Fitzgerald 'optimistic' Allegheny County 'close' to having some restrictions lifted

Allegheny County could be allowed to start reopening by May 15, as long as the number of new covid-19 cases reported daily remains low, Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald said Friday.

The county was not among the 24 counties state officials said could start lifting restrictions put in place to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. Those counties — all of them in the northwest and north-central parts of the state — will be allowed to transition from the “red” phase of closures to the “yellow” phase starting May 8, Gov. Tom Wolf announced Friday.

“I was not totally surprised by the announcement today,” Fitzgerald said. “What I was very optimistic about was that the governor specifically mentioned Southwestern Pennsylvania, how close we were, and that we’d probably be next.”

The yellow phase lifts stay-at-home orders and eases some restrictions on businesses.

State officials considered hospital capacity, population density, elderly population and the ability to conduct contact tracing in deciding where to start the yellow phase. Testing capacity, as well as results that show fewer than 50 new cases per 100,000 residents over a 14-day period, are also factors.

Fitzgerald emphasized that Allegheny County is consistently exceeding that criteria.

For the Allegheny County population of 1.3 million, the county must report fewer than 650 new, confirmed cases over a 14-day period.

From April 10 to April 23, the latest 14-day period for which the county has complete data, there have been 328 new, confirmed cases, Allegheny County Health Department Director Dr. Debra Bogen said during a press briefing Wednesday.

The county has the capacity to test 2,000 people per day and is currently testing about 500 to 600 per day, she said.

Population density a concern

When asked why Allegheny County was not included in those allowed to move into the yellow phase, Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Rachel Levine said Friday that population density was one factor holding the region back.

“We have certainly learned from our modeling and our experts that population density is one of the main factors that can lead to significant spread of covid-19,” Levine said. “We certainly have seen that in major cities throughout the country, and have seen the consequences, particularly in New York City.”

Allegheny County has 1,668 people per square mile, according to census data.

Erie County, which was among those allowed to transition to the yellow phase, has 340 people per square mile. Lawrence County has 240 people per square mile, and Venango County has 77 people per square mile.

“That was the first time I heard that, about the population,” Fitzgerald said. “That has never been mentioned in the last seven weeks that we’ve been dealing with this pandemic, so that was a little bit of a surprise. Even with that, we feel we’re in good shape.”

Westmoreland County, which is lumped in with Allegheny County in the southwestern region that state officials are considering together when making decisions about easing restrictions, has 341 people per square mile. Armstrong County has 99 people per square mile.

Fitzgerald said Allegheny County will also increase contact tracing capabilities as needed, but added that the county has been able to manage that work effectively so far.

“Some of that quite frankly is the fact that our numbers have remained low, so that made it more manageable,” he said.

Allegheny County has reported 1,319 confirmed or probable cases of the coronavirus since March 14, when the first case was reported in the county.

Since then, 99 people have died.

Staffed for contact tracing

The Allegheny County Health Department has about 10 staff members conducting contact tracing, which involves calling individuals who had close contact with someone who has tested positive for covid-19 and advising them on quarantine measures.

Additional temporary staff are pulled in as needed.

The health department is also using 34 students from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine to assist with case investigations and follow-ups.

Fitzgerald urged residents to continue physical distancing measures. The county could be returned to the red phase even after transitioning to yellow later this month if cases surge again, he said.

“For our business community, and for all of our folks who want to get back to work and want to get back to some sort of a normal way of life that we used to have, we’ve got to continue with the physical distancing,” Fitzgerald said. “Wearing your mask when you’re outside, keeping six feet away from people, using your hand sanitizer — all of the things we’ve learned over the last six to seven weeks.”