Gov. Tom Wolf will lift most of his pandemic restrictions in another 16 counties that are home to nearly 3 million people across western and central Pennsylvania, including much of the Pittsburgh area, his office said Friday.
The counties include Allegheny, Armstrong, Bedford, Blair, Butler, Cambria, Clinton, Fayette, Fulton, Greene, Indiana, Lycoming, Mercer, Somerset, Washington and Westmoreland.
They will move next Friday to the so-called "green" phase, the phase with the fewest restrictions in the governor's stoplight-colored three-phase reopening plan.
Meanwhile Friday, 26 more counties woke up to fewer restrictions, announced a week ago by Wolf.
That leaves nearly 6 million people in hard-hit southeastern Pennsylvania under Wolf's tightest orders, including a stay-at-home order that is part of Wolf's "red" phase.
Thus far, more than 70,000 Pennsylvanians have been infected with the coronavirus, according to state Health Department figures, and more than 5,400 have died from it.
Meanwhile, more than 2.3 million people in Pennsylvania, including self-employed and gig workers, have filed for unemployment since mid-March, when Wolf's shutdown orders began taking effect.
Starting Friday, eight more counties - Dauphin, Franklin, Huntingdon, Lebanon, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike and Schuylkill - are seeing Wolf's stay-at-home order lifted and are moving to the yellow phase, a change announced by Wolf last week.
Along with the stay-at-home order, more retailers and other businesses can reopen, including outdoor dine-in seating service at restaurants. Gatherings are limited to 25 people.
Also Friday, 18 mostly rural counties across northern Pennsylvania that are home to about 850,000 residents are moving to the green phase, the first counties to do so.
That includes Centre County, the home of Penn State's main campus.In the green phase, overnight camps and organized youth sports can operate, while restaurants and bars, salons and barber shops, gyms, theaters, malls and casinos can all open at 50% capacity.
Other businesses serving the public in a building or defined area can only operate at up to 75% capacity.
People will still be asked to wear masks in public and businesses must enforce social distancing requirements, while concerts, sporting events and other large gatherings are restricted to under 250 people.
Wolf has said that next Friday he will move the remaining "red" counties - Philadelphia, Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lehigh, Montgomery and Northampton - to yellow.
You can read the Governor's full press release below:
With more than 80 percent of the state in some phase of reopening, Governor Tom Wolf today announced that 16 additional counties will take another step forward and move to green effective 12:01 a.m., June 5. Counties include Allegheny, Armstrong, Bedford, Blair, Butler, Cambria, Clinton, Fayette, Fulton, Greene, Indiana, Lycoming, Mercer, Somerset, Washington, and Westmoreland.
The first 18 counties moved to green today, including Bradford, Cameron, Centre, Clarion, Clearfield, Crawford, Elk, Forest, Jefferson, Lawrence, McKean, Montour, Potter, Snyder, Sullivan, Tioga, Venango and Warren.
Eight counties moved to yellow today, including Dauphin, Franklin, Huntingdon, Lebanon, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike, and Schuylkill.
Counties that remain in red and are expected to move to yellow by June 5 include Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lehigh, Northampton, Montgomery, and Philadelphia.
With more than half the state poised to be in the green phase on June 5, the governor this week provided an updated order for counties moving to green to give businesses and residents a clearer picture of what is permitted in that phase of reopening. The order includes these highlights:
- Large gatherings of more than 250 prohibited.
- Restaurants and bars open at 50% occupancy.
- Personal care services (including hair salons and barbershops) open at 50% occupancy and by appointment only.
- Indoor recreation, health and wellness facilities, and personal care services (such as gyms and spas) open at 50% occupancy with appointments strongly encouraged.
- All entertainment (such as casinos, theaters, and shopping malls) open at 50% occupancy.
- Construction activity may return to full capacity with continued implementation of protocols.
- Visitation to prisons and hospitals may resume subject to the discretion of the facility. Visitors who interact with residents and patients must be diligent regarding hygiene. Given the critical importance of limiting COVID-19 exposure in nursing homes, personal care home and long-term care facilities, visitation restrictions will initially remain in place.
Business frequently asked questions were also updated and are available here.
Gov. Wolf also provided more options for counties in the yellow phase by allowing outdoor dining beginning June 5 and providing Summer Camp Guidance for providers, parents and caregivers.
The Summer Camp Guidance includes information on what types of programs for children are permitted during the phased reopening, status of public playgrounds and the operation of community pools, and the status of organized team sports.
The state continues to use risk-based metrics from Carnegie Mellon University, combined with contact tracing and testing capability and a sustained reduction in COVID-19 hospitalizations, to make decisions on county moves. The 50 new cases per 100,000 population continues to be a consideration, but not a sole deciding factor.
To see up-to-date data on case counts and demographics, hospital preparedness and testing, view the COVID-19 Data Dashboard.
As more counties and residents enjoy loosened restrictions, the governor stressed the need to balance resuming activities with keeping case counts low and taking personal responsibility by wearing a mask or choosing to stay away from crowds to reduce the likelihood of coming into contact with someone carrying COVID-19.
“If we take the simple steps of wearing a mask, staying home when sick, and implementing social distancing tactics, we can help eliminate the spread of COVID-19 and make a huge contribution to getting our commonwealth back on track,” Gov. Wolf said.