HAZLETON, Pa. — The mayor of Hazleton is pleading with residents to adhere to social distancing guidelines in order to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Officials in Hazleton and three other surrounding communities have implemented a curfew, which they plan to extend through the end of the month.
U.S. Representative Matt Cartwright joined Hazleton Mayor Jeff Cusat for a news conference to address the federal response to the COVID crisis in Hazleton and the surrounding area.
During the conference, Rep.Cartwright spoke about complaints his office is getting about working conditions in the industrial parks in the greater Hazleton area. He said he has called on OSHA to come and inspect the facilities on a federal level. On a local level, Mayor Cusat is still urging residents to continue to social distance and follow the CDC and governor's guidelines as he said cases of COVID-19 continue to double and triple in the Hazleton area every few days.
"As our number of confirmed cases reaches around 1,000, the number doesn't mean anything; the testing sites can't keep up the demand of the people that need to be tested. Therefore it's going to skew the numbers; that positive number doesn't matter. It's here, it's not going to get better until we follow the guidelines of the CDC," said Mayor Cusat.
Congressman Cartwright said he's calling on OSHA to come and inspect industrial parks in the greater Hazleton area to make sure companies there are following government guidelines during this pandemic
Mayor Cusat is urging employees to take social distancing upon themselves, and follow the CDC and governor's guidelines as cases of COVID-19 continue to double and triple in the Hazleton area every few days.
"The message should be: do whatever you can to protect your family and protect your loved ones. That's what's important here. Do not bring the disease home to your children or to your grandparents," said the mayor.
Mayor Cusat says the curfew put in place in the city and neighboring communities is going well with a few exceptions, but the effects of the curfew won't be seen in the numbers for a few weeks.
"It shouldn't matter how many positive cases we have today, how much more is that from yesterday. It's a fact that we need to practice that social distancing to make a difference in the future."