Posted on 07/14/2020 11:09:28 AM PDT by lightman
With COVID-19 infections surging, Pennsylvanias health secretary on Monday warned that making the right choice on face masks and social distancing is critical to avoiding a repeat of the situation that prompted major restrictions during spring.
If you feel uncomfortable with how close people are at, for instance, a restaurant where you might be dining, then make the choice to leave, Dr. Rachel Levine said. If you are in a store where people are not following the mandatory mask order, make the choice to leave. And if you are getting together with people who might be talking that they are not changing their lifestyle or not wearing masks, then make a choice not to go to be with those people.
Levine said, As much as our efforts are about laws and mandates and requirements, they are mostly about your choices.
As of Monday, Pennsylvania over the past week was averaging 776 new cases per day, up from 543 per day two weeks earlier. The state logged more than 1,000 new cases on Friday, breaking the 1,000 mark for the first time since May 10.
Levine on Monday warned of a repeat of Pennsylvanias first surge, when infections among adults younger than 50 spread to people over 65, who have accounted for the vast majority of the nearly 7,000 COVID-19 deaths in Pennsylvania.
She said people over 65 now account for about half of cases, with people 19-49 accounting for 45 percent of total cases.
Still, Levine on Monday said she and Gov. Tom Wolf have no plans to impose any statewide restrictions in response to the surge.
Rather, she stressed that local officials in places such as Allegheny County, which has restricted indoor dining and on-site drinking, have taken precise and targeted steps which are working.
We are very carefully monitoring data from across the state to ensure that we stay on the right track, Levine said.
In rural Perry County, county Commissioner Gary Eby on Monday said hes been seeing more people without face masks in places such as stores.
Eby, a Republican, said he worries its a sign people feel the threat is gone and are letting down their guards.
The most important thing is dont get complacent, he said.
Eby said he and fellow commissioners remain worried about a surge in the county, and are especially worried about the possibility of COVID-19 infections interfering with the reopening of schools.
Another worry, he said, involves the potential for spread among Perrys approximately 3,000 Amish and Mennonite residents.
They commonly visit, or have visitors from, places such as Lancaster which have higher concentrations of infections, and Amish and Mennonites may be less inclined to wear face masks and practice social distancing, Eby said.
He said commissioners have been reaching out to Amish and Mennonites, stressing they are part of an overall community, with everyone having a responsibility to protect the community.
Another worry, he said, is that county employees will vacation in hard-hit areas, causing them to miss work because of illness or having to quarantine for two weeks.
Everybody needs to be here. We dont have fat to cut, Eby said.
On Monday, cases continued to surge around the United States, with some states and cities adding new restrictions or rolling back aspects of re-opening.
California, for example, shut down indoor activity at places including restaurants, bars and movie theaters. Oregon banned most indoor gatherings of more than 10 people and imposed an outdoor mask requirement similar to Pennsylvanias. New York said it will begin tracking people from a list of hard-hit states and requiring them to quarantine for 14 days, with fines for people who try to skirt the process.
Levine noted on Monday that states including Florida, Texas, California, Arizona and South Carolina didnt see the kind of surges that Pennsylvania did during the spring. But now some of those are logging far higher cases counts than Pennsylvania did during its peak, with their health care systems more stressed than was the case in Pennsylvania.
She said Pennsylvanians must stay vigilant in order to prevent the situation from turning more dire.
Whats most important for Pennsylvanians to know right now is that in order to go about their routines, we need to make important choices to lower our risk, she said. We have to adapt our activities to protect against COVID-19 and make the choice to not do some of those activities if theyre not safe.
She said people should please go for a walk, go hiking, enjoy state parks, but take your mask, just like you take your sunscreen. Think about yourself, think about your family. Think about your community and others, and make those smart choices.
But even with hormones and surgery that pesky "y" chromosome remains!
Pennsylvania Ping!
Please ping me with articles of interest.
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FU!!!
You are selling fear.
Just so everyone knows the biggest selling product on the planet is not porn.
It is not porn.
The biggest selling product is FEAR!
Fear of loss.
Fear of missing out.
Fear of safety.
Look at the news. If it bleeds it leads.
The hoax needs to be sold so you will watch all three screens. Phone, Computer and TV.
KcuF these guys!
A mutilated dude, nothing more.
In MASH Corporal Klinger was trying to get a section 8(Crazy) discharge from the Army by wearing dresses. In Pennsylvania, if you wear a dress, and pretend you’re a woman, you’ll be made health secretary, and put in charge of the health of an entire state.
Dr. Rachel Levine, Secretary of Health, State of Pennsylvania (before and after)
If there was a grocery store owner rejecting the mask mandate I and every member of my family would be shopping there.
How on earth did he think he’d be a pretty woman?
hhahaha!!!!
There’s not a big enough tube of concealer on the planet.
He’s ghastly and i would not take him seriously if i lived in Pa.
Richard Levine is a science denier. He’s a man who dresses like a girl and still have his wing, dang, do, as far as I know (or care to know)
I live in PA, and I don’t take him seriously. Take a look at my other post about Corporal Klinger.
"Mandatory vaccinations coming for those not like me or Mom."
Isn’t it interesting the selective use of the word “choice”
A free people should be able to make all kinds of ‘choices”
Including employment and prospectives
A free people should be able to make all kinds of choices
Like choosing whether or not to believe a severely mentally ill government bureaucrat.
Just so you know, Im here in PA, and people are getting angry at people who dont wear masks. Walking away is a way to keep the peace. Nobody wants their jobs to shut down again.
I see his ex-wife and 2 children choose to not have anything to do with him.
I choose to ignore every single thing Im told by a stunted mutant like Mr. Levine.
I choose to avoid dudes in dresses. There, I said it.
Is the substance of what Levine said wrong? She encouraged people to wear masks but also that “she and Gov. Tom Wolf have no plans to impose any statewide restrictions in response to the surge.” That sounds right to me.
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