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Posted on 03/01/2021 10:35:30 AM PST by lightman
Pennsylvania took a small step back toward normalcy from the coronavirus pandemic Monday, as the Wolf Administration issued orders easing limits for attendance at indoor and outdoor public gatherings and eliminated restrictions of out-of-state travel that had been in place through most of the fall and winter.
Under the new orders, which take effect immediately:
Indoor events and gatherings are limited to 15% of maximum occupancy regardless of venue size, subject to the distancing requirements that would require individual groups in attendance to be separated by at least six feet from other groups in attendance. Face masks would also still be required.
Until now, indoor events had been limited to 10 percent of maximum occupancy for a facility, with an absolute cap of 500.
This could apply to events like concerts, sporting events and public meetings, though residents should check with the organizers of any specific event to see how they are choosing to operate with regard to public attendance.
Outdoor events and gatherings are limited to 20% of maximum occupancy also regardless of venue size, subject to the same distancing and masking requirements.
This would appear to open the door to limited public attendance at outdoor sporting events, concerts, festivals and the like. These venues had previously been limited to 15 percent of maximum occupancy, with an absolute cap of 2,500.
The new capacity rules apply everywhere except in the city of Philadelphia, which announced last week that it would adopt the state Department of Health’s existing rules - including the absolute attendance caps of 500 indoors and 2,500 outdoors - as of March 1. if was not immediately clear if or when the city would move to the new state guidelines.
The state is also lifting orders requiring proof of COVID-19 tests and/or quarantines after out-of-state travel.
“I think what we’re basically acknowledging is that there does need to be movement in the way of incrementally relaxing mitigation measures so that as a society we can safely progress into something that feels more like normalcy,” said Acting Health Secretary Allison Beam.
“With that being said, all of this done with abundant caution and tremendous real-time evaluation of what the level of risk posed by Covid to our Commonwealth continues to be.”
Beam said these and all of the remaining mitigation orders applying to bars and restaurants, movie theaters, fitness centers and other personal services business will continue to be reviewed through the spring, based on case counts, variant presence, hospitalizations and vaccination rates.
Gov. Tom Wolf cautioned that with the looser rules comes continued responsibilities for all Pennsylvanians.
“The reason we are seeing cases drop can be attributed, in part, to people following the mitigation efforts we have in place,” the governor said.
“Mask-wearing, social distancing and hand hygiene are making a difference and need to continue even as we see more and more people fully vaccinated. We need to balance protecting public health with leading the state to a robust economic recovery. We are lifting mitigation efforts only when we believe it is safe to do so.”
Pennsylvania Ping!
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The sea has parted, bad orange man gone, enjoy life!
bttt
Was anyone observing restrictions?
No bars are open in Pennsylvania. You have to sit at the table and drink. The movie theatres are still closed and restaurant occupancy only allowed at 50 percent.
And Allison Beam, is that the name on her birth certificate, or an assumed identity last the predecessor?
Does this mean that a person can now drive through Pennsylvania to go from West Virginia to Connecticut? /s
F U Wolf.
Always could.
1) Test or QT never applied to pass through travellers.
2) Test of QT never applied to contiguous states, meaning NY, NJ, DE, MD, WV, & OH
And it was all on the "honor system" anyway. No one was checking.
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