Officials in Westmoreland and Allegheny counties applauded Gov. Tom Wolf’s decision Friday to move most of Southwestern Pennsylvania to a phase of eased coronavirus restrictions.
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Allegheny and Westmoreland are among the counties Gov. Tom Wolf announced Friday can begin the first phase of a gradual reopening and easing of coronavirus-related restrictions.
A majority of the Southwest and South-Central counties will proceed to the yellow phase of the tiered reopening plan on May 15. That includes Allegheny, Armstrong, Bedford, Blair, Butler, Cambria, Fayette, Fulton, Greene, Indiana, Somerset, Washington and Westmoreland counties.
“Residents should be mindful that yellow still means caution,” Wolf said. “Every contact between two people is a new link in the chain of potential transmission.”
The governor spent much of his 30-minute news conference imploring residents and businesses to do what is in the best interest of the greater public.
“Anything we do to bring people together, whether it’s employees or customers or both, we’re making it easier for the virus to attack and infect people, and we’re jeopardizing their health,” he said. “We don’t want to have their health and welfare on our hands and jeopardize that by making bad decisions.”
Wolf said that while the state police can and have issued citations to businesses that have bucked the guidelines, it ultimately comes down to personal responsibility.
“The real enforcement here is do we want to jeopardize the lives of people we care about — our customers, our employees, our family members,” he said. “I think the answer to that is overwhelmingly, ‘Yeah, we don’t want to do that.’ ”
The only county in the region left off the list is Beaver County, and officials there began crying foul hours before the official announcement. A nursing home in Beaver County, Brighton Rehab, is the site of a widespread covid-19 outbreak, though facility officials have not said exactly how many residents have become infected or died.
What yellow means
The yellow phase contains loosened restrictions, though many are still in place. It lifts the stay-at-home order, and it allows retail businesses to reopen under certain guidelines. Restaurants must remain delivery or take-out only, and gyms, theaters and salons will remain closed.
Social distancing and mask guidelines remain in place.
Enforcement of Wolf’s orders remains with local law enforcement as well as various state agencies, including state police, the Liquor Control Board, and the departments of health and agriculture, according to the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office.
Greene County District Attorney Dave Russo said Thursday that he would not prosecute any businesses that chose to open on May 11.
He walked-back that statement Friday. “I only have jurisdiction over criminal prosecution. Licensing and civil penalties remain at the discretion of the state,” Russo said.
Businesses with state-issued licenses: bars, restaurants, salons, etc. should adhere to Wolf’s guidelines, he added.
Wolf encouraged those who have a choice to continue to make decisions that will lessen their contact with others: go to fewer stores, call or video chat with friends and family, exercise in less-crowded areas and work from home.
Officials have said that they are concentrating on moving all counties into the yellow phase before they begin looking toward the eventual green phase, which will lift the aggressive mitigation efforts but still include federal and state guidance.
Twenty-four counties in Pennsylvania saw an easing of coronavirus-related restrictions — including the suspensions of stay-at-home and reopening of some businesses — when they moved to the yellow phase Friday morning.
Wolf on Thursday night extended Pennsylvania’s stay-at-home order through June 4 for all counties deemed red zones.
