Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Wolf eases restrictions on large gatherings
Pennsylvania is easing restrictions on large gatherings and eliminating a quarantine requirement for out-of-state travelers, reflecting a sustained slide in new COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths, the Wolf administration announced Monday.
Outdoor venues are now allowed to host events up to 20% of their maximum capacity, regardless of venue size. Indoor occupancy will be 15% of maximum capacity, regardless of venue size, state officials said.
For both indoor and outdoor events, venues must require masks and follow physical distancing guidelines, state officials said.
Additionally, the state is doing away with a requirement that people who are traveling to Pennsylvania from another state, as well as Pennsylvania residents who are returning home from out of state, must test negative for the virus within 72 hours prior to arrival. Under the order, people who refused to be tested were required to quarantine for 14 days.
The changes take place immediately.
“We need to balance protecting public health with leading the state to a robust economic recovery,” Gov. Tom Wolf said in a news release. “We are lifting mitigation efforts only when we believe it is safe to do so.”
On Friday, Philadelphia officials said it would allow events and gatherings to expand to state capacity, including sporting events.
State officials said they took into account the expanding percentage of residents who have been vaccinated, as well as the COVID-19 test positivity rate, the rate of new infections and hospital capacity, in deciding to ease restrictions.
Vaccine for teachers
State officials are considering a plan to move teachers up in the vaccine line in a bid to get schools reopened more quickly.
Rep. Tim O’Neal, RWashington, who sits on the state’s coronavirus task force, said Monday that Wolf and his acting health secretary, at Sunday’s task force meeting, discussed making it possible for teachers to get vaccinated soon.
“I was under the impression that that was the way they were going,” O’Neal said.
The state is still in Phase 1A of its vaccine plan, offering the shots to people age 65 and over and younger people with high-risk medical conditions — a population that numbers around 4 million.
Teachers currently are grouped in Phase 1B, along with grocery store workers, first responders, manufacturing employees and others considered to be essential workers.
Teachers unions, superintendents, school boards and other education groups have asked Wolf to prioritize school staff for the COVID-19 vaccine, calling it an “absolutely essential” step toward reopening schools and keeping them open.
Wolf’s discussions are happening amid pressure from Republican lawmakers for school districts to bring students back to classrooms for in-person instruction and as his administration develops a plan to roll out the oneshot Johnson & Johnson vaccine just authorized by federal regulators.
Although Democrats have typically defended the Wolf administration’s handling of the pandemic, four Democratic members of Congress on Monday released a letter to Wolf, urging him to speed up the process for vaccinating teachers and do a better job with the existing program.
U.S. Reps. Madeleine Dean, Chrissy Houlahan, Mary Gay Scanlon and Susan Wild asked him to begin planning for the Phase 1B vaccination now and give teachers and others in the category more certainty about how and when they can get a shot.
“Getting our children safely back into the classroom would have myriad benefits — not only alleviating many pressures on working families and allowing people to return to work but also beginning to reverse the toll that the pandemic has taken on students’ educational outcomes and mental health,” they wrote.
In addition, they asked him to look into best practices from other states that might speed up the deployment of vaccines.