Eager to reopen, local officials across Pennsylvania are set to defy Gov. Tom Wolf’s plan to cautiously ease coronavirus restrictions.
The governor has outlined a phased reopening plan, complete with a color-coded readiness chart. Wolf announced Friday that 24 more counties have qualified as “yellow,” meaning they can partially reopen Friday, while extending stay-at-home orders for the remaining “red” counties until early June.
Some local officials don’t agree with the tiered strategy, though. They plan to use their power to proceed with their own reopening plans, despite the fact that Pennsylvania confirmed 1,323 new coronavirus cases in a single day on Friday.
Lebanon County officials and some Republican lawmakers, including state Sen. Dave Arnold and Reps. Russ Diamond, Frank Ryan and Sue Helm, delivered a letter Friday to the Democratic governor informing him of their plans.
“Lebanon County has met the requirement of your original Stay-at-Home Order, which was to flatten the curve of the COVID-19 outbreak and allow hospitals the time to gear up for COVID-19 patients being admitted to the ICU and in need of ventilators,” the letter reads.
“We have heard the pleas of our residents who desire the ability to safely re-open their businesses and safely return to work. Lebanon County plans to move forward and will require businesses who are ready to re-open to follow CDC guidelines including requirements such as hand washing, social distancing, and masks until further guidance is received for the county to move to the Green Phase.”