EnviroPolitics Blog

Slew of new bills in NJ offer assistance to businesses, residents fighting coronavirus

By Frank Brill, EnviroPolitics Blog Editor

Following is a list of bills introduced in the New Jersey Legislature to help government, business and residents deal with the coronavirus crisis. Other legislative activity has been postponed for at least two weeks.

Bill:               A3837
Sponsors:    Conaway (D7); McKnight (D31)
Summary:   Prohibits excessive price increases during period of declared abnormal market disruption.
Status:         03/16/2020 – Assembly Health Committee

Bill:               A3839
Sponsors:    Carter (D22); Bramnick (R21); Chiaravalloti (D31) +13
Summary:   Makes supplemental appropriation of up to $20 million from General Fund to DOE to support school facility cleaning and sanitization.
Status:         03/16/2020 – 2nd reading in the Senate
History:        03/16/2020—Introduced and referred to Assembly Homeland Security and State Preparedness Committee. Reported out of committee, 2nd reading in Assembly. Emergency resolution 63‑0‑0 (Greenwald). Passed in Assembly 65‑0‑0. Received in Senate w/o committee reference, 2nd reading in Senate.

Bill:               A3840
Sponsors:    Lampitt (D6); Quijano (D20) +9
Summary:   Requires school districts to provide school meals or meal vouchers to students eligible for free and reduced price school meals during school closures due to COVID‑19 epidemic.
Status:         03/16/2020 – 2nd reading in the Senate
History:        03/16/2020—Introduced and referred to Assembly Homeland Security and State Preparedness Committee. Reported out of committee, 2nd reading in Assembly. Emergency resolution 63‑0‑0 (Greenwald). Passed in Assembly 65‑0‑0. Received in Senate w/o committee reference, 2nd reading in Senate.

Bill:               A3841
Sponsors:    Pintor Marin (D29); Bramnick (R21); Chiaravalloti (D31) +10 Summary:   Automatically extends time to file gross income tax or corporation business tax return if federal government extends filing or payment due date for federal returns.
Status:         03/16/2020 – 2nd reading in the Senate
History:        03/16/2020—Introduced and referred to Assembly Homeland Security and State Preparedness Committee. Reported out of committee, 2nd reading in Assembly. Emergency resolution 63‑0‑0 (Greenwald). Passed in Assembly 65‑0‑0. Received in Senate w/o committee reference, 2nd reading in Senate.

Bill:               A3842
Sponsors:    Greenwald (D6); Taliaferro (D3); Quijano (D20) +12
Summary:   Establishes Bridging the Digital Divide in Schools Grant Program in DOE to provide and expand access to technology and equipment for students in certain school districts.
Status:         03/16/2020 – 2nd reading in the Senate
History:        03/16/2020—Introduced, 1st reading w/o committee reference, 2nd reading in Assembly. Emergency resolution 63‑0‑0 (Greenwald). Passed in Assembly 58‑4‑3. Received in Senate w/o committee reference, 2nd reading in Senate.

Bill:               A3843
Sponsors:    McKeon (D27); Bramnick (R21); Chaparro (D33) +17
Summary:   Requires health insurance and Medicaid coverage for testing of coronavirus disease 2019 and for telemedicine and telehealth during coronavirus disease 2019 state of emergency.
Status:         03/16/2020 – 2nd reading in the Senate
History:        03/16/2020—Introduced and referred to Assembly Homeland Security and State Preparedness Committee. Reported out of committee, 2nd reading in Assembly. Emergency resolution 63‑0‑0 (Greenwald). Passed in Assembly 64‑0‑1. Received in Senate w/o committee reference, 2nd reading in Senate.

Bill:               A3844
Sponsors:    Freiman (D16); Greenwald (D6); Chaparro (D33) +11
Summary:   Concerns business interruption insurance during coronavirus disease 2019 state of emergency.
Status:         03/16/2020 – 2nd reading in the Assembly
History:        03/16/2020—Introduced and referred to Assembly Homeland Security and State Preparedness Committee. Reported out of committee, 2nd reading in Assembly. Emergency resolution 63‑0‑0 (Greenwald).

Bill:               A3845
Sponsors:    Freiman (D16); Greenwald (D6); Dancer (R12)
Summary:   Authorizes EDA to make grants during periods of emergency declared by Governor and for duration of economic disruptions due to emergency; allows EDA to grant certain business documentation submission deadline extensions.
Status:         03/16/2020 – 2nd reading in the Senate
History:           03/16/2020—Introduced, 1st reading w/o committee reference, 2nd reading in Assembly. Emergency resolution 63‑0‑0 (Greenwald). Passed in Assembly 65‑0‑0. Received in Senate w/o committee reference, 2nd reading

Bill:               A3847
Sponsors:    Tully (D38); DeCroce (R26); Chiaravalloti (D31) +13
Summary:   Provides paid leave without utilizing accumulated leave time for local government employees under certain circumstances.
Status:         03/16/2020 – 2nd reading in the Senate
History:        03/16/2020—Introduced and referred to Assembly Homeland Security and State Preparedness Committee. Reported out of committee, 2nd reading in Assembly. Emergency resolution 63‑0‑0 (Greenwald). Passed in Assembly 56‑4‑5. Received in Senate w/o committee reference, 2nd reading in Senate.

Bill:               A3848
Sponsors:    Lopez (D19); Munoz (R21); Downey (D11) +12
Summary:   Concerns time off from work in connection with infectious disease.
Status:         03/16/2020 – 2nd reading in the Senate
History:        03/16/2020—Introduced and referred to Assembly Homeland Security and State Preparedness Committee. Reported out of committee, 2nd reading in Assembly. Emergency resolution 63‑0‑0 (Greenwald). Passed in Assembly 65‑0‑0. Received in Senate w/o committee reference, 2nd reading in Senate.

Bill:               A3849
Sponsors:    Johnson (D37); Moen (D5); Timberlake (D34) +8
Summary:   Modifies deadline by which public agency is required to respond to request for government record during period of emergency.
Status:         03/16/2020 – 2nd reading in the Senate
History:        03/16/2020—Introduced and referred to Assembly Homeland Security and State Preparedness Committee. Reported out of committee, 2nd reading in Assembly. Emergency resolution 63‑0‑0 (Greenwald). Passed in Assembly 65‑0‑0. Received in Senate w/o committee reference, 2nd reading

Bill:               A3850
Sponsors:    Murphy (D7); DeCroce (R26); Moen (D5) +18|Summary:   Allows public bodies to conduct meetings, and provide notice, by electronic means during periods of emergency.
Status:         03/16/2020 – 2nd reading in the Senate
History:        03/16/2020—Introduced and referred to Assembly Homeland Security and State Preparedness Committee. Reported out of committee, 2nd reading in Assembly. Emergency resolution 63‑0‑0 (Greenwald). Passed in Assembly 64‑0‑0. Received in Senate w/o committee reference, 2nd reading in Senate.

Bill:               A3851
Sponsors:    Schaer (D36); Scharfenberger (R13); Reynolds‑Jackson (D15) Summary:   Permits extension of deadlines for adoption of county and municipal budgets under certain circumstances.
Status:         03/16/2020 – 2nd reading in the Senate
History:        03/16/2020—Introduced and referred to Assembly Homeland Security and State Preparedness Committee. Reported out of committee, 2nd reading in Assembly. Emergency resolution 63‑0‑0 (Greenwald). Passed in Assembly 65‑0‑0. Received in Senate w/o committee reference, 2nd reading in Senate.

Bill:               A3852
Sponsors:    Coughlin (D19); Bramnick (R21) +2
Summary:   Allows conduct of State business and legislative sessions at locations other than Trenton during periods of emergency or other exigency; allows conduct of legislative business using electronic means.
Status:         03/16/2020 – 2nd reading in the Senate
History:        03/16/2020—Introduced and referred to Assembly Homeland Security and State Preparedness Committee. Reported out of committee, 2nd reading in Assembly. Emergency resolution 63‑0‑0 (Greenwald). Passed in Assembly 65‑0‑0. Received in Senate w/o committee reference, 2nd reading in Senate.

Bill:               A3854
Sponsors:    Conaway (D7); Munoz (R21); Benson (D14) +11
Summary:   Authorizes all licensed health care facilities and laboratories to collect specimens to test for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‑19); allows waiver of staffing ratio requirements.
Status:         03/16/2020 – 2nd reading in the Senate
History:        03/16/2020—Introduced, 1st reading w/o committee reference, 2nd reading in Assembly. Emergency resolution 63‑0‑0 (Greenwald). Passed in Assembly 65‑0‑0. Received in Senate w/o committee reference, 2nd reading in Senate.

Bill:               A3855
Sponsors:    Mosquera (D4); Stanfield (R8); Vainieri Huttle (D37) +13
Summary:   Requires food access information be displayed on websites of 2‑1‑1 system and executive branch departments during public health emergencies to the extent practicable.
Status:         03/16/2020 – 2nd reading in the Senate
History:        03/16/2020—Introduced and referred to Assembly Homeland Security and State Preparedness Committee. Reported out of committee, 2nd reading in Assembly. Emergency resolution 63‑0‑0 (Greenwald). Passed in Assembly 65‑0‑0. Received in Senate w/o committee reference, 2nd reading in Senate.

Bill:               A3856
Sponsors:    Downey (D11); Wimberly (D35) +8
Summary:   Makes FY 2020 supplemental appropriation of $10 million for healthcare and residential facility sanitation due to coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak.
Status:         03/16/2020 – 2nd reading in the Senate
History:        03/16/2020—Introduced, 1st reading w/o committee reference, 2nd reading in Assembly. Emergency resolution 63‑0‑0 (Greenwald). Passed in Assembly 65‑0‑0. Received in Senate w/o committee reference, 2nd reading in Senate.

Bill:               A3857
Sponsors:    Coughlin (D19); Quijano (D20); Speight (D29); Jasey (D27) +13 Summary:   Makes FY 2020 supplemental appropriations of $15 million for grants to food banks.
Status:         03/16/2020 – 2nd reading in the Senate
History:        03/16/2020—Introduced, 1st reading w/o committee reference, 2nd reading in Assembly. Emergency resolution 63‑0‑0 (Greenwald). Passed in Assembly 65‑0‑0. Received in Senate w/o committee reference, 2nd reading in Senate.

Bill:               A3858
Sponsors:    Mukherji (D33); Spearman (D5); Zwicker (D16) +8
Summary:   Requires Commissioner of Human Services to issue supplemental cash assistance payments to Work First New Jersey recipients under certain circumstances; makes appropriation.
Status:         03/16/2020 – 2nd reading in the Senate
History:        03/16/2020—Introduced, 1st reading w/o committee reference, 2nd reading in Assembly. Emergency resolution 63‑0‑0 (Greenwald). Passed in Assembly 52‑1‑12. Received in Senate w/o committee reference, 2nd reading in Senate.

Bill:               A3859
Sponsors:    McKnight (D31); Schepisi (R39); Wimberly (D35) +16
Summary:   Concerns prohibition of residential tenant eviction and eviction due to residential foreclosure during certain emergency circumstances.
Status:         03/16/2020 – 2nd reading in the Senate
History:        03/16/2020—Introduced and referred to Assembly Homeland Security and State Preparedness Committee. Reported out of committee, 2nd reading in Assembly. Emergency resolution 63‑0‑0 (Greenwald). Passed in Assembly 60‑0‑5. Received in Senate w/o committee reference, 2nd reading in Senate.

Bill:               A3860
Sponsors:    Pinkin (D18); DeCroce (R26); Benson (D14) +12
Summary:   Establishes certain requirements to use telemedicine and telehealth to respond to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‑19).
Status:         03/16/2020 – 2nd reading in the Senate
History:        03/16/2020—Introduced, 1st reading w/o committee reference, 2nd reading in Assembly. Emergency resolution 63‑0‑0 (Greenwald). Passed in Assembly 64‑0‑0. Received in Senate w/o committee reference, 2nd reading in Senate.

Bill:               A3861
Sponsors:    Karabinchak (D18); Johnson (D37); Greenwald (D6)
Summary:   Permits corporations to hold shareholders’ meetings in part or solely by means of remote communication during state of emergency.
Status:         03/16/2020 – 2nd reading in the Senate
History:        03/16/2020—Introduced, 1st reading w/o committee reference, 2nd reading in Assembly. Emergency resolution 63‑0‑0 (Greenwald). Passed in Assembly 64‑0‑0. Received in Senate w/o committee reference, 2nd reading in Senate.

Bill:               A3862
Sponsors:    Giblin (D34); Armato (D2); Houghtaling (D11) +1
Summary:   Permits professional and occupational licensing boards to expedite licensure of certain individuals during state of emergency or public health emergency.
Status:         03/16/2020 – 2nd reading in the Senate
History:        03/16/2020—Introduced, 1st reading w/o committee reference, 2nd reading in Assembly. Emergency resolution 63‑0‑0 (Greenwald). Passed in Assembly 65‑0‑0. Received in Senate w/o committee reference, 2nd reading in Senate.

Bill:               A3863
Sponsors:    Houghtaling (D11); Downey (D11); Mazzeo (D2) +1
Summary:   Extends petition filing deadline by two weeks for all candidates, and waives signature requirements for candidates for party office, for 2020 primary election.
Status:         03/16/2020 – 2nd reading in the Senate
History:        03/16/2020—Introduced, 1st reading w/o committee reference, 2nd reading in Assembly. Emergency resolution 63‑0‑0 (Greenwald). Passed in Assembly 65‑0‑0. Received in Senate w/o committee reference, 2nd reading in Senate.

Bill:               A3864
Sponsors:    Downey (D11); Houghtaling (D11); Swain (D38) +1
Summary:   Authorizes notaries public to perform certain notarial acts remotely.
Status:         03/16/2020 – 2nd reading in the Senate
History:       03/16/2020—Introduced, 1st reading w/o committee reference, 2nd reading in Assembly. Emergency resolution 63‑0‑0 (Greenwald). Passed in Assembly 63‑0‑2. Received in Senate w/o committee reference, 2nd reading in Senate.

Bill:               A3865
Sponsors:    Chaparro (D33); Reynolds‑Jackson (D15); Verrelli (D15)
Summary:   Limits return of items purchased from retail food stores under certain circumstances.
Status:         03/16/2020 – 2nd reading in the Senate
History:       03/16/2020—Introduced, 1st reading w/o committee reference, 2nd reading in Assembly. Emergency resolution 63‑0‑0 (Greenwald). Passed in Assembly 49‑4‑12. Received in Senate w/o committee reference, 2nd reading in Senate.

Bill:               A3866
Sponsors:    Bergen (R25); Auth (R39)
Summary:   Establishes sales tax holiday for duration of state of emergency related to COVID‑19 pandemic.
Status:         03/16/2020 – Proposed for introduction
History:       03/16/2020—Proposed for introduction.

Bill:               A3867
Sponsors:    Wimberly (D35)
Summary:   Concerns repayment of unemployment compensation overpayments.
Status:         03/16/2020 – Proposed for introduction
History:        03/16/2020—Proposed for introduction.

Bill:               A3878
Sponsors:    Timberlake (D34); Speight (D29); McKnight (D31)
Summary:   Prohibits electric, gas, or water public utility service discontinuances to residential customers during certain epidemics.
Status:         03/16/2020 – Proposed for introduction
History:        03/16/2020—Proposed for introduction.

Bill:               AR146
Sponsors:    Jimenez (D32)
Summary:   Encourages licensed hospitals Statewide to construct pre‑triage tents outside of their buildings.
Status:         03/16/2020 – Proposed for introduction
History:       03/16/2020—Proposed for introduction.

Bill:               S2274
Sponsors:    Turner (D15)
Summary:   Mandates that certain personnel critical to certain State finance and revenue generating activities are essential employees during state of emergency or government shutdown.
Status:         03/16/2020 – Proposed for introduction
History:        03/16/2020—Proposed for introduction.

Bill:               S2280
Sponsors:    Singleton (D7)
Summary:   Concerns suspension of residential tenant eviction and residential foreclosure processes, rent increase prohibition, and permits application for mortgage forbearance, during certain emergency circumstances.
Status:         02/27/2007 – Proposed for introduction
History:        03/16/2020—Proposed for introduction.

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New York mayor orders the closing of restaurants, movie theaters and bars

RYAN DEFFENBAUGH reports for Crain’s NY Business

New York City movie theaters, bars, concert venues must close and restaurants can only offer delivery and takeout — by order of the mayor — in effort to curb the spread of coronavirus.

“Now it is time to take yet another drastic step,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said. “The virus can spread rapidly through the close interactions New Yorkers have in restaurants, bars and places where we sit close together. We have to break that cycle.”

The mayor said he will sign an order Monday morning and the new rules will go into effect at 9 a.m. the next day, March 17.

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“This is not a decision I make lightly,” the mayor said. “But our city is facing an unprecedented threat, and we must respond with a wartime mentality.”

New York City has more than 300 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and the state has recorded five deaths. The mayor and Gov. Andrew Cuomo warn the number just within the city will climb to above 1,000 before the end of the week.

“We will come through this,” de Blasio added, “but until we do, we must make whatever sacrifices necessary to help our fellow New Yorkers.”

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Hoboken, NJ to impose coronavirus curfew that could become statewide

From the Asbury Park Press and the Associated Press

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said Sunday morning state officials are considering a statewide curfew as one way to help prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Murphy called in to a New York City radio station and was asked about Hoboken, where a 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew will begin on Monday, and Teaneck, where residents have been told to self-quarantine.

“We’re not there at a statewide level on either of those steps, but we could be,” said Murphy, who had called in to WBLS 107.5 FM. “The curfew is probably, of the two, is probably the more immediate one under consideration. But these are the things we have to consider, we have no choice.”

On Saturday, Murphy announced the second death in the state from coronavirus, a woman in her 50s who was being cared for at CentraState Medical Center in Monmouth County.

There were 69 other known coronavirus cases in New Jersey as of Saturday, and officials expect that number to rise as testing becomes more available.

The spread of the virus has altered daily life for New Jersey residents and with every day, there are more cases confirmed and new calls for social-distancing.

HOBOKEN CURFEW

Hours after announcing that gyms, health clubs, day cares and movie theaters would join the list of closures in Hoboken, Mayor Ravi S. Bhalla announced the forthcoming curfew and additional restrictions.

The citywide curfew that begins Monday will be in effect from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. and requires all residents to remain in their homes, barring emergencies. People who are required to report to work are exempted, the statement released late Saturday said.

To further limit gatherings, the city’s Office of Emergency Management will not permit restaurants and bars to serve food within their premises. Bars that don’t serve food will be shut down, effective Sunday at 11 a.m. Any establishment that serves food will be allowed to conduct takeout and delivery service.

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Finally, good news for reporters at a major daily newspaper–the Philadelphia Inquirer

NewsGuild, Inquirer agree to tentative labor pact with first across-the-board raise in years

By Bob Fernandez, Philadelphia Inquirer

The NewsGuild of Greater Philadelphia and The Philadelphia Inquirer LLC reached a tentative three-year contract agreement with raises and a workforce diversity provision, the union and company said Thursday.

The 338 union members began voting on the tentative contract on Thursday and are expected to continue voting through 12:01 a.m. Tuesday.

The tentative contract contains a onetime lump-sum payment equivalent to 2.5% of a union member’s salary in the contract’s first year, plus a $500 signing bonus.

In the second year, the company would raise pay for Guild members by 3%. The third year would include a 2% raise.

Although many individual Guild members have received raises in recent years, the new contract would include the first across-the-board raises since August 2009 for newsroom reporters, photographers, digital producers, audience engagement, and other editorial staffers, in addition to finance, advertising, and circulation employees.

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With news breaking about the coronavirus, the company and the union concluded talks more than two weeks before the current contract expires on March 31. The two sides negotiated for five months. The company is owned by the nonprofit Lenfest Institute for Journalism.

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“I said it would be a win for all of us for this [no-pay-raise] narrative to change,” said Diane Mastrull, the guild president and lead negotiator. “We have so many important things to do here for them to be overshadowed by something like no raises.

“By no means is anyone getting rich from this contract, but we could not have employees worried about whether they would be able to pay their bills year to year,” she added.

Inquirer publisher Elizabeth H. Hughes spoke with negotiators on Thursday and told them that, given the coronavirus and the potential impact on the economy, they had to finalize a deal, Mastrull said.

Hughes, a former magazine executive who took her position in Philadelphia in early February, declined to comment on specifics before union members voted on the contract. She noted that the process was far advanced when she arrived.

Hughes added, “I am happy with where we are.”

Hughes said that “our industry is certainly not immune to what’s going on in the world. We are in a bear market, and I think everyone is aware of that. With a tentative agreement, we are focused on what’s important, serving the community with journalism that matters.”

The tentative contract continues its health benefits and “includes extensive language committing the company to the recruitment, employment, promotion, training and career development of a diverse workforce,” the union said in an email announcing the tentative contract.

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17,700 bottles of hand sanitizer in his garage and nowhere to sell them

Editor’s Note: Normally, we applaud the entrepreneur who seizes on a marketing opportunity to cash in. Not so much in the case of this guy whose get-rich-quick plan was short circuited by Amazon. Thank you, New York Times, for such an interesting story. What do you think? Share your view by clicking on the ‘comments’ link. — Frank Brill

An Amazon merchant, Matt Colvin, with an overflow stock of cleaning and sanitizing supplies in his garage in Hixson, Tenn.Credit…Doug Strickland for The New York Times

By Jack Nicas of the New York Times

On March 1, the day after the first coronavirus death in the United States was announced, brothers Matt and Noah Colvin set out in a silver S.U.V. to pick up some hand sanitizer. Driving around Chattanooga, Tenn., they hit a Dollar Tree, then a Walmart, a Staples and a Home Depot. At each store, they cleaned out the shelves.

Over the next three days, Noah Colvin took a 1,300-mile road trip across Tennessee and into Kentucky, filling a U-Haul truck with thousands of bottles of hand sanitizer and thousands of packs of antibacterial wipes, mostly from “little hole-in-the-wall dollar stores in the backwoods,” his brother said. “The major metro areas were cleaned out.”

Matt Colvin stayed home near Chattanooga, preparing for pallets of even more wipes and sanitizer he had ordered, and starting to list them on Amazon. Mr. Colvin said he had posted 300 bottles of hand sanitizer and immediately sold them all for between $8 and $70 each, multiples higher than what he had bought them for. To him, “it was crazy money.” To many others, it was profiteering from a pandemic.

The next day, Amazon pulled his items and thousands of other listings for sanitizer, wipes and face masks. The company suspended some of the sellers behind the listings and warned many others that if they kept running up prices, they’d lose their accounts. EBay soon followed with even stricter measures, prohibiting any U.S. sales of masks or sanitizer.

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Now, while millions of people across the country search in vain for hand sanitizer to protect themselves from the spread of the coronavirus, Mr. Colvin is sitting on 17,700 bottles of the stuff with little idea where to sell them.

“It’s been a huge amount of whiplash,” he said. “From being in a situation where what I’ve got coming and going could potentially put my family in a really good place financially to ‘What the heck am I going to do with all of this?’”

Mr. Colvin is one of probably thousands of sellers who have amassed stockpiles of hand sanitizer and crucial respirator masks that many hospitals are now rationing, according to interviews with eight Amazon sellers and posts in private Facebook and Telegram groups from dozens more. Amazon said it had recently removed hundreds of thousands of listings and suspended thousands of sellers’ accounts for price gouging related to the coronavirus.

Amazon, eBay, Walmart and other online-commerce platforms are trying to stop their sellers from making excessive profits from a public health crisis. While the companies aimed to discourage people from hoarding such products and jacking up their prices, many sellers had already cleared out their local stores and started selling the goods online.

Now both the physical and digital shelves are nearly empty.

Mikeala Kozlowski, a nurse in Dudley, Mass., has been searching for hand sanitizer since before she gave birth to her first child, Nora, on March 5. When she searched stores, which were sold out, she skipped getting gas to avoid handling the pump. And when she checked Amazon, she couldn’t find it for less than $50.

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“You’re being selfish, hoarding resources for your own personal gain,” she said of the sellers.

Sites like Amazon and eBay have given rise to a growing industry of independent sellers who snatch up discounted or hard-to-find items in stores to post online and sell around the world.

These sellers call it retail arbitrage, a 21st-century career that has adults buying up everything from limited-run cereals to Fingerling Monkeys, a once hot toy. The bargain hunters look for anything they can sell at a sharp markup. In recent weeks, they found perhaps their biggest opportunity: a pandemic.

As they watched the list of Amazon’s most popular searches crowd with terms like “Purell,” “N95 mask” and “Clorox wipes,” sellers said, they did what they had learned to do: Suck up supply and sell it for what the market would bear.

Initially, the strategy worked. For several weeks, prices soared for some of the top results to searches for sanitizer, masks and wipes on Amazon, according to a New York Times analysis of historical prices from Jungle Scout, which tracks data for Amazon sellers. The data shows that both Amazon and third-party sellers like Mr. Colvin increased their prices, which then mostly dropped when Amazon took action against price gouging this month.

At the high prices, people still bought the products en masse, and Amazon took a cut of roughly 15 percent and eBay roughly 10 percent, depending on the price and the seller.

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All Pennsylvania schools to close for two weeks over coronavirus, Gov. Wolf orders

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf has ordered all K-12 schools to close for 10 school days.(Marc Levy/AP)

JACQUELINE PALOCHKO and ANDREW WAGAMAN
THE MORNING CALL |MAR 13, 2020 | 3:49 PM

As the coronavirus continued to spread Friday across southeastern Pennsylvania, Gov. Tom Wolf announced that all K-12 schools will be closed for 10 school days starting Monday.

The Wolf administration will decide at the end of the 10-day period, or March 27, whether to extend the closure into the week of March 29.AdvertisementPauseUnmuteLoaded: 0%Progress: 0%Remaining Time-0:31Fullscreen

“We understand that these are trying times and recognize the impact of the coronavirus on our students and communities,” Wolf said in a statement. “First and foremost, my top priority as governor – and that of our education leaders – must be to ensure the health and safety of our students and school communities.”

The decision followed Wolf’s directive Thursday that all schools in Montgomery County, the hardest hit by COVID-19 so far, close for two weeks. Earlier Friday afternoon, neighboring Bucks County had followed suit, canceling in-person classes for the next two weeks because of the number of employees who live in Montgomery County.

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Pennsylvania joined at least seven other states, including Maryland and Virginia, in closing all schools for at least a week. As of 2 p.m., about 22,000 schools had been closed or were scheduled to close, affecting at least 15 million students, according to Education Week. That didn’t include all closings in Pennsylvania and Virginia. Pennsylvania’s order affects more than 1.7 million school children alone in public and private schools.

Pennsylvania’s case count jumped to 33 from 22 on Friday, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health, including a pediatric patient in Monroe County. The Lehigh Valley’s first and only case of coronavirus so far was reported Thursday morning in Northampton County.

No school district will be penalized if it fails to meet the 180 day or school hours requirements, Wolf said in a statement.

Bethlehem Area Superintendent Joseph Roy said he’s concerned what working parents will do for childcare now that schools are closed for two weeks. That was one of the reasons why Roy didn’t shut down Bethlehem Area’s 22 schools.

“It’s not like summer where there’s camps,” he said. “There’s nothing. It’s a major problem.”

Roy said the district is ironing out plans, such as whether it will have lessons for students and how to get meals to students who are dependent on the district for meals.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education announced Friday that it received a federal waiver allowing eligible schools to serve meals to low income students in a non-congregate setting, such as a drive-through or grab and go, during this closure. The department said it would work to assist school districts with its efforts.

READ MORE: Meals to low-income children will still be provided as coronavirus outbreak forces schools to close for two weeks »

In Allentown, 77% of its 17,000 students live in poverty. When the district announced it was closing Thursday and Friday because an employee was being tested for coronavirus, many were concerned about students receiving meals if the closure is longer.

Because of Allentown’s high poverty rate, all students receive free breakfast and lunch. Allentown, one of the state’s largest school districts, was the first in the Lehigh Valley to announce it was closing as a precaution because of the coronavirus.

Wolf has asked Pennsylvanians to avoid malls, movie theaters, gyms and other gathering places, and “strongly encouraged” the suspension of planned large gatherings, events, conferences of 250 individuals or more.

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