PA Gov. Tom Wolf (right) during today’s briefing
The southwest will be the next part of Pennsylvania freed from the “red” zone, as Gov. Tom Wolf today announced his next move in gradually reopening the state.
Wolf said that 13 more counties would move to the less restrictive “yellow” category on May 15.
These counties are: Allegheny, Armstrong, Bedford, Blair, Butler, Cambria, Fayette, Fulton, Greene, Indiana, Somerset, Washington and Westmoreland.
Notably, Beaver County, which borders Ohio, was excluded from moving from red to yellow. Beaver County has more positive cases per capita than surrounding counties, though most (336 of 479) are from three nursing homes.
In addition, today, 24 northwest and north-central counties became the first parts of the commonwealth to move from the red to the yellow category.
Together, these 37 counties represent the majority of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties in number, but not in population. Many of the most populated parts of the state, which also have had the most COVID-19 cases, remain in the red category.
The Wolf administration is using a three-color system to indicate restrictions on businesses and personal movement in light of the pandemic.
Much of the state, including the Harrisburg area, remains in the “red” category with “stay-at-home” orders and the required closing of physical locations of “non life-sustaining” businesses. The yellow category means that most businesses can reopen under certain conditions, and the green category repeals most of the restrictions.
In addition, Wolf said that other counties are under consideration for moving to the yellow phase, though he declined to specify which ones these were.
“Meanwhile, we’re also looking at nearby counties and, if current trends continue, they should be moving to yellow very soon, as well,” he said.
Both Wolf and health Secretary Rachel Levine on Friday emphasized that they are using a variety of metrics when deciding to move counties from one category to another, not just the number of cases per capita.
“The reopening plan prioritizes the health and welfare of Pennsylvanians by using a combination of factors to gauge how much movement a location can tolerate before the 2019 novel coronavirus becomes a threat,” Wolf said.
Wolf also stressed that counties could be returned to a more restrictive category if the pandemic worsens there. On Thursday night, he extended stay-at-home orders for all red zones until June 4.
“I’d like to emphasize that this plan is not a one-way route,” he said. “We are closely monitoring the 24 counties in the yellow phase and will re-impose restrictions if danger arises.”
Finally, answering a reporter’s question, Levine said that she was not sure if any recent positive cases resulted from “Reopen PA” rally in Harrisburg on April 20.
“We don’t know how many people have contracted the virus from that event,” she said. “That would depend, of course, on their telling us that they participated in the rally.”
