Gov. Tom Wolf says it appears that coronavirus has made its way into Pennsylvania. "We received confirmation of two presumed, and I emphasize the word presumed, positive cases of coronavirus in Pennsylvania," Wolf says. One case is an adult in Wayne County who's isolated in their home. That individual recently traveled to a country where coronavirus is present. The second case is an adult in Delaware County. That person is also isolated at home after recently traveling to an area in the U.S. where coronavirus in present. The governor says the test must be confirmed by the CDC before it's deemed an official case.
Saying it's being done out of an abundance of caution, the Central Bucks School District is closing five of its schools after some people were exposed to a confirmed case of coronavirus. The district says it was made aware of the exposure late Thursday night. The school district isn't releasing any details about the exposure. The five schools affected are the Butler and Titus elementary schools, the Tohickon and Tamamend middle schools and Central Bucks South High School.
Two people are being tested for coronavirus in Philadelphia. The city Health Department says it's currently checking two residents for coronavirus, but continues to stress that the risk to Philadelphians and others remains low. Twelve people have now died from the virus here in the United States.
Officials are announcing there is a second presumptive case of coronavirus in New Jersey. Lieutenant and Acting Governor Sheila Oliver announced Thursday that the governor's office was expecting this and that the ongoing planned response is working.
A medical emergency led to a crash and road closure in Allentown around 4;30 this morning. A tractor-trailer crashed into an overpass on Basin Street, closing the road between Auburn and Union streets for more than two hours. Police said the driver had a medical episode, leading to the crash. That person's condition is not known.
Easton officials are putting years worth of lawsuits over a digital billboard in Centre Square to rest after reaching a deal Thursday. Litigation was first filed by Adams Outdoor Advertising back in 2018, seeking $7.2 million in damages. The agreement includes, in part, 25 years of free rent for a billboard on city property along Route 611. Adams Outdoor had been paying $1500 per year for that space previously.
The Forks Township Athletic Association is delaying a Community Basketball League Championship game while police investigate a fight during play last week. Wilson police are reviewing video surveillance footage of the February 29th incident during a game between the Forks Township Knicks and the Firthtown Falcons. A fight started between two 16-year-old players and then escalated. Parents allegedly became involved in the melee that spilled into the parking lot at the Wilson Area High School.
A Hellertown man says he didn't know having child pornography is illegal. 66-year-old Oscar Velasco is charged with possession of child pornography after investigators tracked child porn that he sent from the Hellertown restaurant where he worked. Authorities allege two files were uploaded in August 2019 by Facebook account “Oscar Velasco.” One video allegedly showed a 10- to 12-year-old boy engaged in sex act, and the second allegedly showed an 8- to 10-year-old boy exposing himself. An agent with the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office received a tip in January from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which received a report from Facebook about child pornography being shared through its website.
A developer presented plans to Lopatcong's Council to potentially turn the Phillipsburg Mall into an 852,000-square foot warehouse. They said, if approved, they would demolish the mall except for Kohl's, which is owned separately. The final mall store is set to close in April.
Pennsylvania's very first breast milk dispensary has opened in Lehigh County. The Allentown dispensary receives milk for processing from the Mid-Atlantic Mothers' Milk Bank in Pittsburgh. The milk, which can last in storage for about six months, is meant for premature babies and mothers who can't produce milk on their own.
An alleged relationship with a student has prompted charges against a paraprofessional in the Hamburg Area School District. 34-year-old Krista Stump allegedly sent a 15-year-old male student at Hamburg sexual explicit text messages and naked photos of her, for about two to three weeks. In addition, detectives say Stump had indecent contact with the boy while they were alone in one of the school's classrooms. Hamburg School Superintendent Richard Mextorf says the district acted as soon as they learned of the allegations. "The day that we found out about it was the last day she was ever in this building," Mextorf says. Stump began working for the school last November.
At a town hall in Scranton Thursday night, President Trump said he expects a repeat performance in Pennsylvania this November. "It was thirty years since a Republican won Pennsylvania and based on results I think we'll win it again very easily," the President said. The hour-long town hall was televised by Fox News.