Aug 17, 2020 2 min read

Gov. Tom Wolf Monday defended his decision last month to reduce occupancy at restaurants to slow the spread of COVID-19, a move, he said, has been working, and maintained his stance on high school sports.

“I’m confident with my recommendation,” Wolf said at a briefing in York, referring to his request that high school sports be delayed until January.

He said the number of new cases has been coming down, and that makes it clear his mitigation plan has slowed the spread of the virus.

The state Health Department said Monday there were no new statewide deaths from the virus to report that day. The virus has killed 7,468 Pennsylvanians since March.

He said the state needs to do “everything possible” in order to get children back to school.

“If you act after things take off, it’s too late,” he said.

Pennsylvania added 384 new cases of the virus Monday, taking the total to 124,844.

Washington County added seven new cases to its total that climbed to 910. Greene County’s case count remained at 126, while Fayette County’s grew by four to 628.

Wolf has faced opposition to his COVID-19 strategy from restaurant owners and members of the state Legislature.

“It’s not the guidance we’re fighting here – it’s the virus,” he said.