb some of the impact that climate change will have on its sewage system.
At first, everyone was talking about how happy their dogs were to have them be home all day. But now, a writer at GQ wonders whether dogs are actually now sick of us.
Your Daily Dose of | A headless bunny
A video was making the rounds on Facebook this weekend showing the wind whipping off the head of a costumed Easter Bunny riding on a fire truck on Margate.