Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf announced a new loan program April 10 – the Hospital Emergency Loan Program, or HELP – that will provide short-term financial relief to Pennsylvania’s hospitals as they prepare for the growing surge of individuals infected with COVID-19 and the economic fallout of the nationwide pandemic.

“The combination of increased costs and reduced revenue has hurt many hospitals financially,” Gov. Wolf said. “We must support our hospitals through this unprecedented time. When this pandemic finally ends, we’re going to need hospitals to care for our regular medical needs, like heart attacks and broken bones.”

The $450 million loan package will be administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development.

It will be available to the commonwealth’s hospitals to provide immediate financial support for working capital to ensure that to ensure that these facilities have sufficient personnel, equipment, and personal protective equipment.

Applications will be available on DCED’s website starting at 10 a.m. April 13 through April 20. The costs must be incurred between March 1 and Sept. 1.

Delaware County COVID-19 statistics

The number of COVID-19 related deaths in Delaware County has now risen to 31, and the number of positive confirmed cases of coronavirus jumped by 114, standing at 1,402 as of Friday, April 10, according to data from the Chester County Health Department.

Yeadon and Marple have lost six people each to COVID-19, the highest number of deaths in the county.

Middletown has had four COVID-19 deaths.

Two deaths are now reported in Collingdale. Lansdowne and Ridley also lost two people each to COVID-19.

Darby Borough lost another resident to COVID-19, with two deaths now reported there.

Newtown, Ridley Park, Springfield and Norwood report one fatality from the coronavirus.

One death has also been reported among 533 cases under investigation to which no municipality has been identified.

The virus is reported in 47 of the 49 municipalities, with no cases reported in Rutledge and Lower Chichester.

Upper Darby has 135 reported cases, the highest number in the county, affecting .16 percent of Upper Darby’s 82,993 population.

The following are the number of reported cases of COVID-19 in Delaware County, listed by municipality in descending order of caseload.

• Upper Darby 135
• Haverford Township 70
• Nether Providence 60
• Marple 52, up 10 cases from yesterday
• Radnor 37
• Middletown Township 40
• Darby Borough 34
• Newtown 34
• City of Chester 32
• Yeadon 31
• Ridley Township 28
• Springfield 26
• Thornbury 24
• Lansdowne 24
• Aston 23
• Collingdale 19
• Upper Chichester18
• Concord15
• Ridley Park 13
• Media 13
• Darby Township 12
• Swarthmore 10
• Upper Providence 9
• Chester Township 9
• Sharon Hill 9
• East Lansdowne 9
• Folcroft 8
• Colwyn 7
• Aldan 7
• Clifton Heights 7
• Parkside 6
• Trainer 5
• Norwood 5
• Morton 4
• Bethel 4
• Edgmont 4
• Glenolden 4
• Prospect Park 4
• Millbourne 3
• Chadds Ford 3
• Eddystone 3
• Rose Valley 2
• Tinicum 2
• Brookhaven 2
• Marcus Hook 1
• Chester Heights 1

The county had 4,614 people test negative for the virus.

Click here to access the latest data on Delaware County from the Chester County Health Department.

For information and resources concerning the coronavirus, visit the county website here.

Pennsylvania data

The Pennsylvania Department of Health confirmed as of midnight, April 10, that there are 1,751additional positive cases of COVID-19, bringing the statewide total to 19,979.

All 67 counties in Pennsylvania now have cases of COVID-19.

The department also reported 78 new deaths among positive cases, bringing the statewide total to 416. For more information on state COVID-19 findings, click here.