Hazleton City Hall

Hazleton City Hall

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The number of confirmed coronavirus cases at Hazleton testing sites is now over the 400 mark, city Mayor Jeff Cusat said Friday.

Fighting against noncompliance, Cusat announced Friday he was imposing a curfew and several measures to force social distancing.

County Manager C. David Pedri also called for additional assistance Friday, sending a letter to Gov. Tom Wolf seeking reinforcement and aid, including mobilization of the National Guard in Hazleton

‘Alarming’ rate

At a press conference the previous day, representatives of Lehigh Valley Hospital-Hazleton said positive cases at its emergency room and two offsite testing locations in the city were increasing at an “alarming” rate, jumping from 74 on Sunday to 310 on Thursday.

Friday’s confirmed case count rose by another 91 in just one day, for a new total of 401, Cusat said. The figures do not include cases verified through non-Lehigh Valley Hospital doctors and clinics, the mayor said.

The marked growth in cases prompted area government and hospital officials to tag the city as a county coronavirus hotspot and step up efforts to keep residents home and at least six feet apart from each other, known as social distancing.

Options considered

The governor’s office said Friday Pedri’s request has been received by the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency and that “all options for assistance to the municipality are being considered at this time.”

Pedri said he is “well aware that resources are spread thin” throughout the state, but the “incredible spike” in county cases the last two days and concerns raised by the Hazleton medical community warrant help here.

Hazleton is expected to have the highest prevalence of cases in the county because about 60% of residents are Latino. Cusat said many residents have friends and family in New York City and parts of New Jersey going back and forth. The city is also densely populated and has issues with English language barriers, a high percentage of multi-family units and many residents working in still-operational factories and distribution centers in adjacent Hazle Township and West Hazleton, he said.

Saying he is a “native son” of the Hazleton area and “deeply concerned” for the community, Pedri told the governor the escalating numbers are evidence many residents are not complying with social distancing and stay-at-home orders imposed by the state, Pedri said.

If “more aggressive steps” are not taken to “curb certain travel from the city” and enforce other protocols, Pedri said he fears the health system will be overwhelmed and that there will be “catastrophic losses.”

State Department of Health figures released Friday said the county now has 484 confirmed coronavirus cases, or 100 more than the previous day. While the state does not publicly report cases by municipality, area officials said they believe the majority are from Hazleton. Two of the county’s five coronavirus death victims to date were from Hazleton.

Curfew details

Hazleton’s curfew, which starts tonight, prohibits people from being on public streets or places between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m., including driving on city-owned streets. Cusat said motorists traveling through the city during curfew hours will be restricted to several state roadways, such as Broad, Church and 15th streets, Route 924, Diamond Avenue and the Arthur Gardner Highway.

He also is banning:

• Any public gathering of more than four people who are not immediate relatives.

• More than four non-family members inside vehicles parked or stopped within the city.

• Non-relatives standing less than six feet apart from each other outside their homes.

The city will enforce these provisions and issue summary citations for offenses, he said, noting he has asked surrounding municipalities to enact similar measures, if allowable by law, to “remain consistent” regionally.

Cusat said state code grants him the power during a state of emergency to limit activities “reasonably believed to cause a clear and present danger to the preservation of life, health, property and public peace.”

“I do not take these powers lightly,” he wrote.

Cusat said he deeply cares about city residents and is trying to protect them. He and others are concerned continued mingling among residents will cause too many to get sick around the same time, overwhelming the health care system.

“The spread of this pandemic and potential risks to the city of Hazleton are just too great not to take these actions,” Cusat said in a release.

Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes,