Gov. Wolf: Northcentral, northwestern Pa. to be among first to reopen for business

Residents of northcentral and northwestern Pennsylvania are projected to be the first in the state to be released from Gov. Tom Wolf’s stay-at-home order, and many retail stores in those areas should be able to reopen, under a statewide plan released Wednesday night.

Wolf wants to begin easing some pandemic restrictions May 8 in areas of Pennsylvania that have been lightly impacted by the new coronavirus.

“We will not just be flipping a switch and going from closed to open,” Wolf said at Wednesday’s virtual press conference. “Ultimately, the virus is going to set the timeline, not us.”

In order to reopen a particular region, the governor’s plan sets a target of fewer than 50 positive cases of the coronavirus per 100,000 residents for 14 days.

Many counties in rural Pennsylvania have reported just a few cases, while the hardest-hit counties have reported hundreds of virus cases per 100,000 residents.

“We’re looking at places where the virus seems to be having a truly minimal impact,” he said. “We’ve decided (on 50 per 100,000), and I think the idea is for all of us to watch the same metric.”

The virus has infected more than 35,000 people in Pennsylvania and killed more than 1,600. But Wolf, a Democrat, says the state has made sufficient progress in its fight against covid-19 to begin a gradual loosening of restrictions. Republicans are pressing for a more aggressive timetable.

As the virus begins to ebb, and each county or region meets the state’s case reporting threshold, residents will be permitted to leave their homes and in-person retail business will be allowed to resume, according to Wolf’s plan.

Still closed: Casinos, theaters, gyms

But a ban on large gatherings will remain, and gyms, casinos, theaters and other indoor recreational, wellness and entertainment venues will stay closed, according to the plan.

It lays out a phased, color-coded reopening road map.

“I understand that not having dates for these things is difficult,” the governor said. “By using this measured roll-out of reopening, we can continue to protect the most vulnerable.”

Right now, all of Pennsylvania is at “red,” the plan said, meaning that all 12.8 million residents are under orders to stay home and all nonessential businesses are closed. Regions and counties will move from red to yellow, and then, eventually, to green, meaning that all pandemic restrictions are lifted, the plan said.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health will partially rely on metrics and a data tool developed by Carnegie Mellon University to put its reopening plan into motion.

Target dates may be pushed back

“I’ll caution: we may announce a target date that will have to be pushed back depending on outbreaks and case counts,” Wolf said. “What we’re trying to do with this phased reopening is look at Pennsylvania the way it is, as opposed to this one monolithic thing.”

Department of Health Secretary Rachel Levine said the state is working to bolster its contact tracing capabilities “to meet the challenges ahead,” and is working with hospitals and medical centers “using their information and other information we’ve obtained nationally to allow people to get the nonemergency, but urgent, (medical) procedures they need.”

Levine praised the governor’s plan for emphasizing “data-driven decisions that are in the best interest of public health.”

Wolf acknowledged that state residents are under stress and weary of the lockdown measures.

“Some of you have been under stay-at-home orders for six weeks,” he said. “Making this worse is the uncertainty of the future.”

Wolf said he looked forward to a joint public hearing on the state’s covid-19 response, scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday, which will be livestreamed from the state Senate chamber.

“Transparency is absolutely essential,” he said. “The free press looks over our shoulder, the citizens and the state Legislature look over our shoulder, and it’s part of what happens in a democracy.”

Reopening sectors of the state would ultimately depend on covid-19 transmission numbers, which, in turn, rely on residents protecting themselves and others. That includes a continuation of the state order for citizens to don masks when they leave their homes.

“It’s self-enforcement,” Wolf said. “We’re providing guidelines for how we can work together to defeat this virus. So it’s really up to each individual to make the decision that they don’t want to infect another individual or someone they love.

“Let’s get this virus under control so we can get back to doing the things we love,” he said.

Health officials: Allegheny technically meets threshold

Allegheny County Health Department officials noted in a released statement that according to the governor’s numbers — 50 cases per 100,000 over the course of 14 days — the county meets the threshold.

“With an approximate 1.25 million residents in Allegheny County, that number would need to be less than 625 cases.

In the past 14 days for which the Health Department has likely complete data (April 2-15), we have 396 positive cases reported out of 4,746 tested, which is an 8.3% positivity rate,” county health officials said. “However, we need more testing to have a better estimate of our case rate, and our estimate does not address the other counties considered to be in the region that the state will be considering.”

Wolf’s plan also lists criteria related to testing, case investigation and tracing, and identification of high-risk settings, all of which will be taken into account in determining the region’s status.

Republican leaders weigh in

State House and Senate Republican leaders issued statements acknowledging that Wolf has taken a step toward measures many of them have been urging for the past few weeks.

“We have long called for the governor to set a reasonable approach to allow employers to safely bring people back to work,” Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman, R-Centre. “This was a step toward achieving that. It is our hope that in the coming days the governor provides more information to the process he outlined tonight.”

“We look forward to continuing to engage with the administration and all branches of government to rebuild and recover our economy,” Republican House leaders said in their statement. “We must continue to help the millions of Pennsylvanians who are out of work as a result of this pandemic by processing unemployment compensation claims in a timely manner and getting funds to self-employed residents.

“The challenges facing millions of Pennsylvanians will require continued sacrifices and a united approach. House Republican members will continue to lift the voices of families, workers and job creators as we help pave a path to a safe and prosperous future for every resident of our Commonwealth,” the statement read

The Associated Press contributed to this report.