Local, regional virus developments from April 23, 2020

HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration is encouraging voters to cast their primary election ballots by mail, saying it would help prevent the spread of the new coronavirus, but he faced legal action Wednesday by a liberal group demanding greater protections against disenfranchisement.

State officials have “failed to implement adequate safeguards to ensure a free and fair election” in the face of a pandemic that threatens to disrupt the June 2 primary, the labor-backed Pennsylvania Alliance for Retired Americans charged in a lawsuit filed in Commonwealth Court.

The group wants the state to provide prepaid postage for all mail ballots; count ballots received after 8 p.m. on Election Day if the delay was caused by a disruption in mail service; and allow third parties to assist voters in submitting their sealed ballots.

An email was sent to Wolf’s spokeswoman seeking comment.

Before the suit was announced, the Wolf administration said Wednesday that it has sent 4.2 million postcards to primary voters and is mounting a vote-by-mail awareness campaign on radio, television, social media, streaming services, mobile apps and email.

The state’s efforts to get voters to apply for a mail-in ballot or absentee ballot have gained traction, with more than 462,000 voters applying for a mail-in ballot and more than 139,000 applying for an absentee ballot, according to Wolf administration figures.

Wolf’s administration has resisted calls from several heavily populated counties to simply mail a primary ballot to every registered voter, saying it worried about ensuring that voting is accessible to the disabled and that ballots are mailed to the correct addresses.

Republican and Democratic party officials in Pennsylvania have encouraged people to vote by mail amid concerns from county officials who fear the virus will make it difficult to find polling places and get poll workers to staff them. Election officials in various counties say they probably will be forced to operate far fewer polling places than normal.

During the 2016 primary, 84,000 votes were cast under the absentee ballot system, which is available only to those who offer an acceptable reason they would not be able to vote in person. Mail-in ballots were authorized in a sweeping new election law Wolf signed last fall.

Registered voters can apply online for a mail-in or absentee ballot through 5 p.m. May 26.

Wolf’s administration said it will use federal aid to provide counties with funding to promote mail-in voting, purchase protective supplies for poll workers and hire additional election staff.

The state government is also buying infection-protection kits for all counties to use in precinct polling places.

Other coronavirus-related developments in Pennsylvania:

Confirmed cases increase 3.3 percent in Pa,

The state Department of Health confirmed 1,156 additional positive cases of COVID-19 Wednesday, bringing the statewide total to 35,684. Pennsylvania’s COVID-19 death toll rose by 58 to 1,622.

Mercer County’s total of infections remained at 59, with one death, for a fourth consecutive day.

Statewide, more than 35,600 people have tested positive, according to the latest health department data. The number of infections is thought to be far higher because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected with the virus without feeling sick.

A majority of deaths — 834 of 1,622 — have been in nursing homes and personal care homes. A majority of those hospitalized are older than 65.

Pa. hospitals face $10 billion hit, seek relief

The new coronavirus could cost Pennsylvania hospitals more than $10 billion this year, a trade group said Wednesday, repeating its call for the Wolf administration and state lawmakers to provide tax relief and other financial support.

An analysis commissioned by The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania said the cancellation of elective surgeries and deferral of medical treatments — from which hospitals derive a large portion of their income — resulted in a nearly $1 billion revenue hit in March alone. Many hospitals and health networks have already furloughed and laid off workers, and the report warned that some hospitals might have to close.

“We are calling on the governor and the legislature to act now,” Andy Carter, the group’s president and CEO, told reporters. “I ask policymakers to use the tools at their disposal to ensure we plant the seeds of a strong recovery for Pennsylvania’s health care workforce and its community of hospitals.”

Pennsylvania hospitals said they expect to get more than $3 billion in federal coronavirus funding, leaving them with a projected net loss from the pandemic of $7 billion this year without tax relief and additional government aid.

A Wolf administration spokeswoman said the state government has taken several steps to support hospitals, creating a $450 million short-term loan program and buying personal protective gear and other equipment for hospitals and nursing facilities.

Erie police unions sue to know patients’ identities

Two police unions have sued the Erie County Department of Health to force it to disclose for emergency responders the names, and not just the addresses, of people with a COVID-19 diagnosis under isolation.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday by unions representing 173 officers in Erie city and about 200 officers in other Erie County police departments, centers on how much information is provided by the health department to the county 911 center.

Dispatchers pass along the information to police and others, at their request, when they are summoned to respond.

The county’s solicitor, Richard Perhacs, said the current practice matches that of other counties in Pennsylvania. County Executive Kathy Dahlkemper told the Erie Times-News that it protects the public while respecting patients’ privacy rights.

Perhacs said about 25 people in Erie County are currently under isolation with a COVID-19 diagnosis.

The lawsuit claims current policy violates the county health agency’s requirement to prevent and control the spread of disease and puts officers at risk of infection.