HARRISBURG, Pa. - Wolf says the phases will be assigned to regions of the state based on their conditions. He says the target May 8 date to begin reopening, or moving from red to yellow, will likely apply to north central and and north western parts of Pennsylvania. But that could change.
“We will not just be flipping a switch and going from closed to open and ultimately the virus will set the timeline not us,” said Wolf.
Wolf set a reopening benchmark. If an area has an average of more than 50 cases of COVID-19 - per one hundred thousand people - over the course of two weeks, they can reopen. That’s if they are equipped to handle an outbreak.
“We’re also going to need to take at areas like testing rates, the ability to investigate cases, contact tracing capability and proximity to high risk settings.”
The whole state is in red right now. Only life sustaining businesses are open and mandatory stay- at-home-orders are in place.
In the yellow, schools are still closed, but child care can open back up. Telework would be still preferred, but in person operations can continue *with safety guidelines. Yellow also means switch from stay-at-home orders to quote “aggressive mitigation.” Retail can also reopen with gatherings no larger than 25 people. Gyms, theatres and casinos would stay closed.
And then Green would lift most restrictions but businesses and society would have to stick to CDC and state health guidelines, in what Wolf's administration says will be the new normal.
