No map with today's updates.
This map is from last Friday. Lebanon County is in the second tier north of the Maryland border, about halfway across the large "Red Zone".
It was NOT moved into Yellow in today's announcement.
Posted on 05/15/2020 10:38:31 AM PDT by lightman
Lebanon County commissioners have passed a protest resolution declaring the county in the yellow phase of the state’s pandemic reopening plan, effective immediately.
The 2-1 vote came hours before Gov. Tom Wolf named 12 more counties to start a limited reopening next week; Lebanon was not among them.
The board may be the first to have taken a formal action to break out from the governor’s plan, though legal experts say that given the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision affirming Wolf’s public health emergency disaster declaration, it’s likely has no legal relevance.
The court, in that case, noted longtime Perry County Solicitor William Bunt, found that Wolf has the legal right to issue the emergency business closure and other orders, and that he has applied those powers within the bounds of the law.
The proper way to terminate such an emergency declaration, the court found, is by a concurrent resolution of the state House and Senate, which the state’s Republican-controlled legislature has thus far avoided.
That court ruling, Bunt said, is why most county’s have backed off these kinds of challenges.
Even so, Lebanon’s vote puts the county at odds with the Wolf Administration and in jeopardy of missing out on its share of federal CARES Act funds that are to be doled out by the state this spring. It also represents another tear in the fabric of what the governor is desparately trying to keep a completely unified front against coronavirus.
Commissioners Robert Phillips and William Ames, both Republicans, voted for the resolution. Democrat Jo Ellen Litz was opposed.
The commissioners’ action came despite a new COVID-19 case incidence rate that, as of Friday morning sat at 126.9 cases per 100,000 residents over the last two weeks, more than two times the 50-case benchmark set by the state Department of Health.
The resolution aspires to places the entire county into the yellow phase, which - under the state guidance - significantly expands the number of businesses, retail shops and commercial offices that will be permitted to open.
Any business that chooses to reopen will still have to take all appropriate steps to follow federal Centers for Disease Control social distancing and sanitization guidelines, and any person-to-person transactions would still require both the consumer and the clerk to be masked. Entertainment venues like movie theaters, dining rooms at restaurants and most personal services like barber shops and nail salons must still be closed.
Phillips and Ames said their action is a chance for Lebanon residents to begin to reclaim their lives in the face of state regulations that they argued are bludgeoning the local economy well out of proportion to the current scope of the outbreak.
Their efforts were broadly praised by the vast majority of residents speaking to the issue during an extended public comment period.
Even so, the commissioners were cognizant of the limits of their powers, warning business owners that those that chose to open against the governor’s order will be doing so at their own risk. The Wolf Administration has warned that state-licensed and regulated businesses may be at risk of sanctions if they open against the state’s orders.
The resolution stated, in part, “this resolution is not binding or a directive on any private sector enterprise that operates within Lebanon County. Limitations on businesses still exist at the civil and state level, and it is incumbent upon those businesses to know the risks; especially if subject to state regulation or licensure.”
In addition, Ames cautioned, “the county will accept no responsibility for the defense of their licenses and things like that, because obviously that will open up a can of worms.”
No map with today's updates.
This map is from last Friday. Lebanon County is in the second tier north of the Maryland border, about halfway across the large "Red Zone".
It was NOT moved into Yellow in today's announcement.
Pennsylvania Ping!
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More sanity!
Good news!
“The proper way to terminate such an emergency declaration, the court found, is by a concurrent resolution of the state House and Senate, which the state’s Republican-controlled legislature has thus far avoided. “
Well rinos get it done.
Hooray for my county!
‘...reclaim their lives in the face of state regulations that they argued are bludgeoning the local economy well out of proportion to the current scope of the outbreak.’
gee, ya think...?
‘Hooray for my county!’
where in ‘Lepn’n Conty’ do you live...?
Hopefully more follow suit.
Send Dr. Ray-chill to check it out with her rectal thermometer.
==========+=======
Ha!
Deaths minus nursing homes for all counties in PA yesterday
County Total Cases 5/14 Negatives Deaths Minus Old People
Philadelphia 15624 39263 1000 96 51
Bucks 4248 12806 395 22 10
Northampton 2566 8889 182 20 9
Delaware 5252 13045 448 29 5
Berks 3530 7921 196 17 4
Chester 2008 7726 213 16 4
Lancaster 2364 10730 183 11 2
Montgomery 5583 23000 587 31 2
Lebanon County
Positive Cases: 863
Deaths: 19
Available Adult ICU Beds: 8
Available Medical/Surgical Beds: 58
Available Pediatric ICU Beds: 0
Available Airborne Isolation Room Beds: 11
Total Number of Vents: 16
Ventilators in Use (COVID-19): 2
Ventilators in Use (non COVID-19): 4
The goal was to “flatten the curve”.
Then the goal was changed to “eradicate the virus”
And the FRearpers add “until there is a safe and effective vaccine.”
North of Indiantown Gap.
You?
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