Allegheny County increases pandemic outdoor gatherings limit to 100, no change for indoors

Outdoor gatherings in Allegheny County will be limited to 100 people, double the limit that has been in effect since mid-July, county health officials said late Friday after­noon.

The new limit goes into effect Saturday, though all other virus-related restrictions will stand, said Dr. Debra Bogen, director of the county health department.

The limit on outdoor gatherings was relaxed because of the “decrease in the county’s positivity rate and rolling daily average case counts over the past month,” according to a statement from county officials.

Indoor gatherings will remain limited to 25 people, and dine-in services at bars and restaurants still are required to shut down by 11 p.m., including outdoor seating areas.

The update comes two days after Bogen said in a briefing she would consider raising the limit on outdoor gatherings but warned it wouldn’t be to the state’s limit of 250. She said the goal would be to peel back restrictions slowly, “so we can watch how the virus responds.”

She also cautioned that loosening restrictions does not signal the virus is any less of a threat.

“Any changes to the limit of outdoor gatherings is not a signal that the threat from covid-19 is any less,” she said Wednesday. “People can still catch the virus and spread it without knowing they have it. People, especially the elderly and vulnerable, still can get very sick and die.”

Allegheny County moved from the yellow phase of the state’s tiered reopening phase to the green phase in early June, and covid-19 cases began to skyrocket about three weeks later with the positivity rate reaching into the 10%-12% range or higher some days.

Strict state-imposed restrictions remain in place, implemented around the same time the county’s order went into effect.

Under the order from Gov. Tom Wolf and state Secretary of Health Rachel Levine, restaurants are limited to 25% capacity, and bars that do not serve food must remain closed.