Posted on 05/10/2020 3:18:19 PM PDT by lightman
Lancaster County has joined the growing list of counties resisting the coronavirus restrictions put in place by Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf.
In a letter to the governor dated Saturday and signed by numerous Lancaster County lawmakers and commissioners, they asked Wolf to formally move Lancaster County out of the red designation and into yellow under the plan to reopen the state.
They note the county is prepared to do so on Friday, adding, “We prefer to act with your cooperation, but we intend to move forward with a plan to restore Lancaster County.”
Republican commissioner majorities in Berks, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Lebanon and Schuylkill counties have all made public moves in that direction in recent days.
They argue residents have responded, sometimes at tremendous personal cost, to Wolf’s initial emergency lockdown and its stated goals of buying time against the virus so that the state’s hospitals aren’t overwhelmed with COVID-19 cases. And, as of mid-May, the commissioners say, they feel they’ve won.
The letter points out that as of May 9, Lancaster General Hospital had 43 coronavirus patients with six of them requiring ventilators, and Ephrata Hospital had two coronavirus patients. All hospital systems are reporting ample supplies of beds and ventilators and are resuming normal operations, according to the letter.
The letter states Lancaster County and many others have been patient and followed the governor’s orders and guidelines “despite a lack of clear benchmarks or consistent application of your own actions.”
The letter states due to a lack of answers and transparency, it is time for the county to transition to yellow, following a set of guidelines outlined in the letter.
Additionally, the Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office put out a notice Sunday that it will not prosecute citations for violations of the stay-at-home orders or closure orders for non-essential businesses.
We decided this after careful examination of the law and the Governor’s orders/business waivers. We discussed with our neighbor @yorkcounty_da Dave Sunday and agree with his stance: a citizen must be clearly aware of the difference between criminal and non-criminal conduct. — Lancaster DA (@Lancaster_DA) May 10, 2020
“We find that the governor’s continuously changing orders - and business waivers – have presented circumstances where criminal enforcement of the orders is difficult,” District Attorney Heather Adams said in a press release. “Rapid changes in the definition of what constitutes criminal conduct renders the application of criminal sanctions insupportable.”
The Dauphin and York County District Attorney’s Offices made similar announcements.
Adams said her office encourages police departments to prioritize education and instruction on CDC safety guidelines and encourages voluntary compliance.
Lancaster County borders Maryland and is roughly halfway in the big "red zone" in the eastern part of the state.
The Rebel Alliance is now up to 10: Beaver (the outlier red county on the Ohio line); Adams, Berks, Cumberland, Dauphin (containing the state capitol); Franklin, Lancaster, Lebanon, Perry, and York.
Berks and Lancaster were in the "Southeast" region slated to be the very LAST to reopen because that area has the 800lb gorilla of Filthydelphia.
Ping.
Perhaps in the Dutch country, they can begin making and selling Shoo-Wolfe pies.
I live about 20 minutes from the Lancaster County Line in Maryland. Might have to journey up there this week to find an open restaurant. The problem is that I think there are only 2-3 restaurants in the entire southern area.
Americans will only put up with so much, then watch out!
Round the Clock diner in York PA (2 locations) opened today.
But will the Choo Choo Barn in Strasburg (where I’ve bought train mags) and the bookstore in the outlets at Rts. 30 and 896 reopen?
I do miss Lancaster County. I used to deer and groundhog hunt in Kirkwood and Quarryville. Met some really nice Amish folks. Was even invited to travel to Lycoming County for bear hunting. Didn’t take long to adjust to no electric lights. You kept a flashlight handy.
People accepted the original proposition to “flatten the curve”, take “15 days to slow the spread”.
That was the deal. Time to get organized, keep the hospitals from overflowing.
We did that.
#timesup
IMHO President Trump made two HUGE mistakes:
1) Pulling a bait and switch from “15 days” to “30 days”
2) Backing down from the “opening up at Easter” plan.
Both at the prompting of the Falsie the Dwarf.
Time for Wyoming county to brake away as well.
Aye.
The ones I can't understand are Huntingdon, Mifflin, and Juniata...all listed red, all with minimal CV impact, and so far not a peep about becoming part of the Rebel Alliance.
But make no mistake, he is a wolf in Governor's clothing.
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