Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine has the latest COVID-related hospitalization numbers. "There are 5529 patients hospitalized due to COVID-19. 1149 of those patients are in the intensive care unit and 674 of those patients require breathing assistance with a ventilator," Levine says. Levine reported 122 new COVID-related deaths Monday, leaving the state's overall number at 16,361. Levine says through Sunday more than 135,000 coronavirus vaccines have been administered.
Pennsylvania Democrats are trying to give some assistance to renters and homeowners who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Democrat lawmakers say they'll be proposing a bill extending the ban on evictions and foreclosures, which is set to expire on February 23rd. If approved, the bill will extend the ban for another two months. Officials say there are about 240,000 residents in the state who are close to being evicted.
More than 100,000 doses of the coronavirus vaccine have been administered in New Jersey. Monday's announcement came the same day ten months ago that the Garden State discovered its first case of COVID-19.
At least 90 nursing homes in New Jersey are slated to receive the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine this week. New Jersey has reserved roughly 120,000 vaccines for long term care facilities, spreading out the doses among about 500 centers. The state says it will be adding more sites in coming weeks.
ShopRite says it's going to begin offering the coronavirus vaccine to front line workers. The supermarket chain says 39 locations across New Jersey will take part in the program. New Jersey Department of Health worked with the company to strategically place sites throughout the state.
Police are looking for a missing teenage girl. 17-year-old Adrianna Lynn Stahler left her home in Lower Saucon Township on December 28th sometime after 2 a.m. and hasn't been seen since. She is described as being 5-foot-2, and weighing 120 pounds. She has blond hair, blue eyes, and has a center nose ring and nose stud piercing. Police say Stahler may be at an unknown location in Bethlehem.
A Whitehall Township man is facing several charges for allegedly posing as a policeman and conducting a phony traffic stop on New Year's Day. Allentown police were dispatched around 10 o'clock Friday night to the area of South Fourth and Susquehanna streets where they spotted a man wearing a blue uniform with a black hat that read 'police' running a phony traffic stop. Police say Austin Baker allegedly flashed blue lights on his SUV and forced another vehicle to stop for reckless driving. Baker was released on bail.
Fred Keller is one of eight Pennsylvania congressmen who plan to object to Joe Biden's final certification of victory. He says Democrats who are ripping President Trump for not accepting his loss need to look in the mirror. "Where was the outrage in 2001, in 2005 and in 2017 when the Democrats actually challenged George W. Bush twice and the first electoral votes of President Trump," Keller says. The Senate tallies the electoral votes for President tomorrow.
Jim Brewster's oath of office after winning the 45th District race is being delayed by Senate Republicans. Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman called for the delay of Brewster taking his seat yesterday during a conference call. This follows Brewster's Republican challenger, Nicole Ziccarelli, filing an election contest about three days ago. Brewster won his third four-year term in November over Ziccarelli by about 70 votes. Corman says the state Senate needs "time to digest" Ziccarelli's 500-page document that claims there were hundreds of illegally casted ballots counted in Allegheny County.
Drivers on the Pennsylvania Turnpike are now paying more to drive the toll road. The extra money will help the Turnpike Commission pay off the annual fee owed under legislation passed in 2007 designed to generate funds for other transportation needs. Turnpike spokesman Carl Defebo says it's not something that can go on forever. "The bottom line is these annual toll rate increases are not sustainable. There is likely going to be likely some point in the future that if these toll increases aren't dialed back some people will seriously reconsider their options when they travel," Defebo says. Most drivers will see a 6-percent increase if they use an E-ZPass. If drivers don’t use E-ZPass, the tolls are increasing 45-percent.
A Lancaster County business is inviting you to celebrate the end of 2020. Mount Hope Estate & Winery will host a "Burn Your 2020 Calendar" party on January 15th and 16th.
It looks like we're less than a month away from hockey returning to Allentown. While three American Hockey League teams opted out of the season, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms are not. The AHL says 28 of its 31 teams will take part in the upcoming season, with games scheduled to begin February 5th. Whether any fans will be allowed in the PPL Center remains to be seen.
Villanova's men's basketball team will not play their next few games. The Wildcats are postponing their next three games because of COVID-19. Coach Jay Wright is currently recovering after testing positive for the virus and now comes word two players have tested positive. There's no word yet on when the team will make up the games.