As of March 18. 2020, there are currently 115 cases of coronavirus in the state of Pennsylvania and 6,946 in total across the United States and it is still growing. On Friday, March 13, President Donald Trump declared a national emergency in regards to the rising concerns of the continued spreading Coronavirus. Shortly after two weeks of social distancing was advised to prevent further cross contamination, Dr. Deborah Birx of the White House coronavirus task force provided guidance on what necessary actions should be exercised.
The necessary precautions include avoiding social gatherings of groups of 10 or more, long distance travel, shopping and visiting restaurants. As a result all schools in Pennsylvania were closed along with hundreds of non-essential businesses such as restaurants, theaters, offices, and much more. While many will remain safe, there will be a lot of others who will lose so much from social distancing.
The Labor Department has reported that 281,000 people applied for unemployment insurance between March 1 and 19 as a result of coronavirus restrictions. This is the largest number of claims since Sept. 2017. Many of the layoffs consisted of employees working in service-related industries as well as transportation and warehousing.
One of the biggest problems we are currently facing is identifying who has the virus and getting medical data to understand the progression of the virus. Part of the problem is the inadequate supply of test kits.
“I don’t take responsibility at all,” Trump said, insisting problems that led to slow test-kit distribution were the fault of previous administrations. “We were given a set of circumstances and we were given rules, regulations and specifications from a different time.”
As a response to this situation, many businesses have already issued a “work from home” policy to ensure the safety and good health of their employees. Jack Flynn, Chief Operating Officer of Achiliion Pharmaceuticals, now has his employees working from home and participating in company meetings through Skype. Flynn also says as of now the company is taking a “wait and see” approach as they try to work out adjustments to their work situation as updates continue to be released.
“Other companies in the pharmaceutical industry have pulled their sales forces out from the field,” Flynn said. “This is to allow physicians working in hospitals more time to focus and better capacity to handle the growing of the new coronavirus. As we get updates in the future we will either see a relaxation or a tightening in restrictions which could have a big effect on business.”
Some industries are functioning differently than others. Restaurants across the country have closed in fear of people getting infected from close contact. Christine D’agostino a server, at Pineville Tavern, said that during the uprising of the virus, there was a massive panic throughout Bucks County that left her restaurant with almost no customers for over a week. Then Governor Wolf of Pennsylvania gave the order to have non essential businesses close, and the restaurant began plotting how they could perform “curbside service” with limited menus which would allow a small amount of work hours for employees.
“It was absolutely the right call to make,” D’agostino said. “During the point when things were slow, employees and customers were maniacs with hand washing every time we served their food, took their menus or swiped their credit cards.”
D’agostino went on to say that the entire staff agreed that although closing would be bad for their income, it had to be done. As a result though, a few of D’agostino’s co-workers applied for unemployment in order to make sure they are able to provide for their families. With the country being advised to stay in their homes many people with families will begin to lose their jobs.
