Westmoreland officials cautiously optimistic about state reopening plans

Westmoreland leaders are hopeful the county’s slow growth of new corona­virus cases will allow for the easing of restrictions early next month as part of the governor’s plan to reopen parts of the state.

“We’re still two weeks away from the May 8 deadline. We will be talking about it, but we can’t plan anything in advance right now,” Commissioner Gina Cerilli said.

Westmoreland County, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health, added seven new coronavirus cases Thursday, bringing the total to 307 since the first two positive tests were reported March 20.

Gov. Tom Wolf announced a phased-in approach to transition regions of the state from stay-at-home orders to what officials called a containment strategy that will allow certain businesses to reopen and for residents to leave their homes and gather in small groups.

State testing reports show that, since April 12, Westmoreland has had a single day where new coronavirus cases exceeded 10. Wolf’s guidelines indicate one metric officials will review to determine when regions will be reopened include a determination that a county average no more than 50 new cases for every 100,000 residents over a two-week period. For Westmoreland, which has a population of about 350,000, the caseload over 14 days cannot exceed roughly 175.

“By his metrics, we’ve never been that high,” said Commissioner Doug Chew.

According to state statistics, more than 3,800 coronavirus tests have been conducted in the county, with 8% of those found to be infected with covid-19.

Counties have not yet been assigned to specific regions, said Dr. Rachel Levine, Pennsylvania’s secretary of health.

While the county’s caseload appears to have stabilized, there still are risks involved with easing the state restrictions, said Public Safety Director Roland Mertz. He suggested a cautious approach to reopening the county and region.

“I can hope we’ve flattened the curve but also we have to realize the threat is still out there. We have to realize our way of life has to change until this problem is totally cured,” Mertz said. “We’re looking at trends that are based on isolation and mitigation procedures.”

For county officials, the work will begin in earnest to devise plans for how to begin easing restrictions and ramp up government services that were reduced last month as part of a pandemic response plan.

“We have to sit down with our public safety officials and our coronavirus task force to devise an intelligent plan about how to reopen. We want to open up this county as soon as possible,” said Commissioner Sean Kertes.

The plan will look at how and when to recall the more than 440 county workers furloughed in an effort to scale back some government functions as well as enforce social distancing at the courthouse and other off-site workplaces.

Commissioners said that, once the stay-at-home order is lifted, a decision will be made as to whether restrooms in county parks will be unlocked and playground equipment is reopened.