Coronavirus Updates
Rep. Carol Hill-Evans April 2, 2020 | 1:38 PM
Guidance from Wellspan
The Emergency Department has guidelines on when to call them with respect to COVID-19:
If you are experiencing a serious healthcare emergency – such as heart attack, stroke, severe shortness of breath, confusion, or major traumatic injury – call 911.
If you are not experiencing a serious healthcare emergency, and you think you need to be tested or have symptoms of COVID-19 - the Emergency Department is NOT the best place to get care.
What to do if you get COVID-19?
Financial ability should not be a barrier to COVID-19 testing or medical care. If you have insurance, Medicare or Medicaid, WellSpan will collect your insurance coverage information, but will not bill or collect any deductible, co-insurance, or any other payment for the screening, testing and treatment of COVID-19.
If you do not have insurance, WellSpan will not charge for testing or treatment of COVID-19.
Stay-At-Home Order Statewide
The Governor’s Stay-At-Home order has expanded statewide. You can find out more of what that means for you and your family below.
PA Wine & Spirit Sales
The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board has begun resuming limited e-commerce sales and deliveries through www.FineWineAndGoodSpirits.com.
Investors Beware
The PA Department of Banking and Securities warns investors to be on the lookout for investments specifically tied to the threat of COVID-19, such as:
- Falsely purporting to raise capital for companies manufacturing surgical masks and gowns; producing ventilators and medical equipment; or manufacturing vaccines or other miracle cures.
- Taking advantage of concerns with securities market volatility to promote “safe” investments with “guaranteed returns” including investments tied to gold and other commodities; oil and gas; and real estate.
- Touting “get rich quick” schemes with quickly earned returns to be used for rent, utilities, and other expenses.
- Targeting retirees and senior citizens, falsely claiming they can quickly and safely recoup any losses to their retirement portfolios.
Retail investors must remain vigilant and protect themselves from schemes such as these tied to COVID-19 and recent economic developments:
- Investigate Before You Invest. Before spending any time and money on a financial service, product, or company, investigate before you invest. Investors can visit the DoBS website for tools and resources for researching financial professionals, investments, and companies.
- Avoid Phishing Scams. Scam emails are made to sound and look real. Never open an attachment or link from an unsolicited email and never share financial or sensitive information without independently verifying the request.
- Too Good to Be True. The old adage is accurate: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Ask questions about the investment and evaluate the risks. Any legitimate investment involves and degree of risk, and anyone unwilling to provide clear and detailed information about an investment is a red flag.
- Beware of Economic Relief Schemes. With news that the federal government will be sending checks to the public as part of an economic stimulus effort, scammers will no doubt increase efforts to steal your money. Do NOT give your personal information to anyone purporting to be from the government in relation to receiving a stimulus check.
Anyone asking you to prepay taxes or fees on the money, or pay any type of charge, in order to receive the money is likely trying to defraud you.
No Eviction Proceedings Until April 30
Attorney General of PA update to renters, landlords, mortgagees, and lenders:
As a result of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's order (in effect until April 30), PA courts are closed to eviction proceedings due to the COVID-19 state of emergency. The order is applicable to all PA property owners, managers, landlords, as well as mortgage brokers and lenders.
Further, the AG urges landlords and mortgage lenders to go beyond the Court‘s order, and the existing 60-day moratorium of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development which prevents evictions and foreclosures on properties insured by the Federal Housing Administration, and pledge not to institute any eviction proceedings against their tenants or mortgage holders who have been impacted by the COVID-19 crisis, for some additional time beyond what is stipulated to give Pennsylvanians time to get back on their feet.
Constituents who believe they have been wrongfully evicted from their homes or have wrongfully had their property foreclosed can file a complaint with the Office of the Attorney General at: https://www.attorneygeneral.gov/submit-a-complaint/.
Business Updates
To ensure that you are looking at the most recent version when seeking guidance, click here.
Here is a link to the FAQs.
Here is a link to the Industry Operation Guidance.
PA Tax Returns
Act 10 of 2020 will extend the deadline for PA Tax Returns, specifically providing for the extension of the following tax filing deadlines:
- Extends the deadline to July 15, 2020 for declarations of estimated personal income tax.
- Extends the deadline to July 15, 2020 for payments of estimated personal income tax.
- Extends the deadline to July 15, 2020 for the filing of informational returns related to Pennsylvania S corporations and partnerships (Form PA-20S/PA-65), and estates and trusts (Form PA-41).
- Extends the filing date by three months for certain information returns (1099-R, 1099-MISC, and W2-G).