PA Gov. Tom Wolf (right) at his press briefing today
Pennsylvania residents should wear masks when going outside of their homes, the state recommended today.
At his daily press briefing, Gov. Tom Wolf said that he’s now recommending face coverings as another way to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.
“Two days ago, I amplified our social distancing efforts by instituting a statewide stay-at-home order, and today I am asking all Pennsylvanians to wear a mask any time they leave their houses,” Wolf said.
The recommendation, he said, came as the rate of infection has risen dramatically over the past week. Today, the state Department of Health reported 1,404 additional cases of COVID-19, the greatest new daily caseload yet reported. Since the beginning of the pandemic, there have been 8,420 positive cases in 63 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties.
In addition, as of midnight, 102 people statewide have died from the disease, according to the health department.
Wolf stressed that he doesn’t intend people to wear surgical masks, which should be reserved for health care workers. But, he said, even a cloth covering would help reduce the spread of the virus from an infected person.
“Masks help prevent people from sharing illnesses,” he said. “But, they don’t do a great job at keeping people from getting sick, and, they’re not foolproof. So, it is critical that our first act is to ask ourselves if we really need to leave our house. If we don’t really, truly need to leave, then we shouldn’t.”
He repeated his call that all Pennsylvanians should stay at home unless they need to make a “life-sustaining” trip, such as going grocery shopping.
“Wearing a mask will help us cut down the possibility that we might be infecting an innocent bystander, like the grocery store cashier, the pharmacist, or someone stocking shelves,” Wolf said.
