Pa. Protesters Rally Against Coronavirus Quarantines

Several hundred protesters gathered Monday in Pennsylvania’s capital city to rally against Gov. Tom Wolf’s stay at home orders and business closures amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Gov.Wolf has long maintained that his aggressive and strict mitigation efforts have been pivotal in slowing the spread of COVID-19. As of Monday, more than 33,000 residents have tested positive and more than 1,200 have died – representing the fifth highest concentration of cases in the United States.

But for demonstrators, the administration’s heavy hand has forced nearly 1.4 million residents into unemployment – unnecessarily – while favoring large corporations over small businesses.

Media reports indicated that the crowd numbered about 700 people in one of many such protests around the country Monday.

“The truth is that it is possible to safely begin re-opening our economy and restoring livelihoods while continuing to protect the most vulnerable,” said Matt Brouillette, CEO of the Commonwealth Partners Chamber of Entrepreneurs. “We now know who we need to assist and safeguard. Yet, instead of focusing on protecting those at high risk, Gov. Wolf has imposed one-size-fits-all restrictions statewide without considering whether a county has even been highly impacted by this virus.”

While protesters gathered on the Capitol steps – many willfully ignoring social distancing guidelines and flouting the governor’s statewide masking mandate – Wolf led a news conference detailing his phased economic reopening plan, set for May 8. Of the rally, he said “this is a democracy, and everyone has a right to express their opinions.”

Sen. Sharif Street, D-Philadelphia, said during a phone call with reporters Monday morning that dangerous anti-science rhetoric threatened to undermine the state’s efforts to beat back the virus. He referenced bills passed by the majority party in both chambers last week that would open businesses according to less restrictive federal guidelines that Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said are too broad to contain COVID-19 in Pennsylvania.

“There's a dangerous trend of the facts, science and medical experts during this pandemic,” Street said. “These fans have been flamed by the president and unfortunately people around the commonwealth have started to embrace this, too.”

Wolf’s gradual reopening will begin with construction sites May 8. He suggested that less impacted counties may see a lifting of stay at home order then, too, but cautioned that the state needs robust surveillance and widespread testing in place to be able to reopen businesses safely.

“We have to make sure we move forward in a thoughtful and appropriate way and that’s where we are guided by health experts who tell us what exactly needs to be done,” said Senate Majority Leader Jay Costa, D-Allegheny. “We don’t have the level of testing we need to be able to accelerate and restart our economy.”