May. 05, 2020
HARRISBURG—Rep. Todd Stephens (R-Montgomery) has called on Gov. Tom Wolf to expand statewide testing for COVID-19.
“The only way we will fully understand the scope of this pandemic is to begin testing across the state so people who are infected can isolate themselves to reduce the spread of the coronavirus,” Stephens said.
Today, Stephens joined a majority of his House colleagues in passing
House Bill 2455 to require the governor to review the quantity of all tests statewide, and propose a timeline, plan and cost to disburse testing kits statewide with priority given to those at a higher risk of contracting the virus.
“This measure ensures we don’t have to guess who has the virus; we can test to find out for sure,” Stephens said.
Recently, universal testing at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility showed 96% of those testing positive had no symptoms.
“This demonstrates how important it is that we thoroughly test to know who is ill and contagious,” Stephens said. “We must operate with the best information possible.”
To ensure residents of long-term care facilities and their families have the information necessary to protect themselves and their loved ones, Stephens has also introduced
House Bill 2437 to require the Pennsylvania or county Department of Health to publish the number of COVID-19 cases as a percentage of the total number of residents at each long-term care facility, and each facility’s protocols for isolating positive cases.
Representative Todd Stephens
151st District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: David Foster
267.207.0207
dfoster@pahousegop.com
RepToddStephens.com/ Facebook.com/RepToddStephens