Officials: Too soon to tell if reopening will lead to spike in coronavirus cases

Allegheny County officials said it’s too soon to tell if there has been a spike in coronavirus cases as Southwestern Pennsylvania settles into life in the yellow phase of the state’s reopening plan.

It will likely take another 10 to 14 days before test results start to show whether more people have been infected since offices, retailers and other businesses started to reopen last week, Allegheny County Health Department Director Dr. Debra Bogen said during a press briefing Wednesday.

That’s because coronavirus symptoms typically take about five days to set in. It could then take another day or two for a person to get tested, she said.

“Hearing from all over the county that people are still staying home, practicing physical distancing, wearing their masks, taking care of themselves and others, is great and we need to keep that up,” Bogen said.

She encouraged residents to celebrate the upcoming Memorial Day holiday safely.

That includes limiting gatherings to 25 people or fewer, practicing physical distancing and wearing a mask, and considering designating the fewest number of people possible to handle food preparation and utensils, she said.

Allegheny County reported 29 additional cases of the coronavirus Wednesday, though that number could represent testing conducted any time in recent weeks.

There have been a total of 1,687 confirmed or probable cases since the first case was recorded in the county March 14.

No new deaths were reported Wednesday, leaving the total at 144.

“Early indications are that as offices opened up this week, as retail opened up this week, and child care opened up this week, the reports that we’re getting are that there’s a great level of cooperation that the business community is still trying to keep as many of their workers teleworking from home if they can,” County Executive Rich Fitzgerald said.

Other businesses, including restaurants that offer outdoor seating and hair and nail salons, could be allowed to reopen by mid or late June, he said.

“I can’t give a date,” Fitzgerald said. “That’s not an authority we have here locally. But we can certainly be seen as an advocate for folks that are really feeling some economic pain that’s occurred since March.”

Fitzgerald said he is in touch with the governor’s team weekly to discuss other reopening steps, including those that could happen while still in the yellow phase.

“I don’t know that the total definition of what green means is there yet,” Fitzgerald said. “But what I do know is that even in the yellow phase, we could see more things open up.”