Gov. Wolf said he will look at county COVID-19 numbers to determine reopening
Gov. Tom Wolf said Tuesday he will reopen the state in the same way he closed it – by looking at county COVID-19 numbers to determine the local contagion, lethality and hospital capacities for treatment.
He recognized that southwestern Pennsylvania is showing lower increases of the coronavirus, even in Allegheny County where the population is more dense. Data is examined by looking at three- to seven-day trends, he said. Wolf and other officials will be looking at this data and models to determine what areas can be reopened May 8.
“We can, I think, reopen the state in a fairly robust way in some areas,” Wolf said.
The May 8 target date was set with the expectation that between now and then, measures could be put in place for a safe, limited reopening. These measures include increased testing. Officials are working with the private sector and through the Federal Emergency Management Agency to bulk up testing materials, such as swabs and reagents. Widespread, in-home diagnostic testing should be made available and distributed, he said. The state lab in Exton is also examining antibody testing.
“The question really comes down to: How can we give individual employees the confidence to go back to work? How do we give individual customers the confidence to go out and shop? And I think that comes down to robust testing,” he said.
He added hospitals must also have the capacity to treat patients, noting Pennsylvania’s hospitals have sufficient masks, ventilators and beds but some shortages on protective gowns.
Wolf said he vetoed a bill Monday that would allow some businesses to reopen because he thinks the reopening process should be “measured” and “driven by facts and data.”
“When it comes down to it, all of us want to get back to work as soon as possible. The state wants that. The government wants that. The employers want that. The customers want that,” he said. “We need to make sure we’re doing this in a way that first keeps people safe, gives people the confidence that they need to go back to work, gives customers the confidence that they can go out and shop.”