Republican Legislators Ask Governor Wolf to Reopen Adams County

Adams County Republican politicians wrote Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf yesterday asking him to immediately move Adams County from a red to a yellow stage designation. The change, which has already been made for 37 other counties, would allow some non-essential businesses to reopen.

The letter, posted on Mastriano’s Facebook page, was signed by state representatives Torren Ecker, Representative in the General Assembly, 193^rd District,  Dan Moul, Representative in the General Assembly, 91^st District, state senator Doug Mastriano, Senator in the General Assembly, 33^rd District, and U.S. congressional representative John Joyce, Representative in Congress, 13^th District.

The two Republican county commissioners, Randy Phiel and Jim Martin, also signed the letter.

The Democratic county commissioner, Marty Qually, who said he did not know about the letter, posted a reply in the form of a letter addressed to Gettysburg Times editor Alex Hayes on his Facebook page.

The following are transcripts of the two letters:

Letter from Ecker, Mastriano, Moul, Joyce, Martin, and Phiel addressed to Governor Wolf:

As elected officials serving the people of Adams County, we write to formally request the immediate transition of Adams County from a “red” designation during the COVID-19 Pandemic to a “yellow” designation.

According to all previously identified measurable made by you and your Secretary of health. Adams County falls well within all indices and metrics. Since our hospital systems began testing for COVID-19 in March, we have performed more than 1,900 tests. Of those tested 154 individuals tested positive for COVID-19 in a county with a population of 103,000. We have suffered 5 fatalities. Since April 24, 2020. Adams County has averaged 3.14 cases per day with a total of 44 new cases. Based on the 50 cases over 14 days per 100,000 people metric. Adams County must have less than 52 cases within that 14-day period. We clearly meet this criteria.

Over the past two months. we have worked with our local hospital systems to ensure they have adequate personal protective equipment, bed capacity, ventilator capacity, and testing capacity. Based on the information provided by these hospital systems, our county is properly prepared to test and care for current and future COVID-19 patients.

Thankfully only one nursing home facility has positive cases, which have resulted in 21 COVID-19 positive residents and 4 COVID-19 positive employees. Adams County has recorded four COVID-19-related deaths in the nursing home facility.

As you can clearly see based on the metrics set forth by your Department of Health, Adams County falls well within the identified measurables and should now be classified as a “yellow” county.

We, like you, have a goal of saving lives while ensuring our health system does not become overwhelmed with those suffering from COVID- 19. We believe based on the science, data, and the help of our trusted medical professionals and health care systems, we have met that goal. Now we must move into the next phase of response during this crisis which is to safely re-open up our economy based on the feedback we have received. Adams Countians are ready to move forward safely, intelligently and responsibly into the “yellow phase.”

We believe that the people of Adams County deserve consistency and transparency that has been less then forthcoming over the past few weeks. The inconsistency of current policy and waivers demands a reexamination of the current approach.

The courtesy of a response would be much appreciated. If you desire more information about our request, please do not hesitate to contact any one of us

Sincerely,

Letter from Qually addressed to Gettysburg Times Editor Alex Hayes:

Thank you for bringing this my attention.

I was unaware that my fellow commissioners were signing on to this letter. While I can agree with the intent of the letter sent by Adams County Republican leadership, I cannot support all of their conclusions. Everyday I feel the pain of local businesses forced to remain closed out of an abundance of caution for the safety of our most vulnerable residents. We have all been forced to make difficult decisions. I do not envy Governor Wolf or Secretary Levine’s position in having to create statewide or regional policies in the face of this changing pandemic.

Up until today, I was under the impression that the board of commissioners was unanimous in our belief that a regional approach, while not ideal for county businesses, was appropriate given our regionalized workforce and shared industries.

I believe that Adams County residents have done an admirable job given the circumstances and deserve to being opening businesses. But we must also respect the advice from first responders and medical professionals, who have been and are on the front lines. We should follow their advice, not the advice of partisan elected officials. Furthermore, I believe we are on the cusp of reopening Adams County and this message from local Republican leadership is premature and may have unintended negative consequences.

Frankly, I believe that had Governor Wolf opened the state too soon, state Republican leadership would have crucified him for every single death. They rarely, if ever, have agreed with the policies coming from his administration. There was a time when Americans worked together in times of crisis. When Republican officials sow confusion and doubt, many of our residents end up shaking their heads in disbelief. Our strength as a nation, a state, and a county comes from our ability to work together.

Respectfully,