Governor Tom Wolf has lifted out-of-state travel restrictions and revised mitigation orders on gatherings in Pennsylvania amid a decline in COVID-19 cases and rise in vaccinations.
“Pennsylvania is taking a measured approach to revising or lifting mitigation orders,” Gov. Wolf announced in a press release on Monday (March 1.) “The reason we are seeing cases drop can be attributed, in part, to people following the mitigation efforts we have in place. Mask-wearing, social distancing and hand hygiene are making a difference and need to continue even as we see more and more people fully vaccinated. We need to balance protecting public health with leading the state to a robust economic recovery. We are lifting mitigation efforts only when we believe it is safe to do so.”
The revised mitigations announced on Monday include the following:
- Revised maximum occupancy limits for indoor events to allow for 15% of maximum occupancy, regardless of venue size
- Revised maximum occupancy limits for outdoor events to allow for 20% of maximum occupancy, regardless of venue size.
- Eliminate out-of-state travel restrictions.
The Department of Health initially provided an updated travel order in November 2020, which required any resident over the age of 11 visiting from another state to provide evidence of a negative COVID-19 test or place themselves in a travel quarantine for 14 days upon entering Pennsylvania.
The state is still advising residents to take caution, despite the changes made on Monday.
Pennsylvania officials considered a broad range of data before its announcement Monday, which included the following data released on February 26:
- Percent of population receiving at least one dose of vaccine: 14 percent of the population under the jurisdiction of the Department of Health has received at least one dose of vaccine; if you remove those under age 16, the percentage increases to 16.9.
- Percent positivity; this stands at 6.3%
- The incidence rate per 100,000 residents; this stands at 101.3 over a 7-day period; and
- Hospital bed capacity (availability) stands at 41%.
Gov. Wolf's full revised order on travel can be found here.
Last week, Gov. Wolf announced all patients and employees at Pennsylvania nursing facilities who requested a COVID-19 vaccine have received it.
More than 600 nursing facilities have already received their first and second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, while more than 315,000 total doses have been administered among all long-term care facilities by CVS and Walgreens, Gov. Wolf announced in a press conference via WPXI.
“This is an important milestone for Pennsylvania, and it marks key progress in ensuring that our most vulnerable residents have access to a vaccine,” Wolf said. “Skilled nursing, personal care and assisted living facilities have been hit hard by the pandemic, which is why this milestone is such an important one for us to recognize — because it shows how far we have come in protecting our most vulnerable residents.”
The state of Pennsylvania is prioritizing its most vulnerable residents in Phase 1a of its COVID-19 vaccine plan, which aims to have nursing and other long-term care facilities receive adequate vaccine supply for residents and staff, according to a news release obtained by WPXI.
Gov. Wolf said the state provided two shots to residents and staff at the Pennsylvania nursing homes, while distribution in long-term care facilities continues, but is expected to be completed by mid-March.
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