Cynthia Fernandez of Spotlight PA
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and PennLive/Patriot-News
State officials will allow 12 more counties, including some in south-central and northeast Pennsylvania, to ease coronavirus restrictions, an administration official told Spotlight PA.
Gov. Tom Wolf on Friday will announce that Adams, Beaver, Carbon, Columbia, Cumberland, Juniata, Mifflin, Perry, Susquehanna, Wyoming, Wayne, and York Counties can enter the “yellow” phase of his tiered reopening plan on May 22.
They will join 37 other counties in north-central and western Pennsylvania where many businesses have been permitted to resume in-person operations and residents are allowed to freely leave their homes if they take precautions.
Local officials in several counties on Friday’s list had lobbied Wolf to reopen, while at least two had publicly threatened to restart their economies without the state’s approval. That includes Beaver County, where a devastating coronavirus outbreak in just one nursing home accounts for nearly all of the area’s deaths.
Not included in Friday’s announcement are Lancaster and Lebanon Counties, where local officials have vowed to at least partially reopen today.
In March, Wolf implemented broad stay-at-home and business closure orders to prevent hospitals from becoming overwhelmed by coronavirus patients. Facing mounting pressure from business owners and some lawmakers, his administration on May 1 announced that 24 of the state’s 67 counties could reopen, a number that as of Friday will grow to 49.
The administration has set certain benchmarks for reopening, including having enough testing and contact tracing to prevent future outbreaks.
In the yellow phase of reopening, child care operations can resume and retail stores can reopen to customers, though curbside pickup and delivery remain preferable and certain safety precautions must be taken. Gyms, hair salons, and movie theaters must stay shuttered.
Companies must provide teleworking options to employees if their work can be done remotely. If they don’t have that ability, they can resume in-person operations with certain safety precautions.
This story will be updated