All Pennsylvania schools will be closed the rest of the 2019-20 academic year, Gov. Tom Wolf announced last week, citing the coronavirus.
Schools in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and most local charter and private schools will continue the online learning since schools closed on March 13.
There has been no formal education in the School District of Philadelphia since the shutdown. The state will allow schools to educate children through June 30, but the school district will not extend its calendar to play catch up.
“We must continue our efforts to mitigate the spread of the virus during this national crisis,” Wolf said. “This was not an easy decision but closing schools until the end of the academic year is in the best interest of our students, school employees and families.”
The decision applies to all public K-12 schools, brick and mortar and cyber charter schools, private and parochial schools, career and technical centers and intermediate units. All Department of Education early learning program classrooms, including those for Pre-K Counts, Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program and Preschool Early Intervention, will also remain closed.
Colleges and universities may not resume in-person instruction or reopen their physical locations until the governor permits them to open or lifts the closure of non-life-sustaining businesses.
Under the state’s directive, schools could begin summer programming on the day after their academic year ends.
Meanwhile, there have been 7,130 confirmed coronavirus cases in Philadelphia. An interactive map broken down by ZIP code can be found at phila.gov.
Northeast ZIP codes account for 1,510 of the total confirmed cases, or 22.16%. On average, 39.67 per every 10,000 residents tested positive for the virus in the Northeast.
That rate is highest in 19115 and 19116, which have 58 and 57 positive cases per 10,000 residents, respectively.
There have been a total of 206 deaths in the city. Ninety-three of those deaths have been in nursing homes.
Mayor Kenney last week announced that his administration will submit a revised budget and Five Year Plan to City Council because of the economic impact of COVID-19.
“I can tell you that we anticipate that the City will face a substantial increase in expenditure and significant decrease in tax revenue because of the larger economic impact of COVID-19,” he said. “While it is too early to quantify that impact, it is likely to be hundreds of millions of dollars. That means we’ll have to make difficult decisions on city spending, the likes of which have never before been needed.”
The mayor said the revised budget will be submitted by May 1.
“I know full well that any reductions in city services will be painful. You rely on those services. You deserve those services. We will work extremely hard to minimize those impacts, and to focus on delivering needed services, especially those on which the most vulnerable Philadelphians rely. You have my word. But we must deal with the reality that this virus has thrust upon us, and that is going to mean all of us making sacrifices in the months ahead.”
Statewide, there are 24,199 confirmed cases in all 67 counties, with 524 deaths.
“COVID-19 cases and deaths continue to rise in Pennsylvania, and even though the daily increases are not exponential, now is not the time to become complacent,” Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said. “We must continue to stay home to protect ourselves, our families, our community. If you must go out, please make as few trips as possible and wear a mask to protect not only yourself, but other people as well. We need all Pennsylvanians to continue to heed these efforts to protect our vulnerable Pennsylvanians, our health care workers and frontline responders.”
SEPTA is prioritizing routes that provide access to essential services as well as those with connections to the Broad Street, Market-Frankford Lines and Regional Rail. All other bus routes are suspended. Service is operating on a Saturday schedule seven days a week for routes in service. Cashiers will not accept cash. Purchase a Quick Trip at a station fare kiosk.
Regional rail service continues on the Airport, Fox Chase, Lansdale (no service past Lansdale), Media/Elwyn, Paoli (no service past Malvern), Trenton and Warminster lines.
SEPTA’s policy of requiring riders to wear a protective mask did not last long. The agency dropped the requirement after one day, when video surfaced of police officers dragging a man without a mask off a bus.
The city continues to provide a box of free food to residents on Mondays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to noon at 20 sites. Local sites are Keep the Faith Ministries, 1906 Harrison St.; Pelbano Recreation Center, 8101 Bustleton Ave.; Salvation Army Citadel, 5830 Rising Sun Ave.; Feast of Justice, 3101 Tyson Ave.; Palmer Recreation Center, 3035 Comly Road; Mitzvah Food Program, KleinLife, 10100 Jamison Ave.; and Mizpah SDA, 4355 Paul St.
Federal guidelines stating all Americans should practice safe social distancing and avoid gatherings of more than 10 people have been extended to April 30.
Non-life-sustaining businesses in the state are closed indefinitely. All Free Library locations will remain closed to the public until further notice.
The Northeast Older Adult Center, 8101 Bustleton Ave., will remain open certain weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. for meal service.
The city Department of Streets introduced changes to its operations during the pandemic. Recycling materials will be collected on an every-other-week schedule. Recycling collections have resumed this week, with every-other-week collections through at least May 15. Residents are urged to use lids for recycling bins to prevent debris from blowing away. Lids for city-issued recycling bins can be picked up from the Sanitation Convenience Center at State Road and Ashburner Street. The center is open for residents to dispose of items from Tuesday through Saturday, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Though the streets department does not have a written policy on its website requiring masks, employees will not allow anyone in the center without one.
The Philadelphia Parking Authority is not enforcing meters, kiosks and residential parking time limits. It is enforcing safety violations such as double-parking, loading zone violations, blocking wheelchair-accessible curb cuts and parking near fire hydrants and in bus zones.
Philadelphians looking for the latest local information on the coronavirus can visit phila.gov/COVID-19.
Residents with questions can call a 24-hour helpline at 800-722-7112.
Or, text COVIDPHL to 888-777 to receive updates to your phone. ••
