Bethlehem Health Department has been taking center stage in city council meetings recently, a reflection of the impact COVID-19 is having on city operations.

Emergency Manager Robert Novotnack said April 28 he now lists the Health Department as one of the main players in emergency management, a team that he said traditionally has been dominated by the police, fire department and EMT responders.

The April 21 meeting was held with council members participating from remote locations such as from their homes , while Council President Adam Waldron and Councilman Bryan Callahan attended in person.

Mayor Robert Donchez was also at the meeting.

The council approved mayoral appointments: for Mathew D. Wolf – Fine Arts Commission; Angela Delgrosso and Councilman Michael Colon – Human Resources Commission.

Mayor Donchez thanked Bethlehem citizens “during these trying times.

“It is a great example of community spirit. They have made close to 1,000 masks for city workers.

“I also want to thank all of the department heads; city workers have done an outstanding job, especially the police, fire and emergency [personnel],” said Donchez. “They have been working on fumes, working seven days a week.

“I want to thank members of the public for their cooperation with some of the decisions that we’ve made,” said Donchez.

He also thanked Lehigh County, Northampton County, the Bethlehem School District and the two hospitals. “I thank them for their partnership with the city in these challenging times.”

Donchez said Memorial Pool will likely not open on Memorial Day as planned, due to delays in construction. He said a final decision on opening day will be made soon.

He said the decision to open up other city swimming pools is still under consideration.

The Memorial Day parade has been canceled, according to organizers.

Donchez said the Water Department and the Public Works Department are working two shifts (7 a.m.- 3 p.m. and 3 to 11 p.m.) and thanked the workers’ union for their cooperation to allow that change.

Donchez said street cleaning is continuing, but tickets are only being issued in the cases of cars parked in front of fire hydrants.

The mayor said that due dates for the Earned Income Tax and the Business Privilege tax has been extended to July 15.

He said Real Estate Tax payment with discount has been extended to May 11 and that “whole” Real Estate Tax has been extended from May 29 to Aug. 11.

“These are very difficult and challenging times for many people, so we are trying to show some compassion,” said Donchez.

He also announced that the compost center is open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. but only for dropping off yard waste, and not for pick-up. “People not wearing a mask with not be permitted to enter.”

The COVID-19 crisis is also affecting the city’s plans to take out a $5 to $6 million bond this year. “We’ll probably put the bond of unit 2021-22 and defer $5 to $6 million in capital spending until next year,” said Donchez.

He said the city has made no decision regarding MusikFest and is in consultation with the ArtsQuest leadership on plans for the annual music festival.

The mayor said he thinks the city is in better shape than other cities in the area. He said furloughing workers is not being considered at this time.

Health Director Kristen Wenrich briefed council; “As of April 20 we have 376 cases of COVID-19 and three deaths,” said Wenrich. She said 39, or about 10 percent of COVID-19 cases, have been hospitalized which she said is comparable to statewide statistics.

“As of yesterday [20 April] 45.7 percent of our cases were non-Hispanic, and 39.3 were Hispanic and 14.8 percent were [of] unknown [ethnicity].”

She said 12.5 percent of the cases were African-American and 1.6 percent were Asian, 5.5 percent were “other races” and 13.3 percent were [of] unknown [race.]

Wenrich said her health department is working closely with the leaders of both the Hispanic community and the African-American community.

She said about a quarter of the COVID-19 positive African-Americans are hospitalized. This is over the 20 percent hospitalization rate that she said is the average for non-African-Americans who test positive. Wenrich did not offer an explanation for this difference in hospitalization rate.

Wenrich said the average age of COVID-19 infected people is 46.9 years old.

She said the department is working closely with nonprofits to ensure that the elderly and homeless are addressed.

“Portable toilets and hand-washing facilities have been placed near the homeless encampment,” said Wenrich. “In addition, we work to get hotel space for homeless that need to be quarantined.” She said one Bethlehem homeless person has been placed in isolation.

“Over the past two weeks, we have seen an increase in [COVID-19] in long-term care facilities,” said Wenrich.

She said there is concern about getting enough people tested.