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Cumberland, Perry, York counties to enter “yellow” phase next week, says governor

PA Gov. Tom Wolf (right) today said that several central PA counties will enter the yellow phase next week.

Much of the Harrisburg area—but not Harrisburg itself—soon will move into the “yellow” phase, meaning that the state will lift some coronavirus-related restrictions.

On Friday, Gov. Tom Wolf said that 12 more counties will move to the less-restrictive yellow category on May 22.

Locally, they are Cumberland, York, Perry and Adams counties. In addition, several counties from outside the area will go to the yellow phase at that time: Beaver, Carbon, Columbia, Juniata, Mifflin, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming.

“To Pennsylvanians in one of the 49 counties in the yellow phase, I cannot emphasize enough that you should continue to implement social distancing,” Wolf said, adding that people should continue to keep six feet away from others, wear a mask in public, telework and vigilantly wash their hands. “This virus has not been eradicated from these counties, and we are continuing to closely monitor new case counts.”

On Friday, 13 counties in the southwest portion of the state moved from red to yellow, joining 24 others in the northwest and north-central parts of the state.

Eighteen counties, including Dauphin, Lebanon and Lancaster counties, will remain in the “red” zone, which has the most restrictive “stay at home” and business closure mandates.

Wolf declined to say when these counties might move into the yellow category. Last week, he extended his “stay at home” order for all red-zone counties until June 4.

In response, Dauphin County’s two Republican commissioners, Jeff Haste and Mike Pries, issued a statement decrying Wolf’s decision to keep the county in the red zone.

“The governor’s decision today to keep Dauphin, Lebanon and Lancaster counties shut down while neighboring counties begin to reopen is nothing more than political payback,” said Haste, who chairs the board of commissioners. “Rather than listen to the people of Pennsylvania, he pits groups of people against each other and puts out misleading data to back up his cause. We’ve heard from hundreds of residents and business owners that the time to reopen is now.”

Haste cited data saying that Dauphin and Cumberland counties have shown similar infection rates, but that Dauphin County appears to have more cases because it has performed many more COVID-19 tests.

“Based on these figures, Dauphin County has performed 2½ times as many tests as Cumberland County and, it seems, is being punished for it,” said Haste.

As of Friday, the state reported 912 positive cases in Dauphin County and 492 in Cumberland County. Both counties have had the same number of deaths from the illness–41.

Pries cited other data showing that the pandemic has not overwhelmed the county’s health care system, citing low usage of ventilators. Of the county’s 140 ventilators, only three currently are being used for COVID-19 patients, and 84 remain fully available, he said.

“Looking at these numbers, it’s obvious that our healthcare system is not overwhelmed,” said Pries. “Why keep local businesses closed while thousands of people a day pack into the big-box stores? We have flattened the curve and want to reopen our county in a gradual and safe way that balances public health with the economy.”

Haste said that county District Attorney Fran Chardo and Sheriff Nick Chimienti will not enforce orders to keep non-essential businesses closed. Lebanon County also has said it will not enforce those orders.

For his part, Wolf said that he bases his decisions on where counties stand on the advice of scientific and medical professionals.

“It’s easy to look outside and see a beautiful spring day, and think, ‘Hey, there’s no danger,’” he said. “But the danger is real, and we need to take that seriously.”

 

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