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Gov. Wolf responds to state shutdown push-back

The governor defended his plan to reopen the state after strong criticism over the weekend.

PENNSYLVANIA, USA — Governor Wolf blasted counties that have decided to reopen without his permission and has some threats for them, too.

Gov. Wolf called the actions of leaders in counties ignoring his orders cowardly, selfish, and unsafe. He equated them to being deserters during a war.

He said those counties could lose out on state funding if they open without his permission.

Last weekend, commissioners in five counties in the state notified Gov. Wolf that they are moving forward into what he's calling the yellow phase of reopening with or without his blessing.

So far, the governor has officially moved 24 counties to yellow last Friday in northwestern and northcentral Pennsylvania. This Friday, 13 more will open in the southwestern part of the state.

Here in our area, Schuylkill County commissioners and Republican lawmakers said the county has met the standard of the stay-at-home order, to flatten the curve and not overwhelm hospitals. They said they are answering the call of people who want the county to open safely following CDC guidelines.

"To those politicians who decided to cave in to this coronavirus, they need to understand the consequences of their cowardly acts. The funding we have put aside to help with fighting this crisis will go to the folks doing their part, that includes the CARES Act money that will go to the counties that are fighting the spread and the medical community treating the patients. However, other discretionary funding won't go to counties that put us all at risk by operating illegally," said Gov. Wolf at the news briefing Monday morning.

The governor also had a message to businesses if they ignore the orders, they could lose their Health Department certificate, lose liquor licenses, lose occupancy permits and he said those businesses may not be insured if they are breaking the law.

Insurance Commissioner Jessica Altman says companies that ignore the shutdown order could be putting themselves at risk of having their claims denied. Republican elected officials in a growing number of counties are planning to move on their own to lift some of Wolf’s restrictions, including the Democrat’s stay-at-home orders and shutdown of businesses deemed “non-life-sustaining.” 

The counties assert they have enough testing, equipment, and hospital capacity to deal with the coronavirus.

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