Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA
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HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Wolf on Friday announced the broad outlines of his administration’s requirements for relaxing coronavirus restrictions on businesses and residents in Pennsylvania.
But the governor did not provide a specific timeline for reopening the state, nor did he provide benchmarks on which he would base that decision.
Rather, he advocated for taking a regional approach toward opening certain business and industry sectors, with a requirement that hospitals and health systems in those areas have adequate bed space and personal protective equipment.
He is also pushing certain stringent standards that businesses must meet before they reopen in those areas, including the ability to follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for monitoring employees for illness and sanitizing shared workspaces. Widespread testing would also have to be available.
“I’m asking you to stay the course,” Wolf said during an afternoon press conference, adding: “Unfortunately, we cannot flip a switch and reopen the commonwealth. There isn’t going to be one big day. We need to make data-driven decisions. And we can’t be impulsive. We can’t be emotional.”
Earlier in the week, Wolf told reporters that he had not yet made a decision on whether to extend the stay-at-home order for residents past April 30. He has also cautioned against a swift return of employees to workplaces. Earlier this month, he announced that schools will remain closed through the end of the academic school year.
Federal guidelines call for a phased reopening of states. The White House has provided a guide recommending that states wait until they report a downward trajectory of documented COVID-19 cases, or a downward trajectory of positive tests as a percent of total tests, within a 14-day period.
The guide also calls for the ability to both conduct robust testing and treat all patients “without crisis care.” At the moment, Pennsylvania lacks the testing capability experts say is needed to safely reopen the state.
Once those benchmarks have been met, states can begin to reopen in phases, with vulnerable populations continuing to shelter at home during the first phase while everyone else avoids social gatherings of more than 10 people. Employers should also encourage teleworking during this phase.
This story will be updated.
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