Philly canceling all large events until 2021, including the Mummers; Pa. warns pattern of coronavirus infectio

The Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, which remained closed despite other casinos in Atlantic City reopening their doors to customers, has announced plans to reopen at the end of the month.

According to parent company MGM Resorts, the Borgata will open its doors to the general public at 10 a.m. on Sunday, July 26. The company said a hosted, invitation-only event will take place ahead of the public reopening.

New Jersey allowed casinos to reopen under capacity limits last month, but pulled back on allowing indoor dining to resume. Despite that, Atlantic City’s eight other casinos reopened to the public, while the Borgata — the city’s most profitable property — opted to remain closed to improve its offerings under the new restrictions.

“Following the Governor’s directive to postpone indoor dining, we took a step back to reassess our reopening date to ensure we could give our guests the world-class experience they expect from us, safely,” Melonie Johnson, the Borgata’s president and chief operating officer, said in a statement. “When we reopen, Borgata will introduce new outdoor dining experiences, as well as a convenient takeout program from several of our fine and casual dining outlets.”

Philadelphia officials will announce today that all large, public events through the end of February will not be permitted.

The expected announcement means officials will not allow some of the city’s most iconic events to proceed, including the Mummers Parade, the Thanksgiving Day parade and fall races like the Broad Street Run, which had already been rescheduled to October.

A city spokesperson said more details will be shared at a 1 p.m. news conference about mitigating the spread of COVID-19.

— Anna Orso, Sean Collins Walsh

New Jersey has no immediate plans to follow New York’s plan to fine travelers who don’t follow the a tri-state travel advisory, Gov. Phil Murphy said on Tuesday.

During an interview on Good Morning America, Murphy said the state is “deadly serious” about forcing people who travel from states with high coronavirus infection rates to self-quarantine for 14-days, though he has previous admitted enforcement of such an advisory is difficult and largely up to individuals.

“If we could control everything within our own walls, that’d be one thing,” Murphy said. “But we are the United States of America, and we have to look with great concerns on the surges elsewhere.”

New Jersey, which was once a coronavirus hotspot, has avoided an uptick in cases that other states — including Pennsylvania — have experienced in recent weeks. On Monday, the state reported reported just 231 new positive cases, as New Jersey’s seven-day rolling average of new cases continues to decline.

Manco & Manco Pizza, an institution on the Ocean City, N.J., boardwalk, is closing its doors temporarily after three employees tested positive for coronavirus.

In a message posted on the restaurant’s Facebook page, the owners said they are closing all three of their boardwalk locations today to have them professionally cleaned. They plan to reopen on Wednesday with new safety measures in place, including more frequent sanitizing of credit card terminals and touch screen tablets.

In an attempt to limit employees’ contact with food, only whole pizzas will be available for purchase when Manco & Manco reopens — individual slices of pizza will not be for sale, at least for the time being.

“We want the public, as well as our customers, to be able to make an educated decision and have all the facts before ordering,” the owners wrote. “The safety of our staff and our loyal customers is paramount.”

Pennsylvania Health Secretary Rachel Levine warned Monday that a cycle seen at the start of the coronavirus pandemic may be repeating: A wave of sickness among younger people that can lead to more severe infections and death among older people.

When the virus first began to circulate in the spring, more people aged 19 to 49 got sick — and then older people fell ill, and the virus spread quickly and killed thousands. Even though Pennsylvania is not seeing the dramatic virus surges plaguing some other states, the number of cases among people under 50 here has risen again, now making up 45% of the commonwealth’s cases, Levine said.

“There are things we can do right now to stop this cycle,” Levine said, speaking at the state’s first formal news conference in several days. “We need to make important choices to lower our risk. We have to adapt our activities to protect against COVID-19.”

In addition to wearing masks and practicing social distancing, Levine asked residents to avoid situations that seem risky — people who show up to a crowded restaurant or a supermarket where others aren’t wearing masks should simply leave. And, she added, “If you are in a situation where you are considering whether or not you need a mask, and you’re thinking about it, then the answer is yes, you need a mask,” she said.

Case counts increased in 43 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties over the last week, compared with the previous week, and the percentage of tests that are positive was on the rise in 28 counties, Levine said.

Still, the statewide positivity rate has decreased slightly to 4.4%, and Pennsylvania hospitals have plenty of capacity. Levine said state officials were not currently considering moving any counties back to the more restrictive yellow or red phases of reopening.