HARRISBURG, Pa. — Note: The video is from March 11.
Governor Tom Wolf announced Monday that he is lifting some of the targeted COVID-19 restrictions on restaurants and other businesses across the state and allowing a higher limit on indoor and outdoor gathering sizes.
The decision to lift some of the state's restrictions comes as the number of positive COVID-19 cases across the state continue to fall and the number of vaccinations increase, the governor said.
Effective April 4, Wolf said, restaurants may resume bar service, and alcohol service will be allowed without the purchase of food.
The curfew for removing alcoholic drinks from tables has also been lifted, Wolf said, and indoor dining capacity limits will be raised to 75 percent for restaurants that are already self-certified or those that will go through the self-certification process -- which involves agreeing to strictly comply to all public health and safety guidelines outlined in the state's COVID-19 mitigation orders from November 2020.
Those restaurants that do not self-certify may raise capacity to 50 percent, Wolf said.
Outdoor dining, curbside pick-up and takeout are still encouraged, the governor added, and requirements such as mask-wearing, and social distancing, including six feet between diners, also still apply.
Capacity for other businesses also will be increased effective April 4, Wolf said. Personal services facilities, gyms and entertainment facilities (casinos, theatres, malls) will be moved to 75 percent occupancy.
The governor also announced revised maximum occupancy limits for indoor events to allow for 25% of maximum occupancy, regardless of venue size, and maximum occupancy limits for outdoor events to allow for 50% of maximum occupancy, regardless of venue size.
Maximum occupancy is permitted only if attendees and workers are able to comply with the six-foot physical distancing requirement, Wolf said.
“Pennsylvanians have stepped up and done their part of help curb the spread of COVID-19,” Wolf said. “Our case counts continue to go down, hospitalizations are declining, and the percent positivity rate gets lower every week – all very positive signs.
"The number of people getting vaccinated increases daily and we are seeing light at the end of the tunnel. It’s time to allow our restaurants, bars and other service businesses to get back to more normal operations.”
While the lifting of these restrictions is good news, Wolf cautioned that mask-wearing, social distancing and business adherence to all safety orders are still imperative.
“We’ve come so far and now is not the time to stop the safety measures we have in place to protect ourselves, our families and our communities,” Gov. Wolf said. “Keep wearing a mask, social distancing, and, please, get vaccinated when it’s your turn.”
Find more on the restaurant self-certification process here.
In response, the Pennsylvania House Republican caucus said the news is welcome, but added that the restrictions lifted by Wolf do not go far enough.
“While today’s announcement by the Governor is certainly welcome, it has not come soon enough and does not go far enough to help Pennsylvania’s workers, small businesses, and hospitality industry recover from a year’s-worth of unprecedented Wolf administration-mandated shutdowns," spokesperson Jason Gottesman said.
“Pennsylvania continues to lag behind some of our neighboring states in how aggressively we are reopening our economy. If we continue with these short-sighted half measures, we may put ourselves in a position of competitive weakness and lose out on our opportunity to make Pennsylvania the envy of the East.”