Gov. Wolf suspends indoor dining at restaurants, closes gyms over COVID-19

Gov. Tom Wolf will suspend indoor dining at restaurants again, halt school extracurricular activities and order other mitigation efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19, a disease that has been straining hospitals.
The order, which begins Saturday and lasts for three weeks, also closed casinos, indoor gyms, theaters and private clubs at a time when deaths, hospitalizations and new cases of the virus continued to climb.
“We need to slow the spread right now to save lives,” Wolf said during a virtual meeting from his home where he’s been in isolation without symptoms after testing positive for the disease.
Wolf said his latest test for the virus returned negative. His wife, Frances, has also tested negative for the disease that has killed 12,010 Pennsylvanians since March. Another 248 new virus deaths were reported Thursday, including two in Washington County.
Fayette and Greene counties each saw one new fatality from the virus.
Wolf also advised residents to stay at home unless they need vital services.
The governor has ordered the closure of Pennsylvania’s 12 casinos, including the Meadows Racetrack & Casino in North Strabane Township. The Meadows will will close for three weeks beginning at 11 p.m. Friday.
Tony Frabbiele, vice president and general manager of the facility, said in a prepared statement: “I am very proud of our team here and all of the hard work they have put in to making our casino a safe environment for fellow team members and guests. We look forward to reopening in January, so we can continue to provide a safe and enjoyable entertainment destination for our community.”
“The health and well-being of our team members and customers remains our paramount concern. We will continue to work closely with the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, state and local leaders, and public health officials to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.”
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, commended Wolf and state Health Secretary Rachel Levine for taking such difficult but necessary actions to help contain the virus.
“There’s no question that these measures will result in real challenges for restaurant owners, workers and families,” Casey said.
Washington County Commission Chairwoman Diana Irey Vaughan said she was disappointed that Wolf will again interrupt people’s ability to earn a living.
“Some of our small business owners have invested their life savings into their businesses and are at risk for losing everything they’ve worked and sacrificed for,” Irey Vaughan said.
Meanwhile, the 145-bed Uniontown Hospital in Fayette County has opened a secondary intensive-care unit to treat virus patients. The primary ICU has 15 beds; 13 were filled Thursday afternoon after two patients’ care level needs were downgraded, said hospital spokesman Josh Krysak. Six COVID-19 patients were on ventilators.
The secondary ICU was opened in the hospital’s Post Anesthesia Care Unit for other patients who require intensive care.
“We are able to do this because we have essentially halted all elective procedures to ensure capacity and staffing for care,” Krysak said.
He said there were 57 patients hospitalized with the virus Thursday – an uptick of seven from Sunday’s number.
Fayette County experienced 267 new COVID-19 cases Thursday, breaking the previous record of 229 set Saturday. The new cases bring the county’s cumulative total number of cases to 3,542.
Washington County saw 141 new cases, taking its total to 5,930. Greene County’s case count grew by 27 to 975.
Herald-Standard Managing Editor Jennifer Garofalo and Observer-Reporter staff writer Barbara S. Miller contributed to this report.
Gov. Tom Wolf’s COVID-19 mitigation strategies:
- All in-person indoor dining at businesses in the retail food services industry, including, but not limited to, bars, restaurants, breweries, wineries, distilleries, social clubs and private catered events is prohibited.
- Outdoor dining, take-out food service and take-out alcohol sales are permitted and may continue, subject to any limitations or restrictions imposed by Pennsylvania law, or this or any other order issued by the Sec. of Health or by the governor.
- Indoor gatherings and events of more than 10 persons are prohibited.
- Churches, synagogues, temples, mosques and other places of congregate worship are specifically excluded from the limitations set forth above during religious services. These institutions are strongly encouraged to find alternative methods for worship, as in person gatherings pose a significant risk to participants at this time. While this an incredibly difficult recommendation to make, particularly at this time of year, faith leaders must carefully weigh the health risks to their congregants given the immense amount of community spread of COVID-19.
- Outdoor gatherings and events of more than 50 persons are prohibited.
- All in-person businesses serving the public may only operate at up to 50% of the maximum capacity stated on the applicable certificate of occupancy, except as limited by existing orders to a smaller capacity limit.
- Indoor operations at gyms and fitness facilities are prohibited.
- Outdoor facilities and outdoor classes can continue, but all participants must wear face coverings in accordance with the Secretary of Health’s Updated Order Requiring Universal Face Coverings, including any subsequent amendments and practice physical distancing requirements.
- All in-person businesses in the entertainment industry serving the public within a building or indoor defined area, including, but not limited to, theaters, concert venues, museums, movie theaters, arcades, casinos, bowling alleys, private clubs and all other similar entertainment, recreational or social facilities, are prohibited from operation.
- Voluntary activities sponsored or approved by a school entity’s governing body or administration are suspended, but these extracurricular activities may be held virtually. This includes, but is not limited to attendance at or participation in activities such musical ensembles, school plays, student council, clubs and school dances.
- All sports at K-12 public schools, nonpublic schools, private schools and club, travel, recreational, intermural and intramural sports are paused.
- Professional or collegiate sports activities may continue in accordance with guidance from the CDC and the Department of Health. Spectators may not attend such sports activities in person.