Name: New Pennsylvania coronavirus measures include stay-at-home advisory, Thanksgiving Eve ban on alcohol sales at bars and restaurants
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New Pennsylvania coronavirus measures include stay-at-home advisory, Thanksgiving Eve ban on alcohol sales at bars and restaurants

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AdvertisementBy The Morning CallNov 24, 2020 at 8:52 pmHARRISBURG — The Wolf administration on Monday announced sweeping new coronavirus mitigation measures that included a one-night stoppage of alcohol sales at bars and restaurants starting at 5 p.m. Wednesday, and an advisory ― not an order ― that Pennsylvanians stay at home if at all possible.Gov. Tom Wolf appeared with Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine at an online news conference on a day the state reported nearly 12,000 more cases of the virus over a two-day period. The number of deaths in the state linked to COVID-19 is approaching 10,000.Advertisement“We are in a very dangerous situation,” Wolf said.Wolf, who announced he also signed a virus-truncated state budget for the seven months from Dec. 1 to June 30, said the state’s economy was “very fragile.” Hence, he said, the new measures generally are not shutdowns, but are instead focused on reducing large gatherings and increasing enforcement of existing mitigation orders.AdvertisementThe measures included orders and directives affecting hospitals, schools, public gatherings, municipal governments, and bars and restaurants.Wolf said he could not foresee another state lockdown, but wanted people to stay home.“This is an advisory,” Wolf said of “That all Pennsylvanians, in order to stay safe, ought to stay home. It is vital that every single Pennsylvanian takes these mitigation steps seriously.”Concerning the starting at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Wolf said the Wednesday before Thanksgiving was the biggest drinking day of the year.He urged people to avoid the “transitory benefit” of getting together with friends Wednesday to help reduce virus spread, infections and deaths. At the same time, he acknowledged restaurants and bars had been hard-hit financially in the pandemic.“The virus is what’s doing this. It’s not me. It’s not the administration. It’s not the government,” Wolf said.Other new steps announced by the Wolf administration included:A graduated scale tied to a venue’s capacity will still be used to determine the maximum number of people allowed at events, but there are new maximum limits of 500 people indoors and 2,500 outdoors.AdvertisementWolf said the order to wear masks in public places would get newly invigorated enforcement.For instance, he said, a business where people are found to be violating mask requirements would get a warning when a first violation is noted.A second violation would require the business to close for 24 hours, and a third violation would spur a 24-hour closure and a fine.Concerning the potential for hospitals being forced to reduce elective procedures, Levine said the state-set thresholds mean a region’s health care system would have to be “very challenged” to trigger reductions.As of Monday, Levine said, no region in Pennsylvania was being required to reduce elective procedures at hospitals.The announcement came as the number of people hospitalized for the virus neared 3,500, the highest figure of the pandemic, and the positivity rate for the virus statewide reached 11.1%.AdvertisementWolf said the state is seeing “more people are getting sick at a faster rate than we have seen before.”He sounded a slightly positive note, though, in saying the state is in a different position than it was in the spring in terms of preparedness, with more protective equipment available, more ventilators and more knowledge.The announcement drew an immediate critical response from House Republicans spokesman Jason Gottesman.“While Pennsylvanians prepare to go Black Friday shopping at big box retailers unrestricted by new orders from Gov. Wolf, bars and restaurants are going to be left to languish under more onerous limitations on their ability to do business during what should be a robust holiday season,” Gottesman said in written statement.The Health Department reported 4,762 more cases of the coronavirus Monday, as well as 7,075 cases from Sunday, bringing the statewide total to 314,401.Monday’s newly reported cases included 147 in Lehigh County and 144 in Northampton County.AdvertisementThere were 69 more deaths reported for the two-day period, bringing the total to 9,870.Morning Call Capitol correspondent Ford Turner can be reached at Advertisement

AdvertisementBy The Morning CallNov 24, 2020 at 8:52 pmHARRISBURG — The Wolf administration on Monday announced sweeping new coronavirus mitigation measures that included a one-night stoppage of alcohol sales at bars and restaurants starting at 5 p.m. Wednesday, and an advisory ― not an order ― that Pennsylvanians stay at home if at all possible.Gov. Tom Wolf appeared with Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine at an online news conference on a day the state reported nearly 12,000 more cases of the virus over a two-day period. The number of deaths in the state linked to COVID-19 is approaching...

New Pennsylvania coronavirus measures include stay-at-home advisory, Thanksgiving Eve ban on alcohol sales at bars and restaurants

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