Governor Tom Wolf presented this week a plan for reopening the Commonwealth using a three-phase red, yellow, and green system and said the first orders for moving from red to yellow could be given in the north-central and northwest regions of the state as early as May 8.
Wolf said that just as the administration took a measured, county-by-county approach to issuing stay-at-home orders, the reopening orders would also be staggered based on conditions in local counties.
Wolf said the administration would partner with the Department of Health Metrics at Carnegie Mellon University to quantify appropriate reopening times and that a standard would be that the region had an average of fewer than 50 cases per 100,000 individuals over the course of 14 days.
Wolf said reopening could not occur until adequate personal protective equipment, diagnostic tests, and a monitoring and surveillance program were in place.
Wolf said the plans would provide protections for vulnerable populations including those in congregate care facilities and prisons and that large gatherings would not be permitted in any of the three stages.
Wolf also said all businesses in the construction industry were permitted to resume operations starting Friday May 1 but that businesses must comply with new regulations and that every person present at a work site must wear masks or face coverings and maintain proper social distancing.
Charles (Chuck) Stangor is Gettysburg Connection's Owner, Publisher, and Editor in Chief. I would like to hear from you. Please contact me at cstangor@gettysburgconnection.org.
The counties should be opened by fewer deaths and hospitalizations not by new cases as more people get tested there will be more cases. But are hospitalizations going up?? I am a nurse this is just medical common sense.