Mushroom Festival cancelled for 2020 due to pandemic

KENNETT SQUARE — For the first time in its history, the annual Kennett Square Mushroom Festival — scheduled this year for Sept. 12-13, 2020 — will be canceled, due to increasing safety concerns expressed by its Board of Directors in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The board’s decision to cancel this year’s festival dovetails with the nearly global cancellation of nearly all large-scale,...

COVID-19 Update, April 17: Wolf reveals reopen plan; Chesco Coroner says deaths 2X higher than previously revealed; new case numbers spike

By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times Hopes that the COVID-19 pandemic might be coming under control were dampened as both Pennsylvania and Chester County reported higher infection numbers for the second straight day — and it appears the death toll in Chester County has been much higher than previously reported. Still, Friday, Gov. Tom Wolf unveiled a three-phase plan to eventually reopen the state. Wolf...

COVID-19 Update, April 16: State, county numbers grow again, after stalling

By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times Amidst calls to start reopening the economy, there is growing evidence that the COVID-19 pandemic is not on the wane, as new numbers suggest growth statewide and, alarmingly, here in in Chester County. A day after state officials signed an order mandating employee protections for the remaining businesses allowed open, the state saw a spike in COVID-19 cases, with 1,245...

COVID-19 Update, April 15: Pa. case numbers slide, as cases, deaths tick up in Chester Co.

By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times As the state legislature debates a bill that would reopen some Pennsylvania businesses, statewide cases continued a slow slide, as fatalities continued to mount — and Chester County saw an uptick in both cases and deaths from COVID-19. The sate Department of Health (DOH) reported 1,145 new positive cases — bringing the statewide total to 26,490 — and 63 new deaths,...

COVID-19 will change a lot for your dental/medical providers

By Dr. Stephanie McGann, DMD FAGD, Columnist, The Times I don’t have to tell anyone that the world we knew just a few short weeks ago has been forever altered thanks to a tiny viral invader. What’s important to know is that many changes need to be made as a result of how we as a country handled this. Now – before anyone looks for me with pitchforks and torches, I am not on a political crusade,...

COVID-19 Update, April 14: Cases level off; Wolf offers thanks to Pa. residents

By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times The April 14 map of COVID-19 infections in Chester County. Courtesy, Chester County Health. The positive trends in COVID-19 cases is continuing statewide and here in Chester County, although caseloads and fatalities continue to be at high numbers — as state officials caution this is not the time to end or relax social distancing, the battle against the virus is far...

COVID-19 Update, April 13: Mid-Atlantic states to work together to plan ‘reopening’

By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times Better numbers and a process to create a plan to reopen the region, Monday, may be the first signs that the tide is turning in the battle against the deadly COVID-19 virus. New case and fatality numbers in Pennsylvania and Chester County fell Sunday, as the governors of a number of Mid-Atlantic states announced process to jointly create a plan to slowly reopen society...

Wolf’s conduct on the pipeline is impossible to explain

By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times It runs like a scar across Chester County, a tear far more than a flesh wound, winding across the middle of the county as a reminder that the rich and the powerful can always buy off government at the expense of the people. It is, of course, the Mariner East II pipeline. It is appears to be back under construction because of a waiver from the Wolf Administration deeming...

COVID-19 Update, April 10: Cases, deaths spike again in Pa., Chester County

By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times Some parts of the country may be seeing an apex in COVID-19 cases, it appears both Pennsylvania and Chester County are not there yet, as both new cases and deaths spiked again on Thursday. The Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH) said there were 1,751 new cases reported, bringing the state’s total to 19,979; deaths also increased to 78, boosting the statewide...

COVID-19 Update, April 9: Wolf moves to close schools for remainder of the year

By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times Gov. Tom Wolf moved Thursday to end all in person school instruction for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year, as the state added nearly 2,000 new positive COVID-19 cases, although the number of deaths dropped to 29 on Wednesday after having been in the 70s the previous two days. Wolf announced the extension of the schools closure, noting he made the decision in...