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Pa. Gov. Tom Wolf explains why bars, restaurants are focus of targeted coronavirus mitigation efforts
Pennlive ^ | 21 July A.D. 2020 | Greg Pickel

Posted on 07/21/2020 1:56:23 PM PDT by lightman

Gov. Tom Wolf said Tuesday that the state has evidence indicating a recent rise in the number of daily confirmed coronavirus cases in Pa. can, at least in part, be traced back to places people are drinking alcohol.

It’s part of the reason why Wolf, in conjunction with Health Department Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine, ordered all bars that cannot serve a meal to close while also mandating that alcohol can only be consumed on a business’ premise if it is sold within a meal transaction.

A meal is defined by the state’s Liquor Control Board as food that is prepared and constitutes breakfast, lunch, or dinner. The prepared part means a bag of chips, pretzels, or peanuts is not OK, but a $1 hot dog is.

Wolf acknowledged during a news conference that also thanked frontline workers at York’s WellSpan hospital that loopholes will always be found, like a cheap hot dog or a single slice of pizza, but added that the measures that went into effect almost a week ago are aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19 on the same day the state reported over 1,000 new cases for the third time this month.

“I mean, are there loopholes and ways to do an end-run around any piece of legislation or any policy? Absolutely,” Wolf said. “The key is, we just have to keep coming back to the point that everybody here [at the news conference made] and that is, do you want your family members, your co-workers, your friends, your neighbors, to end up [at the hospital]? If you don’t, then let’s try to do the things that; is it a frustrating thing to go through if you’re a restaurant? Absolutely. Or a bar owner? Absolutely. The problem is, isn’t it more frustrating to go through what the bar owners and restaurant owners are going through in Florida, where people are just not going to come to the bar?

“They’re not showing up anyway, and that’s going to happen here if we don’t do something dramatic.”

In signing the new order last week, Wolf also closed nightclubs and music clubs while reducing indoor dining to 25 percent capacity. Additionally, outdoor gatherings were limited to 250 people, and all bar service, inside or outside, must be stopped. One important note, however, is that a wedding venue is allowed to serve customers at a bar only if they then go to a seat where a meal will be served.

Wolf was also asked about the idea of providing specific examples of contact tracing that has tied a sizable number of new confirmed coronavirus cases to bars and restaurants. He said that the state does have that information but is not releasing it on a bar-by-bar basis, pointing to reports out of South Korea back in March that said the country’s decision to provide voluminous and specific information about confirmed coronavirus cases led to some people who were infected to experience what the BBC said was online ridicule and judgment.

“Dr. Levine said every region of the [state], not every county but the majority of the counties, in every region of the state has seen an uptick in cases, and when I say focus, what we focused on is we know that those are coming from places where people are coming together and in close contact where they’re drinking. That’s bars. And so, the order, I think, has really addressed that in a targeted way.

“We can’t tell you, I mean, that has been done, where a bar has been identified, and that has created all kinds of problems. I think that was South Korea did that. We don’t want to do that. We think that’s inappropriate. We have the data, we know this is where the problem is. Are we going to tell you exactly which bars? No, we’re not going to do that.”


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Government; News/Current Events; US: Pennsylvania
KEYWORDS: bars; levine; lockdown; openpa; paping; proof; tomwolf; wolf
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To: lightman

I’m really sick of this bald little retarded dwarf Mussolini and his Cousin It health commish...

Seriously.

Just really sick of them both.


21 posted on 07/21/2020 2:19:55 PM PDT by NFHale (The Second Amendment - By Any Means Necessary.)
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To: lightman
It is National Junk Food Day.

Tom, "It's time to continue to make bad decisions, Tom!"

Today, Gov.Tom Wolf is keeping in touch with his insane voter's base!

22 posted on 07/21/2020 2:21:43 PM PDT by Grampa Dave (The virus is so easily spread why do they shove a Qtip up your nose and into your brain for a sample)
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To: NFHale

Don’t insult dwarves please. And I don’t think he’s retarded. Stalinist yes, retarded no.


23 posted on 07/21/2020 2:32:19 PM PDT by ScholarWarrior
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To: Flavious_Maximus

Every year I know of people getting the flu and who has it in my office.

I know exactly ZERO people who have this or had it.


24 posted on 07/21/2020 2:36:23 PM PDT by Vendome (I've Gotta Be Me https://youtu.be/wH-pk2vZG2M)
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To: usconservative

sounds like bullies to me.


25 posted on 07/21/2020 2:38:51 PM PDT by Morpheus2009 (If you want me to be afraid, then be consistent in your logic, standards, and your lies!)
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To: Vendome

In Pennsylvania it’s hard to know unless you know someone who got it in a nursing home. Over 2/3 of all Pennsylvania deaths were in those facilities.


26 posted on 07/21/2020 2:41:21 PM PDT by Morpheus2009 (If you want me to be afraid, then be consistent in your logic, standards, and your lies!)
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To: monkeyshine

Social engineering

Never let a crisis go to waste


27 posted on 07/21/2020 2:41:44 PM PDT by Pollard (whatever)
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To: usconservative

^THIS^

My wife says the same thing and in almost all liberal cities and counties they are intentionally not asking people if they have attended any protests or rallies.


28 posted on 07/21/2020 2:43:09 PM PDT by jurroppi1 (The Left doesn't have ideas, it has cliches. H/T Flick Lives)
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To: monkeyshine
So, bars are spreading covid, unless you are also eating food?

Yep. It's "science"!

29 posted on 07/21/2020 2:43:57 PM PDT by colorado tanker
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To: lightman

Wolfs an idiot and cousin it is just as bad.. both are so far over their heads they only haven’t drowned because they have their heads so far up their arses they are breathing their own farts


30 posted on 07/21/2020 2:47:39 PM PDT by HamiltonJay
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To: Morpheus2009

The two COVID deaths that I knew somewhat personally—one a member of my church, another an cousin in Mrs. L’s family—were both in nursing homes.


31 posted on 07/21/2020 2:50:41 PM PDT by lightman (I am a binary Trinitarian. Deal with it!)
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To: lightman

Because the deranged, self-mutilating shim said so?


32 posted on 07/21/2020 2:55:28 PM PDT by Mr. Rabbit
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To: EvilCapitalist
It’s not that they “can’t tell the RIOTERS to stay home,” it’s that they don’t want the RIOTERS to stay at home.

You know, this right here is my WTF didn't I think of it that way face ....

33 posted on 07/21/2020 2:56:11 PM PDT by usconservative (When The Ballot Box No Longer Counts, The Ammunition Box Does. (What's In Your Ammo Box?))
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To: HamiltonJay; MinuteGal

Sue them fast; get it into the Courts immediately.

In the interim, here is a cheap way to get around the food problem for bar owners. Buy 3 low cost items, a microwave, and/or air fryers, and a small freezer (like a dorm size one). Stock the freezer with cheap (Celeste is the brand I use because they taste good) individual size deluxe (all the trimmings) pizzas. They cost $1 at most Dollar Trees, Dollar Generals, or get them in bulk from Sam’s Club or Costco’s, etc.

Now stock the freezer with cheap but edible hot dogs. Buns don’t need freezing, so put them in a box or chest somewhere. Use the microwave (takes about 1 minute or so) to cook up a pizza upon request, or use the air fryer (takes about 6 minutes in the air fryer, and they taste great).

Actually you could air fry mozzarella sticks, jalapeno poppers, chicken nuggets, chicken wing pieces, whatever). All this nibble food is fairly cheap and you can get multiple servings out of each box (price accordingly based on what you have to pay for it). Get some cheap paper bowls/plates (I’d use plates for pizzas, bowls for finger food) get a cheap package of napkins, plastic knives/forks if needed, and there you go.

You really don’t even need a microwave, although its faster for pizzas. But the pizzas actually taste crisper if air fried. The air fryer will do for all of this. Hot dogs taste great when air fried, just like out on the grill.

Almost all of this stuff takes about 6-8 minutes tops to cook up an order. I’d get 2-3 air fryers, a freezer, and call it a day. Problem solved. I don’t know why a lot of bars don’t use this option in the first place. Patrons would be happy with the nibble food and you don’t have to go full food service with a kitchen/grill, etc.

I’d do this if I had a bar. Sell in cheap portions, $1 to $3 at most. Problem solved. Of course there may be legalities involved in this; would have to be researched. But if possible, go for it.


34 posted on 07/21/2020 3:21:09 PM PDT by flaglady47 (Donald Trump, President for Life (heh, heh))
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To: ScholarWarrior

Lol!

No, he’s definitely retarded. All that wood glue he sniffed in his cabinet factory... went to his brain...


35 posted on 07/21/2020 3:24:59 PM PDT by NFHale (The Second Amendment - By Any Means Necessary.)
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To: lightman

Daily dose of bullshit


36 posted on 07/21/2020 3:30:33 PM PDT by Fledermaus (ONLY A MORON THINKS 6 FEET IS A MAGIC NUMBER!)
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To: NFHale

You did notice his factory was declared essential?


37 posted on 07/21/2020 3:32:42 PM PDT by ScholarWarrior
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To: colorado tanker

Bars WERE ok so long as you had three drinks or less.


38 posted on 07/21/2020 3:33:46 PM PDT by ScholarWarrior
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To: ScholarWarrior

Yes indeed... HIS factory is THE mostest Essentialist Factory in the state...!!!

How.... convenient...


39 posted on 07/21/2020 3:39:34 PM PDT by NFHale (The Second Amendment - By Any Means Necessary.)
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To: flaglady47

-—You need a properly certified and licensed kitchen

in order to legally sell food. The minimal cost of

such a kitchen is in the $40,000 to $50,000 range!!


40 posted on 07/21/2020 3:43:39 PM PDT by oldbugleboy (oldbugleboy)
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