Amid an alarming rise in COVID-19 cases and a severe stress on hospitals, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf today issued new mitigation orders and implored Pennsylvanians to step up against the virus by staying home.
“Each of the last two days reported the highest number of deaths since the beginning of the pandemic,” said Health Secretary Rachel Levine. “The virus continues to strain our health care systems and the dramatic rise in cases among all age groups, including among school-age children, is alarming.”
The request, echoed by health care workers across the state, is designed to save lives by keeping hospitals from overflowing with COVID cases.
The new mitigation orders take effect at midnight Saturday and remain in effect until 8:00 a.m. on Jan. 4, 2021.
“The work we do now to slow the spread of COVID-19 will help all of us get back to normal, and back to all of the things we’ve missed, faster. This year, we show our love for our families and friends by celebrating safely and protecting one another.” Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf.
The mitigation efforts announced today prohibit:
- All indoor dining
- Indoor gatherings of more than 10 persons, other than places of worship
- Outdoor gatherings of more than 50 persons
- Indoor operations at gyms and fitness facilitie.
- Operations in theaters, concert venues, museums, movie theaters, arcades, casinos, bowling alleys, and private clubs
- School extracurricular activities including musical ensembles, school plays, student council, clubs, and school dances
- All sports in public and private schools
In addition all in-person businesses serving the public may only operate at up to 50% of their maximum capacity.
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.