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Pa. Gov. Tom Wolf and Health Department Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine have changed their order related to gathering limitations in the state. Originally, indoor events were restricted to just 25 people, while outdoor events could have up to 250. Now, however, the maximum capacity will be determined based on a venue’s maximum occupancy. It breaks down like this: Maximum Occupancy - Allowable Indoor Rate 0-2,000 people - 20% of Maximum Occupancy 2,001 - 10,000 people - 15% of Maximum Occupancy Over 10,000 people - 10% of Maximum Occupancy up to 3,750 people Maximum Occupancy - Allowable Outdoor Rate 0-2,000 people...

Gathering limits are back in Pennsylvania, at least for now, following the latest federal court ruling on the topic. What does it mean for schools that host high school football games or other such events Friday night or this weekend? Pa. Gov. Tom Wolf’s advice is to stay tuned. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Thursday that the Wolf administration’s coronavirus mitigation gathering limits -- 250 people at outdoor events and 25 at indoor ones -- are back in play again while the appeal process works itself through the court system. The news comes after U.S. District Judge...

U.S. Senator Pat Toomey and other Pa. Republicans in Washington, D.C., have sent a letter to Gov. Tom Wolf asking that he permit fans to attend sporting events in the state this fall amid the coronavirus pandemic. Fellow members of Congress Dr. Jim Joyce, Brian Fitzpatrick, Fred Keller, Mike Kelly, Dan Meuser, Scott Perry, Guy Reschenthaler, Lloyd Smucker, and Glen Thompson also signed the letter, which reads in part: “We write today urging you to reconsider your opposition to allowing in-person attendance at school sporting events during the 2020-2021 school year, and with collegiate and professional football safely resuming across...

There were plenty of red MAGA hats and T-shirts on Saturday at President Donald Trump’s campaign rally at Harrisburg International Airport. But the one thing conspicuously missing from the majority of people? Face masks. Thousands stood shoulder to shoulder, packed even beyond the immediate capacity of the private hangar, and most were without masks. Among those who had masks, many had them pulled down to their chins. “I’m over it,” Jackie Logsdon of Chambersburg said about the coronavirus and wearing masks, one of the major pieces of guidances from health officials. “Nope, I’m over it. I do believe in it,...

Trump is set to hold another rally at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Harrisburg International Airport, despite Wolf’s public pleas for the president not to endanger Pennsylvanians. The governor said he sent a letter to the president earlier this month asking that he abide by public health guidance in visits to the commonwealth. Wolf called Trump’s insistence on holding Saturday’s event “gravely concerning.” “No matter what party you support, all Americans should be very concerned that the President has put headlines and publicity above the health and safety of our families and communities," said Wolf, a Democrat. “It is dangerous...

Gov. Tom Wolf issued a statement Friday calling President Donald J. Trump’s continued scheduling of large campaign rallies in Pennsylvania dangerous, manipulative and wrong, and urged all attendees “to think of the health and safety of their families and their communities before attending... any rally put on by the Trump campaign.” If they do persist in going, Wolf said, their duty to their families and friends includes wearing a mask and maintaining proper social distancing for the duration of the events. Wolf’s comments come as the president is making huge personal investments in trying to hold Pennsylvania and it’s 20...

Gov. Tom Wolf is accusing the GOP-controlled General Assembly of acting irresponsibly in ways that will harm Pennsylvanians at a time when he is trying to save lives during the COVID-19 pandemic. At a Thursday news conference that was billed as focusing on government reform and COVID-19 mitigation efforts, the governor spent a good part of the time criticizing lawmakers for pursuing “dangerous legislation” this week. He was referring to the House’s failed attempt on Wednesday to override his veto of a bill that would have allowed local school officials to set attendance limits at sporting events and extra-curricular activities....

A federal judge today (Tuesday) denied the Wolf administration’s request for a stay on the federal court decision that found some of Governor Tom Wolf’s COVID-19 pandemic restrictions to be unconstitutional. The administration sought a stay on the ruling while also appealing the decision, which was issued by U.S. Western District Judge William Stickman IV last week. .. the Wolf administration “did not proffer any specific evidence to differentiate between the danger allegedly posed by gatherings governed by specific numeric limitations and gatherings governed by occupancy limitations.”

After Wednesday’s failed House attempt to override Gov. Tom Wolf’s veto of a bipartisan-backed bill designed to give local school officials the final say on holding sports and setting crowd limits, some were left scratching their heads. How could a bill that passed the House by a 155-47 fall short of the 135 votes needed to override the governor’s veto? The answer: 24 of the Democratic legislators who voted “yes” on the bill originally apparently had a change of heart. One of the bill’s original supporters, Rep Mark Rozzi, D-Berks County, was absent on Wednesday. House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff,...

Legislation won state Senate approval on Tuesday that would relax some of the restrictions imposed on Pennsylvania’s restaurants and bars that have forced some of these establishments to close for good. House Bill 2513 would set minimum capacity for restaurants and taverns at a minimum of 50% and would allow them to go beyond that if their premises allows while complying with social distancing, masks and other safety precautions recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state Department of Health. Further, it would remove Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration’s ban on bar services, allowing patrons to once again...

A federal judge on Tuesday denied Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration’s request for a stay on a federal court decision that found some of the governor’s COVID-19 pandemic restrictions to be unconstitutional. The Wolf Administration sought the stay while appealing U.S. Western District Judge William Stickman IV’s order that was issued last week that ruled the governor’s closure of nonessential business, a stay-at-home order and an order to limit gathering sizes were unconstitutional. In denying the stay, Stickman said, “the public interest would be ill served if the court would grant the stay allowing the unconstitutional measures to remain in place.”...

Gov. Tom Wolf, as promised, vetoed a bipartisan-backed bill on Monday that would have given local officials’ authority this year to decide whether to hold K-12 sports and activities and set crowd limits at events. This action shows his determination to urge Pennsylvanians to adhere to his 25-person limit for indoor events and 250 for outdoor contests to control the spread of COVID-19, even though a federal judge has declared those limits along with other pandemic-related restrictions the governor ordered as unconstitutional. The Wolf Administration has requested a stay on that order while appealing U.S. Western District Court Judge William...

Gov. Tom Wolf is changing the time for last call in bars and restaurants, but it won’t be as early as he had previously indicated. The governor signed an order Thursday putting a halt to sales of alcoholic drinks in bars and restaurants at 11 p.m., beginning Monday, Sept. 21. Customers will have until midnight to finish their drinks. Wolf had previously said the cut-off would be at 10 p.m. to reduce congregating at bars and restaurants, a measure designed to limit the spread of the coronavirus. As he previously said he would, Wolf is allowing restaurants and bars can...

Pennsylvania members of the Committee to Protect Medicare said Thursday that politically-motivated attacks on Gov. Tom Wolf’s actions to control COVID-19 are a danger to their patients and all state residents. They said they are speaking out because of this week’s opinion by a federal judge which said restrictions including the state-wide state-at-home order were unconstitutional. The lawsuit was driven by Republicans who echo views similar to President Donald Trump, who pressed Wolf and other governor’s to “reopen” their states even as COVID-19 cases were rising and public health officials feared hospitals would be overwhelmed. “As physicians, we’re concerned that...

Restaurants in Pennsylvania are being asked to self-certify with the state that they are following the COVID-19 guidelines. And those that do will be permitted to increase their capacity. The self-certification for restaurants requires them to submit online through the DCED’s website that they meet all of the state’s coronavirus prevention guidelines. The submission form will be available online starting on September 21. “Self-certifying your establishment shows your employees and customers that you care about their health and well-being, and demonstrates your commitment to helping mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in the commonwealth,” said Secretary Dennis Davin of the Department...

Monday is the deadline by which Gov. Tom Wolf must make a decision about whether to deny or grant local officials the exclusive authority to make decisions about holding school sports and activities and who can attend them. Although the governor has publicly said he would veto the measure identified as House Bill 2787, a bipartisan band of House members gathered in the Ryan Office Building next to the state Capitol on Wednesday for a news conference to urge him to change his mind. “It is truly time to give people their voice back and ensure children have their best...

On Monday a federal judge in western Pennsylvania ruled that parts of Gov. Tom Wolf’s stay-at-home and business closure orders in response to the coronavirus pandemic were unconstitutional. The ruling was in a lawsuit filed in March by four western Pennsylvania counties and several Republican state lawmakers that claimed the governor’s orders violated the First Amendment as well as the equal protection and due process clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. What does it mean for the average Pennsylvanian? Here’s what we know so far. Why did the judge rule the shutdown orders unconstitutional? U.S. District Judge William S. Stickman IV...

Federal judge rules Gov. Wolf’s shutdown orders were unconstitutional A federal judge in Pittsburgh on Monday found that orders issued by Gov. Tom Wolf restricting the size of gatherings and closing non-essential businesses to protect against the spread of covid-19 were unconstitutional.

A federal judge ruled on Monday that Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf’s (D) coronavirus orders, which shut down the state, closed businesses and limited gatherings, were unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge William Stickman IV, a Trump appointee, said in his opinion that Wolf’s and Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Rachel Levine’s COVID-19 orders violated and continue to violate the First Amendment right to freedom of assembly and the due process and equal protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. The efforts to stop the spread of coronavirus “were undertaken with the good intention of addressing a public health emergency,” Stickman wrote. “But even in...

A difficult vote may lie ahead for 56 Democratic slate lawmakers who joined their Republican colleagues in supporting a bill that would give local schools the authority to make decisions about holding sports and other activities, including how many spectators can attend. That bill was presented to Gov. Tom Wolf on Friday. He has said he will veto it and can take up to 10 days to do that. Wolf has recommended schools hold off on sports this fall due to the coronavirus pandemic and his administration wants strict limits on the number of spectators. If Wolf follows through with...