July 1, 2020Commonwealth Media ServicesPennsylvania mandates masks in public for most people amid coronavirus increasesby Cynthia Fernandez of Spotlight PAHealth Secretary Rachel Levine said the order was necessary to prevent another statewide shutdown, though it comes with some exceptions.
June 30, 2020DAVID MAIALETTI / Philadelphia InquirerEvictions could begin before Pa. rental assistance program can provide reliefby Charlotte Keith of Spotlight PAThe program will begin accepting applications July 6, but with the eviction moratorium set to expire a few days later, some fear the cash won’t flow fast enough.
June 26, 2020DAN NOTT / For Spotlight PAPolitics, fear keep some COVID-positive people from disclosing contacts. What’s the solution?by Aneri Pattani of Spotlight PASome counties are leaning on trusted community messengers to improve contact tracing success.
June 24, 2020Dan Nott / For Spotlight PAHow Pa.’s chaotic coronavirus waiver program hurt small businessesby Charlotte Keith of Spotlight PA and Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PAAs Pennsylvania reopens, the long-term consequences of inconsistency and a lack of enforcement are becoming evident in downtowns throughout the state.
June 22, 2020TIM TAI / Philadelphia InquirerThe deadliest day of the coronavirus in Pa., plus other insights we can glean from the databy Daniel Simmons-Ritchie of Spotlight PAOur data dashboard includes basic COVID-19 statistics like deaths and cases reported by the state. But you can also find testing information and by-county trends.
June 18, 2020DAN NOTT / For Spotlight PAPa. will give health systems $175 million to lead coronavirus response inside struggling nursing homesby Rebecca Moss of Spotlight PA and Jordan Wolman for Spotlight PAThese collaboratives will be tasked with implementing best practices for infection control and expanding testing “to include asymptomatic staff and residents," a critical need.
June 17, 2020Dan Nott / For Spotlight PAHealth officials failed to safeguard trust in Pa.’s coronavirus data, sowing confusionby Sara Simon of Spotlight PAThe pandemic posed a massive challenge for an underfunded public health system, but experts say officials failed to heed best practices when presenting the numbers.
June 16, 2020DAN NOTT / For Spotlight PAParts of Pa. reopened without robust coronavirus contact tracing to keep residents safeby Aneri Pattani of Spotlight PA and Sarah Gantz of The Philadelphia InquirerHealth experts say the shortcoming is of critical concern because tracing is most needed as reopening begins, when the disease’s spread becomes more complex.
June 15, 2020CHARLES FOX / Philadelphia InquirerWith reopening underway, see how the coronavirus is trending in your county with our new early warning toolby Daniel Simmons-Ritchie of Spotlight PAWe’re now assigning a summary describing whether its trend of new daily cases over the past two weeks is “rising,” “falling,” or “unclear.”
June 13, 2020Dan Nott / For Spotlight PAThe coronavirus exploited failure of Pa. health officials to improve long-standing problems with nursing home oversightby Rebecca Moss of Spotlight PAThe Wolf administration was repeatedly warned of dangerously low minimum staffing and weak and inconsistent inspections, all problems that could have made the outbreak worse.
June 12, 2020YONG KIM / Philadelphia Inquirer8 more Pa. counties will move to ‘green’ reopening phase next weekby Cynthia Fernandez of Spotlight PAWolf on Friday announced that Dauphin, Franklin, Huntingdon, Luzerne, Monroe, Perry, Pike, and Schuylkill Counties will be allowed to ease most coronavirus restrictions on June 19.
June 11, 2020Commonwealth Media ServicesWhy Gov. Tom Wolf’s big effort to grant coronavirus reprieves to Pa. inmates came up smallby Matt McKinney of Spotlight PA and Joseph Darius Jaafari of PA PostThe Department of Corrections has defended its response, saying it was a cautious approach that included all relevant parties to represent the public interest.
June 10, 2020YONG KIM / Philadelphia InquirerPa. lawmakers approved a resolution ending Wolf’s coronavirus emergency declaration. Next up: a legal battle.by Cynthia Fernandez of Spotlight PAThe governor told lawmakers the resolution would have “disastrous” consequences should it take effect.
June 9, 2020DAN NOTT / For Spotlight PAThousands of deaths later, Pa. finally mandates universal testing in nursing homes, but not for another monthby Aneri Pattani of Spotlight PAThe Wolf administration in May touted widespread testing, but its plan fell short and, as of early June, only 75 of about 1,900 facilities had done it.
June 8, 2020KALIM A. BHATTI / Philadelphia InquirerRush to dole out billions in coronavirus relief dollars in Pa. could lead to waste, fraudby Charlotte Keith of Spotlight PAMany rules around public accountability and transparency remain unwritten, or lack requirements for a detailed accounting of how the money was spent.
June 5, 2020Commonwealth Media Services12 more Pa. counties will be allowed to move to ‘green’ reopening phaseby Cynthia Fernandez of Spotlight PAAdams, Beaver, Carbon, Columbia, Cumberland, Juniata, Mifflin, Northumberland, Union, Wayne, Wyoming, and York Counties will be allowed to ease most coronavirus restrictions on June 12.
June 2, 2020DAN NOTT / For Spotlight PAFrom confusion to threats, some Pa. nursing home residents aren’t getting their coronavirus stimulus checksby Aneri Pattani of Spotlight PAThe reasons vary from apparent misunderstandings to facilities wrongly holding onto the $1,200 or, in one extreme case, threatening to evict residents unless they turned over the funds.
June 1, 2020HEATHER KHALIFA / Philadelphia InquirerPa.’s revenues take another coronavirus blow in May, falling $440 million short of expectationsby Charlotte Keith of Spotlight PAJust over half of the shortfall was due to the economic slowdown caused by efforts to contain the outbreak.
May 29, 2020Andrew Rush / Pittsburgh Post-GazettePittsburgh, Western Pennsylvania counties will soon be allowed to enter ‘green’ reopening phaseby Matt McKinney of Spotlight PAThe announcement expands the number of counties given the go-ahead by state officials to lift most coronavirus restrictions placed on businesses and residents.
May 29, 2020Steph Chambers / Pittsburgh Post-GazetteUPMC rakes in $228 million in coronavirus stimulus cash, dwarfing competitorsby Brett Sholtis of WITFThe enormous handout to the state’s largest hospital chain is the result of a federal formula that rewarded companies based on revenue and medical claims, not actual need.
May 28, 2020KALIM BHATTI / The Philadelphia InquirerMassive unemployment scam strikes up to 58,000 people in Pa., far more than previously knownby Jordan Wolman for Spotlight PAThe state Treasury has temporarily halted direct deposit payments for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, and will only issue money by check.
May 28, 2020Joe Hermitt/The Patriot-NewsPa. Democrats want to know why they weren’t told when a GOP colleague tested positive for coronavirusby Julia Terruso of The Philadelphia Inquirer and Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PAAllegations of a cover-up are prompting calls for the House GOP leader to resign and one Democrat even called for an official investigation.
May 28, 2020JOSE F. MORENO / Philadelphia InquirerPa. legislature sends $26 billion short-term budget to Gov. Tom Wolfby Cynthia Fernandez of Spotlight PA and Jordan Wolman for Spotlight PALawmakers also approved the use of $2.6 billion in federal stimulus money for a variety of purposes including relief for counties and long-term care facilities.
May 28, 2020Kalim A. Bhatti / The Philadelphia InquirerPennsylvania is sitting on billions in coronavirus relief money. What’s the hold up?by Cynthia Fernandez of Spotlight PAGov. Tom Wolf said he and the GOP-controlled General Assembly are negotiating how to best spend the state’s pot of discretionary dollars.
May 27, 2020Courtesy Rep. Andrew Lewis Facebook pagePa. House Democrats say they were in the dark for a week about Republican’s positive coronavirus testby Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA and Julia Terruso of The Philadelphia InquirerState Rep. Andrew Lewis (R., Dauphin) said in a statement that he tested positive for COVID-19 last week and immediately began self-isolation.
May 26, 2020Kalim A. Bhatti / Philadelphia InquirerFacing nearly $5 billion shortfall, Pa. lawmakers plan to pass short-term budgetby Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA and Charlotte Keith of Spotlight PAThe plan will allow officials to get a clearer picture of the strain placed on Pennsylvania’s finances by efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
May 22, 2020Commonwealth Media ServicesAll Pa. counties will be in ‘yellow’ coronavirus reopening phase by June 5 under Wolf administration planby Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA and Cynthia Fernandez of Spotlight PAUnder Gov. Tom Wolf’s reopening plan, 49 of 67 counties are already in the “yellow” phase, or the first phase of reopening.
May 22, 2020TYGER WILLIAMS / Philadelphia InquirerPa. is mixing coronavirus test results. That could distort our view of the disease.by Cynthia Fernandez of Spotlight PAPennsylvania is including in its official count not only viral tests that reveal who currently has COVID-19, but also antibody tests that show whether a person was previously infected.
May 21, 2020Commonwealth Media ServicesPa. health officials quietly alter erroneous nursing home case, death counts as providers cry foulby Aneri Pattani of Spotlight PAProvider associations said publishing erroneous data has sown panic and anger among family members, distrust among nursing home staff, and frustration for providers.
May 19, 2020Dan Moyle / FlickrPa. officials allow scaled-back real estate operations to resume statewideby Cynthia Fernandez of Spotlight PAGov. Tom Wolf on the same day vetoed a bill to restart the real estate industry, angering Republicans in the legislature.
