(LITITZ, Pa – LititzDailyNews.com) – Healthcare worker Lynda Fakis was troubled by what she saw on the street in Lititz her way home from her overnight shift Sunday morning: “11 people outside Dosie Dough, [and] only 3 had on masks socially distancing.” As a nurse, Fakis knows the risk. And she has good reason to be concerned.
The door of Dosie Dough Bakery and Coffee Shop on S. Broad St. in Lititz during the stay-at-home order. Photo by Lynn Rebuck/LititzDailyNews.com
The number of individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 in the Lititz zip code has climbed dramatically in the past two weeks. Cases of coronavirus in the Lititz zip code are up 73% from April 21. Today, the state published that there are 123 in Lititz who have tested positive. SEE GRAPH BELOW STORY.
While many eager to get out and about are quick to blame the rise in cases at Lititz nursing care homes, like Luther Acres where so far 33 have tested positive or are presumed positive for the disease and the number of deaths doubled over the past weekend, or Brethren Village where 13 residents have been infected and six have passed away, the test results simply don’t support their misguided math. There are reportedly more cases of COVID-19 in Lititz outside of the nursing homes than infected residents in them.
In multiple press conferences over the past 24 hours, state and county officials have been asked to exclude the coronavirus cases at nursing homes from county counts of the disease to expedite the date of reopening, or going “yellow,” in the parlance of Governor Wolf’s plan. Repeatedly, their elected leaders and cabinet members refuse.
Photo by Lynn Rebuck/LititzDailyNews.com
Fakis fears that the behavior she witnessed while stopped at a red light in Lititz may actually keep the community and Lancaster County in the “red” longer. All except essential businesses must remain closed while designated in a red county. It has been recipe for financial disaster to the small businesses like those that line the quaint streets of downtown Lititz.
“Time will tell our numbers,” Fakis wrote, “the longer people spread it, the longer we, in this region, will be restricted.”
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Lynn Rebuck is the editor and publisher of award-winning LititzDailyNews.com, the only independent digital news source in Lititz. Lynn is an award-winning photojournalist who was invited to the White House and has received top recognition from the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, Pennsylvania Women’s Press Association, National Society of Newspaper Columnists, and has been profiled in Editor & Publisher magazine for her unparalleled dedication to publishing LititzDailyNews.com to benefit the community.
