TheCDC has published new interim guidance on COVID-19 Case Investigation and Contact Tracing, available online at: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/downloads/case-investigation-contact-tracing.pdf.

 This interim guidance document is intended to assist state, local, territorial, and tribal health departments develop jurisdictional plans for the implementation and enhancement of COVID-19 case investigation and contact tracing efforts. For more information on guidelines, tools, and resources for states, tribes, localities, and territories, please visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/php/open-america/index.html.

Questions concerning the guidance may be directed to the CDC COVID-19 Response proponent, the Workforce Development and Innovation Task Force, at eocevent404@cdc.gov.

With more than half of the U.S. starting to reopen at least partially but almost 36.5 million Americans having lost their jobs during the pandemic, WalletHub today released updated rankings for the States with the Biggest Increases in Unemployment Due to the Coronavirus, along with accompanying videos.

To identify which states’ workforces have been hurt most by COVID-19, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia based on increases in unemployment claims. We used this data to rank the most impacted states in both the latest week for which we have data (May 4) and overall since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis (March 16). Below, you can see highlights from the report, along with a WalletHub Q&A. To see the states most impacted since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, click here.

Increase in Pennsylvania Unemployment Due to Coronavirus (1=Worst, 25=Avg.):

•  590.84% Increase in Unemployment Claims (May 2020 vs May 2019)
  • 75,557 the week of May 4, 2020 vs 10,937 the week of May 6, 2019
  • 5th lowest increase in the U.S.
•  176.79% Increase in the Number of Unemployment Claims (May 2020 vs January 2020)
  • 75,557 the week of May 4, 2020 vs 27,298 the week of January 1, 2020
  • 4th lowest increase in the U.S.
• 1,937.73% Increase in Unemployment Claims Since Pandemic Started
  • 1,787,128 between the week of March 16, 2020 and the week of May 4, 2020 vs 92,228 between the week of March 18, 2019 and the week of May 6, 2019
  • 18th lowest increase in the U.S.

To view the full report and your state’s rank, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/states-with-the-biggest-increase-in-unemployment-due-to-coronavirus/72730/.

USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue announced the Coronavirus Food Assistance program on April 17, 2020. CFAP will use funding and authorities provided in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, and other USDA existing authorities. This $19 billion immediate relief program includes direct support to agricultural producers as well as the Food Box Distribution Program. This webpage has more information on the direct support for farmers and ranchers, which include:

• CFAP will provide direct support based on actual losses for agricultural producers where prices and market supply chains have been impacted.
• CFAP will assist producers with additional adjustment and marketing costs resulting from lost demand and short-term oversupply for the 2020 marketing year caused by COVID-19.

USDA has hosted webinars to provide basic information on how producers can prepare for the upcoming signup for the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program. This includes information on how to apply once signup opens and how to initiate contact with FSA.

More information can be found at their website.

Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) Secretary Dennis Davin has reminded all Pennsylvanians to be a good neighbor and respond to the 2020 Census.

This year marks the 22nd year of the United States Census, and commonwealth residents began receiving invitations to fill out the 2020 Census in the beginning of March. All households should have already received their initial invitation.

Taking time to respond to the 2020 Census now means a Census taker will not need to visit your home later. Beginning May 13, 2020, Census takers will begin a phased restart of on-field operations in the commonwealth by dropping off 2020 Census invitation packets at the front doors of households in areas where the majority of households do not receive mail at their home.

The deadline to respond has been extended from August 14, 2020, to October 31, 2020.

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf proclaimed Friday, May 22, the 143rd day of the year, as 1-4-3 Day, a statewide day of kindness in honor of Pennsylvania native Fred Rogers. Fred Rogers, best known from his beloved television series, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, exemplified compassion and regularly used 1-4-3 as another way of saying “I love you,” with 1-4-3 representing the number of letters in each word.

As the state continues to navigate the COVID-19 crisis, Governor Wolf is encouraging all Pennsylvanians to spread even more kindness, more love, and more generosity to essential workers and neighbors on 1-4-3 Day.

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture has outlined the order of enforcement actions that would be taken against restaurants offering dine-in services to patrons in violation of Governor Tom Wolf’s March 19 business closure Executive Order to slow the spread of COVID-19 in the commonwealth.

The Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Food Safety will enforce this order for retail food facilities under the department’s jurisdiction that are re-opening and offering dine-in services. In Governor Wolf’s plan to reopen Pennsylvania, restaurants in counties in both the red and yellow phases are prohibited from offering dine-in service and are limited to take-out and delivery options only.

Food safety inspectors will follow up on reports of restaurants offering dine-in service in violation of the order. Once confirmed, the following actions will be taken by the department:

• Warning letter from the Departments of Agriculture and Health;
• Follow up inspection;
• If still in violation of the order at follow up inspection, adjudication to suspend the businesses retail food license;
• If the business continues to operate after license is revoked, citations will be filed with the magisterial district judge;
• The department may pursue civil penalties of up to $10,000 per day of violation.

The department will work with the Pennsylvania Department of Health and collaboratively across other agencies – such as with the Pennsylvania State Police, and Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board – to report and follow up on violations.

“We know that people dining together in a restaurant puts many people at risk of exposure, including patrons and employees,” Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said. “It is essential that restaurants comply with guidance and continue with carry-out and delivery options at this time. Social distancing is a primary tool to fight this virus, and we must stay the course.”

Restaurants under the department’s jurisdiction that are inspected as a result of such complaints will have public reports with details of violations filed in Pennsylvania’s restaurant inspection database, publicly accessibly via the department’s website or the free EatSafePA mobile app for both Apple and Android devices.

Reports related to food safety concerns or restaurants offering dine-in services can be made online through the department’s Food Safety Complaint Form.

Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding and Pennsylvania Department of Aging Secretary Robert Torres today penned a letter to Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation urging legislative action to enable Pennsylvania’s older adults to access the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program during the mitigation effort.

Typically, the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition program application and eligibility verification is completed at a senior center or at one of Pennsylvania’s 52 Area Agencies on Aging. Distribution of the vouchers also takes place at these locations.  However, since these locations are currently closed to the public, older adults would have difficulty directly accessing this program.

The proposed temporary waiver would allow eligible older adults to complete their application over the phone or electronically, with vouchers mailed directly to their homes.

In addition to advocating for contact-free eligibility verification, the administration asked for additional administrative funds to cover banking costs incurred by farmers and partner agencies with increased costs for mailing vouchers and other required materials. At a time when budgets have been put under increasing financial strains, the provision of these administrative funds would relieve some of the additional costs incurred in carrying out this program.

For more on food security in Pennsylvania, visit agriculture.pa.gov/foodsecurity.

New tool provides innovative solutions for states and facilities to protect our nation’s vulnerable nursing home residents during emergency

On May 14, 2020, under the direction of President Trump, CMS released a new toolkit developed to aid nursing homes, Governors, states, departments of health, and other agencies who provide oversight and assistance to these facilities, with additional resources to aid in the fight against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic within nursing homes. The toolkit builds upon previous actions taken by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), which provide a wide range of tools and guidance to states, healthcare providers and others during the public health emergency. The toolkit is comprised of best practices from a variety of front line health care providers, Governors’ COVID-19 task forces, associations and other organizations, and experts, and is intended to serve as a catalogue of resources dedicated to addressing the specific challenges facing nursing homes as they combat COVID-19.

“The coronavirus presents a unique challenge for nursing homes. CMS is using every tool at our disposal to protect our nation’s most vulnerable citizens and aid the facilities that care for them. This toolkit will support state, local leaders and nursing homes in identifying best practices to protect our vulnerable elderly in nursing homes” said CMS Administrator Seema Verma.  

The toolkit provides detailed resources and direction for quality improvement assistance and can help in the creation and implementation of strategies and interventions intended to manage and prevent the spread of COVID-19 within nursing homes. The toolkit outlines best practices for a variety of subjects ranging from infection control to workforce and staffing. It also provides contact information for organizations who stand ready to assist with the unique challenges posed by caring for individuals in long-term care settings. Each state was involved in the creation of this toolkit, resulting in a robust resource that may be leveraged by a variety of entities serving this vulnerable population.

Additionally, CMS has contracted with 12 Quality Innovation Network-Quality Improvement Organizations (QIN-QIOs) to work with providers, community partners, beneficiaries and caregivers on data-driven quality improvement initiatives designed to improve the quality of care for beneficiaries across the United States. The QIN-QIOs are reaching out to nursing homes across the country to provide virtual technical assistance for homes that have an opportunity for improvement based on an analysis of previous citations for infection control deficiencies using publicly available data found on Nursing Home Compare.

This effort augments CMS Administrator Seema Verma’s five-part plan to ensure safety and quality in America’s nursing homes, which was announced in April 2019, and recent agency efforts to combat the spread of COVID-19 within these facilities. Since February, CMS has taken unprecedented action to address COVID-19 within nursing homes. On February 6, CMS took action to prepare the United States for COVID-19 by reissuing longstanding infection control guidelines. CMS then moved quickly to address the rapid spread of infection by issuing guidance on new screening processes for facilities, on the use of personal protective equipment (PPE), and on temporary restrictions on non-essential medical staff and visitors in March. CMS immediately followed these actions by prioritizing inspections to conduct targeted surveys for infection control and complaints triaged at the Immediate Jeopardy level.

The Agency also issued a call to action for nursing homes and state and local governments as a means of reinforcing infection control responsibilities and urging leaders to work closely with facilities to determine needs for testing and PPE. Recently, CMS announced payment increases for certain lab tests that use high-throughput technologies to rapidly diagnose large numbers of COVID-19 cases. Finally, CMS will now require nursing homes to report cases of COVID-19 directly to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and inform residents and their families and representatives of COVID-19 cases within their facilities in an effort to improve transparency.

To keep up with the important and ongoing work of the White House Coronavirus Task Force in response to COVID-19, visit www.coronavirus.gov. For information specific to CMS, please visit the Current Emergencies Website.

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf has announced that the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) has approved Pennsylvania’s application for $523.8 million in one-time federal emergency funds to help schools respond to COVID-19 impacts. The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) submitted its Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund application to USDE last week. Beginning today, local education agencies (LEAs) can apply to PDE to receive their allocation of the funding and can expect to start receiving funds within the next several weeks.

LEAs may use ESSER funding for a wide range of purposes, including food service, professional training, technology purchases, sanitization and cleaning supplies, summer and after-school programs, and mental health supports. Funds must be used by September 2022. PDE is urging school entities to prioritize investments for vulnerable students and families, including those living in the deepest poverty, students with disabilities, English learners, migrant students, students experiencing homelessness, and children in foster care. View a list of what each school district and charter school will receive in ESSER funds.