Hospitals in Pa. can resume elective surgeries during COVID-19 pandemic
Pennsylvania issued guidance Monday to hospitals that will allow them to resume elective surgeries while avoiding the spread of COVID-19 to their staff and patients.
State health Secretary Rachel Levine said Monday that hospitals and ambulatory care facilities will be required to test patients for the virus before scheduling surgeries, a move that will help Pennsylvania track the disease.
The hospitals must “make sure they are able to respond to a COVID-19 emergency,” such as having sufficient protective gear for their employees should a resurgence occur, Levine said.
She said hospitals also will be working with the state to trace the contacts of patients who test positive for the virus.
Gov. Tom Wolf said the state is developing a contact tracing plan due by the end of the week and it might involve using cellphone technology to follow the paths of those who test positive for COVID-19.
“We have not come up with a strategy to do this,” Wolf said Monday during a conference call with the media.
He said the state also is working to ensure vulnerable populations and African Americans have access to COVID-19 testing and treatment.
“We lack the statistics to determine the severity of the problem,” Wolf said, adding that 69% of race information is missing from COVID-19 reports.
Mitigation efforts, including staying home and wearing masks, have slowed the spread of the virus in the Pennsylvania. On Sunday, it was determined that no new COVID-19 deaths were reported in Western Pennsylvania.
To date, 1,597 adults have died from the novel coronavirus in Pennsylvania, and 42,050 patients have tested positive for the disease, Levine said.
Wolf has set a May 8 date to begin reopening regions in the state with lower rates of COVID-19, based on a metrics system and other factors, including the ability to expand testing and contact tracing.
Bars and restaurants will not resume business as normal as regions move into the reopening phases, and large gatherings at locations including theaters and high school graduations will not be permitted, Levine said. Pet groomers will be permitted to reopen in the first phase, she said.
“Many things will be looked at,” Levine said.
Hospitals in the zones that will move from red to yellow under Wolf’s color-coded plan for easing restrictions on businesses must also have the ability to treat COVID-19 patients should another outbreak occur.
Washington Health System was evaluating the guidance from Levine’s office, its spokeswoman Stephanie Wagoner said.
Wagoner said information about elective surgeries at the system will be posted at a later date to its website.
Levine stressed that the state would still require the wearing of masks in public.
“COVID-19 is not going to be gone from Pennsylvania,” she said. “This is a very dangerous virus.”
Washington County, where two people have died from the virus, recorded 107 cases of the virus Monday, up six from the previous day. Greene County held steady again Monday with 25 COVID-19 cases.