Pennsylvania's Top Health Official Warns Against GOP Push to Reopen Businesses

Pennsylvania’s top health official warned lawmakers against legislation that would reopen some of the state’s businesses during the coronavirus pandemic.

Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine wrote a letter to the General Assembly discouraging passage of Senate Bill 613 because of an amendment that would conform the classification of essential businesses to the United States Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) advisory memorandum, rather than the more restrictive list used by Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration.

“Encouraging increased social movement of Pennsylvanians at this time by reopening a significant amount of businesses would be reckless and irresponsible,” she said. “In fact, there are very few industries outside of retail – which would also see large exemptions – that wouldn't be able to make an argument that they could open under this legislation. “

SB 613 is just one of several pending legislative attempts to reopen parts of the state’s economy after Wolf mandated that nonessential businesses close indefinitely on March 23 to slow the spread of COVID-19, which has sickened nearly 2,000 residents and killed more than 400 others.

Republicans in the House and Senate insist the governor lacks the authority to implement such an aggressive mitigation strategy and that his waiver process is riddled with inconsistencies. More than 42,000 businesses applied for an exemption through the Department of Community and Economic Development, and about 16 percent had been approved as of Tuesday.

“The many businesses deemed by the administration to be non-essential or not life-sustaining and the hundreds of thousands of people they employed, would find it neither reckless nor irresponsible to permit more of our small businesses to reopen with proper safety and sanitary protocols,” said Rep. Frank Ryan, R-Lebanon, in a response letter sent to Levine on Thursday. “Most would be happy to do whatever it takes.”

Wolf, for his part, has said repeatedly he will not reconsider. Democrats in both chambers have backed his approach as a necessary, life-saving step and admonished what they called an attempt by the majority party to usurp his authority.