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| York Dispatch
Governor Tom Wolf stepped up the state’s COVID-19 mitigation efforts a day after York County broke its record for an increase in new cases on Monday.
After the state health department on Sunday reported 559 new cases in York County, a number that more than doubled the previous record set on Nov. 17, Wolf announced a series of new guidelines for schools and public gatherings.
“If our healthcare system is compromised, it’s not just patients with COVID-19 who will suffer,” Wolf said. “If we run out of hospital beds or if hospital staff are overworked to the point of suffering for every patient – including those in need of emergency care for illnesses, accidents or chronic conditions unrelated to COVID- 19.
Liquor sales at bars, restaurants and catering events are scheduled to end by 5 p.m. Wednesday, under new orders.
The move goes hand in hand with efforts by local authorities to convince people to avoid large gatherings over the Thanksgiving holiday, which Barbara Kovacs, director of the City of York Health Office said, was an unfortunate move. but necessary.
“I think people have to make this difficult decision,” Kovacs said.
More: Coronavirus pandemic: This is what York County data looks like
More: York County recorded 559 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, more than double the record
The new governor’s orders require that school districts in 59 counties with “substantial transmission levels”, including York County, must for the next two weeks either certify that they can comply with existing security measures or switch to online learning.
The state is also asking companies to telecommute “unless it is impossible,” which requires deep cleaning, social distancing and masking if business is conducted in person.
Online sales and curbside collections are encouraged, Wolf said.
Wolf’s administration has also updated the collection restrictions for indoor events:
- Maximum occupancy of 2000: ten%
- Maximum occupancy of 10,000: 5%
- Maximum occupancy of more than 10,000:No event of more than 500 people
Wolf has also imposed new restrictions on outdoor events, which limit total attendance to as little as 5% of maximum capacity in some cases, and prevent any event from hosting more than 2,500 people.
Some of the new restrictions immediately hit a nerve with bar and restaurant owners across the state.
The Pennsylvania Licensed Beverage and Tavern Association, for example, said the Wolf administration’s announcement “came as no surprise.”
“What we don’t get is why there hasn’t been significant financial assistance to help our small licensed taverns and restaurants survive. As this crisis continues, more and more small businesses are shutting down while their employees lose their jobs, ”Executive Director Chuck Moran wrote in a press release.
Restaurant and tavern owners had hoped to receive additional help from the federal CARES law, but state lawmakers instead set aside the remaining $ 1.3 million to plug a hole in the state budget.
On Monday afternoon, State Department of Health spokesperson Nate Wardle confirmed Sunday’s unusually high daily increase in York County, noting that only nine have occurred in care facilities long term.
York County’s infection rate was 10.9% between Nov. 13 and Thursday, according to the most recent data made available by the state’s health department. This infection rate was the highest on record.
This is an increase of more than a percentage point from the previous seven-day period, when the infection rate was 9.5%.
The infection rate, coupled with a record 529 cases per 100,000 residents over the past four days, has led local authorities to advise residents to stay home for the holidays rather than travel.
York County had 9,755 COVID-19 cases and 235 illness-related deaths as of Monday.
Statewide, there have been 314,401 cases and 9,870 deaths.
– Logan Hullinger can be reached at [email protected] or via Twitter at @LoganHullYD.
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