Geisinger CEO Has Word of Caution on Reopening

DANVILLE – Caution was the word on Friday from Dr. Jaewon Ryu, President and CEO of Geisinger. Relative to relaxing stay-at-home strictures brought on by COVID-19, Ryu said, “We have got to be really careful; this is a marathon, not a sprint.”

Responding to questions at a virtual news conference, Ryu said Geisinger continues to see the coronavirus case count across the Geisinger service area climbing. Noting it was a “small creeping up,” he said, “We haven’t seen the worst of it yet.”

He said Geisinger has performed 10,000 tests across its service area from northeastern Pennsylvania into the central part of the state. Of those, he said, some 1,400 to 1,500 have returned positive. The majority of those tested positive, he said, got to go home while another 250 have required hospitalization, including 94 admitted on Thursday, the bulk of those from Luzerne and Lackawanna counties.

The Geisinger CEO said less than half of Geisinger’s beds are occupied, so there exists a capacity to handle more cases. He said the rate of climb at cases in the northeastern service area is slowing down, but cautioned that peaks of cases elsewhere, through to State College and southward to Harrisburg, are likely “several weeks out.”

Ryu urged the community at large to follow five guidelines:

• Stay home
• Wash your hands
• Avoid touching your face
• Wipe down surfaces
• Give back and encourage one-another