Posted on 05/22/2020 1:46:13 PM PDT by lightman
Pa. will not release a new set of criteria that counties must meet to move from the yellow phase to the green phase of Gov. Tom Wolf’s coronavirus reopening plan.
Instead, Health Department Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine said that how counties in the yellow phase continue to fare over a 14 day period against the metrics used to move them there from the red phase in the first place will be relied upon for the final advancement.
Seventeen Pa. counties will move into the green phase on Friday, May 29. Those are: Bradford, Cameron, Clarion, Clearfield, Crawford, Elk, Forest, Jefferson, Lawrence, McKean, Montour, Potter, Snyder, Sullivan, Tioga, Venango and Warren. All businesses and outdoor and indoor entertainment venues can open in those counties again, and restaurants and bars can offer dine-in service. CDC and Pa. Department of Health guidelines must be followed.
“Instead of setting a new bar for counties to meet, our metrics to move a county from red to yellow have proven to be sufficient to forecast how a county will react when social distancing is relaxed and when they move to the green zone,” Levine said.
“We have been monitoring the first 24 counties that move to yellow closely to see if there has been a significant change over the last 14 days now that social distancing has been relaxed. The 17 counties going into green have been able to maintain the yellow metrics for 14 days, showing that they are ready to make this move to the green face.”
Wolf and Levine both said Friday that one of the metrics from his administration’s reopening plan, a county having an average of fewer than 50 confirmed cases per 100,000 residents over a 14-day period, is not as important as its been made out to be.
Other things taken into consideration include risks related to commuting, ICU capacity, re-opening contact, population density, and population age risk, according to a county scorecard provided by Carnegie Mellon University, which supplies the Wolf administration with a dashboard of information related to reopening. The availability of coronavirus testing and contact tracing capabilities are also important factors.
More: Dauphin, 7 other counties will move to yellow coronavirus phase on May 29, all of Pa. out of red phase by June 5
Which counties could go to green next?
Centre County seemed like a logical candidate for the first wave of green counties, but Wolf said that local officials there were not ready for that move. It stands to reason, however, that they will next time.
It was not immediately clear why Clinton, Erie, Lycoming, Mercer, Northumberland, and Union counties, which also have spent 14 days in the yellow zone already, did not advance, but they will presumably be at the front of the line for the next announcement.
Other potential counties to go green next include all of the ones that will enter their 14th day in the yellow phase next Friday. That list includes Allegheny, Armstrong, Bedford, Blair, Butler, Cambria, Fayette, Fulton, Greene, Indiana, Somerset, Washington, and Westmoreland.
“I must emphasize that moving into the green phase will still require precautions to keep our communities and our families safe,” Wolf said. "COVID-19 continues to be a threat to our health and welfare, and, unfortunately, that won’t change until we have a vaccine, or a cure.
“So, while these counties will see a return to near normalcy, some precautions will continue to be in effect for the safety of residents, these precautions will provide the greatest freedom while preventing certain situations that are known to be catalysts for the transmission of COVID-19.”
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People of Pennsylvania: This is what you get by electing Leftist Lib DIMs into positions of authority and responsibility. A morbidly obese, mentally ill guy who thinks he’s a woman and wears makeup and dresses like a woman is making these decisions? You gotta be kiddin’ me!!! LOL Bow down to your LIb Overlords!!!
To whom are you speaking?
I’m rather certain no one on FR voted for any Democrat.
To all voters there...even the many dead ones.
well Halyox, first of all (trans)Levin was not elected by Pa voters he was ‘appointed’ to the position as Dir. of State Health. Second, Pa ‘voted’ for Trump putting him over the line in 2016....Third, there’s a lot of voters who questioned just how Wolf was elected...and currenty are seeking his impeachment as well as requesting Levin step down.
So pee on someone elses shoes....
‘Dauphin, 7 other counties will move to yellow coronavirus phase on May 29, all of Pa. out of red phase by June 5’
red to yellow is hardly any move at all; now I can go to a music store to get new strings for my mandolin (in two weeks), but Wolfie gets to package it as if it’s largesse on his part...
You can also go into a PA Wine & Spirits store to select some Tullamore or Paddy’s.
What about Susquehanna? This is rural and certainly an area that needs to reopen!
I remember Corbett lost many Republicans as the GOP got very comfortable in Harrisburg. Now,Philadelphia and Pittsburgh run things. Maybe Pennsylvanians can come back to the GOP if it can come back to principle.
Susq. Wy. and Wayne moved to Yellow today. But most of Lehigh Valley remains locked down.
Whatever you think about Wolf's performance, remember that the GOP-led legislature could have passed by concurrent resolution (i.e. no veto) to end it at any time and they didn't. They'll threaten... But they never did. The state is going to open up not because of contact tracing or case loads, but because Wolf had 90 days on the disaster declaration on March 6th and it is going to run out. The primaries will be over by then and the GOP legislature will no longer have to worry about delivering on promises. They'll allow Wolf to keep damaging the economy without emergency authority to score political points against him instead of actually doing what they are supposed to be doing and representing the interests of their constituents.
How nice of the untermensch to allow us our God given rights.
Corbett lost because of the insane 28 cent a gallon gasoline tax to ‘fund’ Philly mass transit forever.
Also was caught up in the Jerry Sandusky pedophilia rape of boys at Penn State. Many Joe Paterno fans blamed Corbett for the old coaches firing.
Otherwise Wolfe ran a sheep’s clothing campaign. Many did not know how much of a hardcore communists he is. His entire cabinet is made of left wing nut jobs.
Just get a load of the lieutenant governor: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Fetterman_(politician)
Looks like he just got out of prison. He is a Soros stooge.
hal ogen: You would be pounded to a pulp by any Pennsylvanian I know.
Yep.
Come now.
The Dems have been working hard behind the scenes in PA ever since 2016, by also redistricting to favor Democrats... They know that PA is ready to keep Trump in office. So Wolf will do whatever to stop Trump’s rallies in Pa. until they figure out how to harvest enough fraudulent ballots.
PA Is a critical state the Demo-Rats must steal to win.
It’s getting tougher though with Judicial Watch busting democrats paying election officials to stuff ballot boxes and Pittsburgh under the gun with Dead registered voters.
rather continues putting restrictions on it's citizens at every phase.....
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