As countries consider back-to-school strategies for the fall, a coronavirus outbreak at a Jerusalem high school offers a cautionary tale. Confident it had beaten the coronavirus and desperate to reboot a devastated economy, the Israeli government invited the entire student body back in late May. Within days, infections were reported at a Jerusalem high school, which quickly mushroomed into the largest outbreak in a single school in Israel, possibly the world. Read more.

HRSA has published a new dashboard on data.HRSA.gov compiling the weekly health center COVID-19 data to deliver a high-level view of total COVID-19 tests conducted and the distribution of positive COVID-19 tests. See a breakdown by race and ethnicity as well.

As part of our national critical infrastructure, the food industry has had to quickly adjust to changes in how it operates to ensure supply-chain continuity during the COVID-19 public health emergency. Not only are these stakeholders working to protect their employees from COVID-19, but they are also working to ensure the safety of the human and animal foods they produce as they experience changes within their operations.

Over the last several months, the FDA, along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), have developed a number of resources to help food industry employers continue or resume operations safely. These resources complement the FDA’s long-standing requirements for food producers to protect the safety of the food they produce.

To assist the food industry as it navigates changes to operations related to COVID-19, the FDA has teamed up with OSHA to develop the “Employee Health and Food Safety Checklist for Human and Animal Food Operations During the COVID-19 Pandemic.” The checklist pulls from existing guidance provided by the FDA, CDC, and OSHA and serves as a quick reference to help the food industry assess employee health, social distancing, and food safety within workplaces as operations may be impacted by COVID-19.

The checklist is broken into two distinct sections. The first section focuses on employee health, screening, and operation configuration for social distancing to prevent or minimize the spread of COVID-19 based on guidelines provided by CDC and OSHA. The second section highlights food safety requirements, found in existing regulations, that can help the food industry assess the potential impact of COVID-19-related operational changes on food safety practices. Some operational changes that could impact food safety include closures, changes among food safety staff, or changes to suppliers or ingredients.

Some or all of this checklist may be useful to establishments that are growing, harvesting, packing, manufacturing, processing, or holding human and animal food regulated by FDA. These include produce, seafood, milk, eggs, grains, game meat, and other raw materials or ingredients, as well as their resulting human or animal food products. This checklist also provides useful information for foreign facilities that manufacture, process, pack, or hold food intended for consumption in the United States.

This checklist is not an exhaustive list of all measures human and animal food operations may take to protect employee health and food safety during the COVID-19 pandemic, but it can serve as a quick reference to identify areas where additional attention could be warranted. Operations should continue to refer to guidelines offered by their state and local government, as well as additional information provided by the FDA, CDC and OSHA.

For More Information

• What to Do If You Have COVID-19 Confirmed Positive or Exposed Workers in Your Food Production, Storage, or Distribution Operations Regulated by FDA
• Use of Respirators, Facemasks, and Cloth Face Coverings in the Food and Agriculture Sector During Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)
• COVID-19 Update: FDA Issues Temporary Policy for FSMA Onsite Audit Requirements
• Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) FDA
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
• CDC COVID-19 FAQ for Businesses

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) updated its April guidance regarding the implementation of section 3710 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act for inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS) hospitals.

To address potential Medicare program integrity risks, effective with admissions occurring on or after September 1, 2020, claims eligible for the 20 percent increase in the Medicare Severity-Diagnosis Related Group (MS-DRG) weighting factor will be required to have a positive COVID-19 laboratory test documented in the patient’s medical record. Positive tests must be demonstrated using only the results of viral testing (i.e., molecular or antigen), consistent with CDC guidelines. The test may be performed either during the hospital admission or prior to the hospital admission.

CMS may conduct post-payment medical review to confirm the presence of a positive COVID-19 laboratory test and, if no such test is contained in the medical record, the additional payment resulting from the 20 percent increase in the MS-DRG relative weight will be recouped.  A hospital that diagnoses a patient with COVID-19 consistent with the ICD-10-CM Official Coding and Reporting Guidelines but does not have evidence of a positive test result can decline, at the time of claim submission, the additional payment resulting from the application at the time of claim payment of the 20 percent increase in the MS-DRG relative weight to avoid the repayment.

A Medicare Learning Network article with the updated guidance is available here.  For information specific to what CMS is doing in response to COVID-19, please visit the Current Emergencies Website.

The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry has launched a new online job portal. People seeking employment can visit www.PAcareerlink.pa.gov and select the green “PA COVID-19 Jobs – Hiring Immediately” job portal banner to see active job openings. Selecting the “Apply Now” button for a listed position will redirect individuals to the employer’s website or email where they can apply directly with the employer and speed up the hiring process. 

Life-sustaining businesses can feature their job openings on the portal through an easy to use the online form. Businesses must meet the criteria of a life-sustaining business and must have more than 10 job openings. 

The PA COVID-19 job portal is updated daily so businesses in need are spotlighted and people searching for employment have the latest job information. 

The Pennsylvania Department of Health launched an online early warning monitoring dashboard that provides information statewide and county COVID-19 prevalence to track increases in disease in the community on a weekly basis.

“This dashboard provides the entire community with early warning to changes in COVID-19 infection so that we can take action to prevent spread,” Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine said. “Recent increases in COVID-19 cases in parts of the state have shown the need for Pennsylvanians to continue to take simple steps to prevent the spread of this virus. Wear a mask, wash your hands frequently, maintain social distancing and stay home if you are sick.”

The dashboard shows data points being used to assess the spread of the virus in the state and in each county, including:

• Difference in confirmed cases (last 7 days vs. previous 7 days);
• Incidence rate (last 7 days and previous 7 days) per 100,000 residents;
• PCR positivity rate (last 7 days and previous 7 days);
• Difference in the average daily number of COVID-19 hospitalizations in the last 7 days and the previous 7 days;
• Difference in the average daily number of COVID-19 patients on ventilators in the last 7 days and previous 7 days; and
• Percent of hospital emergency department visits in the last 7 days and previous 7 days due to COVID-like-illness (CLI).

The dashboard will be updated on a weekly basis to assist in providing information regarding the prevalence and severity of COVID-19 in Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf announced the recipients of $50 million in grants to help employers provide hazard pay to employees in life-sustaining industries during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Created through the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, this reimbursement-based grant is available to employers offering hazard pay during the eligible program period and will be administered by the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED).

The total list of recipients can be seen here.

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf announced the recipients of $50 million in grants to help employers provide hazard pay to employees in life-sustaining industries during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Created through the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, this reimbursement-based grant is available to employers offering hazard pay during the eligible program period and will be administered by the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED).

The total list of recipients can be seen here.