Yesterday, 1,000 far-right protestors rushed to Harrisburg to protest Pennsylvania’s social distancing guidelines, which are grounded in science, data, and consultation with health care experts. To push back on these dangerous efforts and to highlight the importance of a fact-based, science-led approach to the state’s COVID-19 response, Pennsylvania Democrats led a call with a public health expert. Check out some of the coverage below:
TELEVISION:
WTAE (Pittsburgh): “As Pennsylvania lawmakers gathered in Harrisburg, hundreds of people gathered outside to protest precautions to protect the public from COVID-19. Some Democratic lawmakers joined in what the state party called a “rebuke” against what they consider a “rush to reopen” they feel the demonstrators are pushing for.
‘I think it’s important that at this point in time, we need to be thoughtful, and we need to be looking at the data and what the health experts tell us as to when it’s appropriate to open up our economy here in Pennsylvania,’ State Sen. Jay Costa, the Democratic Minority Leader, told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4.
‘While we certainly want folks to be able to articulate and express their opinions — particularly we know their frustrations — we just don’t think it’s time yet to be able to move Pennsylvania forward at this point in time, until we get the OK and clearance from our health care specialists,’ Costa said.”
WHTM (Harrisburg): “ About an hour before the protest, State and House Democratic leaders responded to the call to reopen the state.
‘Our members are constantly hearing from small businesses in particular and we want to hear from them and get them back into the swing of things, but we have a lot to do in regard to making sure we have appropriate equipment, testing equipment,’ said Senator. Jay Costa.”
RADIO:
WESA (Pittsburgh): “Gatherings in Pittsburgh and Harrisburg on Monday came after Republicans in the state legislature passed a bill last week to reopen more businesses. Democrats say efforts to reopen the economy before the virus is contained could put even more people at risk, especially in counties that don’t have health departments.
But health experts say the rallies could spread the virus more and trigger new clusters of cases.
“If there is any disease circulating in that group of protesters, and of course we know a lot of cases of coronavirus are asymptomatic, that is a really terrific way to spread virus around a group,” said Alison Buttenheim, an associate professor of nursing and health policy at the University of Pennsylvania.”
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: “In advance of the protests, Pennsylvania’s Democratic legislative leaders and a University of Pennsylvania health policy expert hosted reporters on a conference call. University of Pennsylvania health policy expert Alison Buttenheim said the state needs to do three to four times more testing than it has been doing. “We just can’t be testing the very sickest people,” Buttenheim said.
Before restrictions are eased, she said, there would ideally be a 14-day period where new cases continuously drop. There also needs to be more “contact tracing” — tracking down people who may have been exposed to people who have tested positive for covid-19, she said.
The protests themselves present a problem of potentially increasing spread of the disease, those on the call said.
The Center Square: “Legislative Democrats, in a phone call with reporters Monday morning, backed the strategy as sensible and science-driven, unlike the policies advanced by the majority party.
‘There’s a dangerous trend of the facts, science and medical experts during this pandemic,’ Sen. Sharif Street, D-Philadelphia, said. ‘These fans have been flamed by the president, and unfortunately people around the commonwealth have started to embrace this, too.’”
New Castle News: “The state will need to dramatically ramp up the amount of testing it’s doing to be prepared to relax social-distancing restrictions said Alison Buttenheim, Associate Director of the Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics at the University of Pennsylvania.
The state’s been doing between 4,000-6,000 tests a day of potential coronavirus cases. The state should increase that to at least 20,000 tests a day, along with increased contact tracing to determine who has been exposed to coronavirus, she said.
The state’s mitigation strategy has worked like a parachute that has slowed the spread of the disease. But relaxing social distancing protections before the state is prepared would be like ‘cutting the parachute cords’ too soon, she said.”
Pennsylvania Capital-Star: “‘Our collective effort to do social distancing has been an effective parachute and we need to ride it all the way down to the ground,’ Alison Buttenheim, a University of Pennsylvania professor of health policy, said Monday on a call organized by the state Democratic Party.”
Johnstown Tribune-Democrat: “State Sen. Sharif Street, D-Philadelphia, said that the protest Monday in Harrisburg and others like happened because people were ‘inflamed’ by President Donald Trump.
State Rep. Matt Bradford, D-Montgomery, said state leaders should be focusing on preparing to boost testing, monitoring and providing personal protective equipment for health care workers instead of having a ‘political food fight’ over how quickly the state should allow businesses to reopen.”
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