TUESDAY A.M. Update: Governor Eases Some Restrictions
Governor Tom Wolf yesterday issued orders easing limits for attendance at indoor and outdoor public gatherings and eliminated restrictions on 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 such as 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 state is also lifting orders requiring proof of COVID-19 tests and/or quarantines for Pennsylvanians returning from 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 is being 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.