LEBANON COUNTY, Pa. — The Lebanon Valley Chamber of Commerce said Tuesday it has sent a letter to Governor Tom Wolf, expressing its disappointment in the decision to keep Lebanon County in the Yellow phase of the state's COVID-19 reopening guidelines.
On Friday, when several new counties move into the state's Green phase, Lebanon County is expected to be the only Pennsylvania county still in Yellow.
In a letter to Wolf, Lebanon Valley Chamber of Commerce president Karen Groh said the majority of the county's business leaders have followed state and federal COVID-19 safety guidance and questioned the data that the state is using to keep Lebanon County in Yellow.
Groh's full letter appears below.
Dear Governor Wolf:
As the leading business organization in Lebanon County, we have seen the impact of the COVID-19 closures on our business community, especially our small businesses. During these closures, the Lebanon Valley Chamber of Commerce has been the leading resource for business, sharing updates from the state, operational and financing assistance, and best practices to operate safely.
On May 15, the Lebanon County Commissioners voted 2-1 to move Lebanon County to the yellow phase of the State’s reopening plan. During this time, very few of Lebanon County’s businesses chose to reopen against the State’s orders, understanding the implications of licensing and remaining in compliance with your recommendations. The Chamber provided guidance to our business community on the possible consequences of opening early.
Lebanon County officially moved to the yellow phase of the State’s reopening plan on May 29. At that time, businesses allowed to reopen under the state guidelines did so, however, many of our small businesses - self-employed, independent contractors, entrepreneurs - were still not allowed to reopen. Unfortunately, some of these individuals are still waiting for unemployment compensation to come through and have now spent three months without any source of income.
It was a tremendous disappointment to the Chamber when all counties in Pennsylvania were announced to move to green except for Lebanon County. The impact of continued closures for these businesses may prevent recovery for many. Additionally, Lebanon County residents are now traveling to surrounding counties for services still unavailable in Lebanon County. Not only does this take money out of our county and away from our own small businesses, it also takes the perceived threat of Lebanon County community spread to other counties, defeating the purpose of keeping us in the yellow phase.
We would like to understand the data analysis behind the continued yellow phase for Lebanon County as it compares to other counties with similar data patterns. By our review of your data, there is at least one other county with rising case counts and a positivity rate higher than 10 percent that was moved to green with others having very similar characteristics. Other counties that were stuck in the yellow phase for several weeks saw increased resources for contact tracing and similar focused efforts from the state. Is there anything the state can offer in analysis of the rise in cases or assistance in getting the case count lower? Our Chamber members and the business community are frustrated in the continued delay in getting back to business as the majority have followed the guidance from the state and the CDC.
We respectfully find it inappropriate and questionable that businesses and counties with higher case counts, similar case trends, or greater population density can re-open in “green” while we are singled out as one county, with whom you have disagreements with our elected officials, to stay in “yellow”. We ask you to reconsider your decision to keep Lebanon County in yellow and move it to green with the rest of the state on June 26.
Sincerely,
Karen Groh
President/CEO
