As part of Pennsylvania Governor Wolf’s Administration’s ongoing efforts to ensure public health and safety and support economic recovery during the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Tom Wolf and Pennsylvania Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine today signed new orders following the recent announcement that restaurants may increase indoor occupancy to 50 percent starting Monday, September 21. The order requires that serving alcohol for on-site consumption must end at 11:00 PM starting on Monday, September 21 and all alcoholic beverages must be removed from patrons by midnight. This applies to both restaurants that do not self-certify to increase to 50 percent and those that choose to stay at 25 percent. There is no change to the requirements for the temporary sale of cocktails-to-go and take out alcohol sales from bars, restaurants or hotels with a liquor license.

“As we continue to take critical steps to continue to mitigate the spread of COVI-19, we also recognize that this pandemic has taken a significant toll on the food services industry, so we must balance public health and economic recovery,” Gov. Wolf said. “These orders give restaurants the ability to increase indoor occupancy safely while giving customers confidence when deciding to patronize a restaurant.”

The recently announced self-certification process will enable restaurants to increase indoor occupancy to 50 percent while adhering to mitigation efforts that will keep employees and customers safe. Starting September 21, restaurants can begin submitting their self-certification documents to an Open & Certified Pennsylvania database. ​

Restaurants that self-certify will appear in an Open & Certified Pennsylvania searchable online database of certified restaurants across the commonwealth and will receive Open & Certified Pennsylvania branded materials, such as window clings and other signage designating their certification, which they can display for customers and employees.

The self-certification documents and information about the Open & Certified Pennsylvania program will be available online on September 21 and will contain the following:

• A list of requirements contained in the current restaurant industry guidance and enforcement efforts;
• A statement that the owner has reviewed and agrees to follow these requirements;
• The business’ maximum indoor occupancy number based on the fire code; and
• A statement that the owner understands that the certification is subject to penalties for unsworn falsification to authorities.

Restaurants should complete the online self-certification process by October 5 when enforcement relative to 50 percent occupancy will begin. Self-certification will still be available after October 5.

Business owners should keep a copy of the self-certification confirmation they will receive by e-mail. The self-certification will be used as part of ongoing enforcement efforts conducted by Department of Agriculture and Pennsylvania State Police Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement, and will be shared with the departments of State, Labor & Industry and Health, and other enforcement agencies.

Self-certifying will not lead to additional inspections. The occurrence of regularly scheduled or complaint-based inspections from enforcement agencies will not be affected by certification status. In fact, certifying proves that a business is committed to protecting employees and providing patrons a safe dining experience. Any health and safety violations from self-certified businesses will be handled first with warnings and education rather than fines or other penalties.

The Wolf Administration has released Frequently Asked Questions as a reference for restaurant owners and the public, along with updated restaurant guidance.

Restaurant owners with additional questions about the self-certification program can contact covidselfcert@pa.gov.

Governor Wolf Order
Secretary of Health Order 

At Karimar Grocery in Franklin County today, Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding and Community and Economic Development Secretary Dennis Davin announced that more than 100 projects, funding access for fresh food in low-income communities, have received grants through Pennsylvania’s $10 million Fresh Food Financing Initiative.

“There are three keys to food security — Is food available, is food affordable, and is food safe?” said Redding. “The Fresh Food Financing Initiative helps make ‘yes’ the answer to all three questions. Early in the pandemic, we were all shocked by the empty grocery store shelves. This program has given us the ability to offset the costs food retailers have incurred in making fresh, nutritious food available while safeguarding their employees and customers.”

The Fresh Food Financing Initiative (FFFI) was funded at $10 million through the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and opened in July to for-profit, nonprofit, or cooperative entities including grocery stores, corner stores, convenience stores, neighborhood markets, bodegas, food hubs, mobile markets, farmers markets, on-farm markets, urban farms, and food aggregation centers with a direct connection to direct-to-consumer retail outlets.

To be eligible, more than 70 percent of sales were required to be from staple, perishable foods to consumers and the retailer must serve customers who live in a low-to-moderate income area. Applicants were also required to demonstrate limited food access as a result of COVID-19 or that direct-to-consumer retail expansion is necessary due to lost or disrupted markets. Eligible applicants were required to accept SNAP and WIC or have plans to accept them through completion of the project.

“The COVID-19 pandemic laid bare the challenges that many Pennsylvanians face in accessing fresh, local food,” said Davin. “The Fresh Food Financing Initiative was developed to ensure that no one in our commonwealth will struggle to fill their pantry and the food supply chain will remain stable, whether during a crisis, emergency, or during times of normalcy.”

Karimar Grocery, a minority, woman-owned neighborhood store in Chambersburg, experienced increased demand for perishable and staple food products throughout the pandemic. Their $55,000 grant will fund the purchase of equipment – such as refrigerators, freezers, coolers, and a meat grinder – to allow them to store more fresh meat, dairy, and produce and will cover expenditures already made to create a safe, healthy shopping environment in the low-income, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) community they serve.

“It is important to keep residents of the commonwealth safe and informed. COVID-19 has disproportionately affected the Latino community, placing this population at a greater disadvantage,” said Luz B. Colón, executive director to the Governor’s Advisory Commission on Latino Affairs. “Programs like the Fresh Food Financing Initiative help secure food resources to our minority communities and ensure that it will reach the families that need it the most.”

The $10 million FFFI grant program funded 115 projects in 39 counties. The projects fund expenses related to PPE and other in-store COVID-19 mitigation efforts, expansions, refrigeration, online marketing materials, mobile market enhancements, and more.

A full list of funded projects can be found online. Applicants could apply for impacts related to COVID-19 incurred between March 1, 2020 and November 30, 2020, such as:

• Higher operating costs related to cleaning and social distancing requirements, including costs related to outside contracting associated with managing social distancing, limited occupancy, and cleaning;
• Infrastructure improvements, including renovation, new construction, or adaptive reuse directly related to COVID-19;
• Equipment purchases that improve the availability of quality fresh food, such as additional refrigeration to manage volume, or personal protective equipment such as plexiglass dividers;
• Inventory (higher cost of goods, higher transportation or delivery costs, or procuring Pennsylvania-grown produce, meat, and dairy products, or loss of product);
• Innovative food access technology such as mobile or pop-up markets, or mobile EBT reader technology;
• Costs to expand access to Pennsylvania grown or processed produce, dairy, and meat products or provide stable market access for Pennsylvania farmers that have lost or limited markets; and
• Other one-time or increased expenses incurred related to COVID-19.

For more information on the Fresh Food Financing Initiative or about the Wolf Administration’s efforts surrounding food security, visit agriculture.pa.gov. For information as it relates to agriculture during COVID-19 mitigation in Pennsylvania visit agriculture.pa.gov/COVID. For the most accurate, timely information related to health in Pennsylvania, visit on.pa.gov/coronavirus.

In September’s session of the Rural Health Resources Roundup Series, CAPT Renee Joskow talks about the Rural Healthcare Surge Readiness Web Portal. The portal provides key and essential resources, tools, and training to prepare for and respond to COVID-19 in rural communities. It was developed by the Federal Healthcare Resilience Working Group and the Rural Surge Readiness Team.

Listen to the Rural Healthcare Surge Readiness Web Portal session.

On September 17, CMS issued revised guidance providing detailed recommendations on ways nursing homes can safely facilitate visitation during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. After several months of visitor restrictions designed to slow the spread of COVID-19, CMS recognizes that physical separation from family and other loved ones has taken a significant toll on nursing home residents. In light of this, and in combination with increasingly available data to guide policy development, CMS is issuing revised guidance to help nursing homes facilitate visitation in both indoor and outdoor settings and in compassionate care situations. The guidance also outlines certain core principles and best practices to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission to adhere to during visitations.

See the full text of this excerpted CMS Press Release (issued September 17).

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) seeks information on the ability of certain commercial, academic, medical center, and public health laboratories to expand diagnostic testing for COVID-19.  Read more here.

Last week, two of the nation’s top leaders in public health delivered testimony to the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) about the importance of immunizations for children and adults. Written testimony of NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins and Surgeon General VADM Jerome Adams is available here on the HELP Committee’s website, and you may watch a recording of the full three-hour session.  Read more here.

In its latest Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) presents findings of a survey conducted in June of this year. Researchers estimate that 41 percent of U.S. adults had delayed or avoided medical care because of concerns about COVID-19.  Avoidance of urgent or emergency care was more prevalent among unpaid caregivers for adults, persons with underlying medical conditions, Black adults, Hispanic adults, young adults, and persons with disabilities.  The findings indicate missed opportunities for management of chronic conditions, receipt of routine vaccinations, or early detection of new conditions, which might worsen outcomes.  Read more here.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released its strategy to distribute a COVID-19 vaccine after one has received approval from the Food and Drug Administration.  It focuses on four key tasks necessary to ensure access and the requirements for each.  The primary task is to engage with state, tribal, territorial, and local partners, other stakeholders, and the public to communicate public health information, before and after distribution begins.  Read more here.

By April Simpson
Covid-19 forced many water utilities to maintain service with far less revenue. Two bills making their way through Congress could provide support.
Read more

By Tim Murphy and Tim Marema
The number of rural counties where the spread of Covid-19 is extremely high fell from 806 two weeks ago to 701 last week. The number of new cases and deaths also declined.
Read more