Ridgway man accused of physically assaulting a woman…Altoona resident caught trying to rob Mansfield Walmart…..Several goats taken from Tioga County farm….The state house will consider a bill to improve the security, integrity and accessibility in future elections…Health Department reports state’s positivity rate continues to drop
Tioga County
Mansfield based state police caught an Altoona man red-handed as he was preparing to rob the Walmart store. Troopers were dispatched to the store’s parking lot just after 1:00 pm for a car jacking. Upon arrival they found the suspect, whose name they did not release, had gone inside the store where he was apprehended. The 2001 Subaru Outback belongs to a 56 year old Mansfield woman.
Troopers at Mansfield are looking for a kidnapper—well, at least someone who may have stolen goats from a pasture on Route 49 in Deerfield Township. Gary Gigee told officers eight of his goats were taken Wednesday evening.
Elk County
State police at Ridgway have arrested Patrick Sheely of Kersey for physical harassment. Authorities claim Sheely harassed at 34 year old woman during an argument on Sheely Road in Fox Township Thursday evening and spit in her face.
Statewide
Rep. Martin Causer reports The state House is set to consider legislation next week that aims to improve the security, integrity and accessibility of all future elections in the Commonwealth.
House Bill 1300, the Voting Rights Protection Act, would tighten security by expanding upon Pennsylvania’s current voter identification law, require regular election audits, improve election uniformity among the 67 counties as required by the Pennsylvania Constitution, enhance certification processes for all machines used in elections, require signature verification using ballot scanning equipment for mail-in and absentee ballots, improve lists of registered voters and more. Specifically, registered voters would receive through their counties a scannable and durable voter registration card, much like the identification cards currently issued to voters, for use when voting in person.
To address issues raised by local election officials, the bill would allow earlier counting of mail-in ballots, moving it from no earlier than 7 a.m. on Election Day to five days before Election Day. It would also move the last day to register to vote back to 30 days prior to an election, as it was before its recent shift to closer to elections.
The bill is the result of a series of hearings that reviewed all aspects of the state’s election process.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health today confirmed that as of 12:00 a.m. Thursday, June 17, there were 277 additional positive cases of COVID-19, bringing the statewide total to 1,209,725.
There are 465 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19. Of that number, 114 patients are in the intensive care unit with COVID-19. Most of the patients hospitalized are ages 65 or older, and most of the deaths have occurred in patients 65 or older.
The trend in the 14-day moving average number of hospitalized patients per continues to drop, after peaking at 2,661 patients which is slightly below what it was at the height of the spring 2020 peak of 2,751 patients on May 3, 2020. The full 14-day moving average since the start of the pandemic can be found here.
Statewide percent positivity for the week of June 4 – June 10 stood at 1.9%.
The most accurate daily data is available on the website, with archived data also available.
As of 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, June 16, there were 15 new deaths identified by the Pennsylvania death registry, reported for a total of 27,546 deaths attributed to COVID-19. County-specific information and a statewide map are available on the COVID-19 Data Dashboard.
According to the CDC, as of Wednesday morning, June 16, Pennsylvania has administered first doses of vaccine to 61.1% of its entire population, and the state ranks 9th among all 50 states for first doses administered by percentage of population.
According to the CDC, as of Wednesday morning, June 16, 57.8% of Pennsylvanians age 18 and older are fully vaccinated while 73.7% have received their first dose.
According to the CDC, as of Wednesday morning, June 16, Pennsylvania ranks 5th among all 50 states for total doses administered.
Statewide data representing the 66 counties within the Department of Health’s vaccine jurisdiction:
Vaccine providers have administered 11,330,117 total vaccine doses as of Thursday, June 17.
5,177,770 people are fully vaccinated; with a seven-day moving average of more than 34,300 people per day receiving vaccinations.
1,400,279 people are partially vaccinated, meaning they have received one dose of a two-dose vaccine.
6,578,049 people have received at least their first dose.
This week, a total of 12,546,160 doses will have been allocated through June 19:
299,960 first/single doses will have been allocated this week.
299,960 second doses will have been allocated this week.
To date, 11,330,117total doses have been administered through June 16:
First/single doses: 6,578,049 administered
Second doses: 4,752,068 administered
Fully vaccinated people may choose not to wear a mask indoors or outdoors unless the business or organization requires it, following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
In licensed nursing and personal care homes, there are 71,936 resident cases of COVID-19, and 15,514 cases among employees, for a total of 87,450 at 1,596 distinct facilities in all 67 counties.
Approximately 28,944 of the total cases are among health care workers.