Gov. Tom Wolf announces new restrictions during a virtual press conference on Thursday afternoon.
                                 Screenshot

Gov. Tom Wolf announces new restrictions during a virtual press conference on Thursday afternoon.

Screenshot

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Gov. Tom Wolf on Thursday announced restrictions on school sports, as well as eating, dining, drinking, entertainment and other gatherings as in response to an unceasing climb in COVID-19 infections statewide.

“We all hoped it would not come to this,” Wolf said during a virtual news conference, but “we need to slow the spread to save lives.”

The restrictions take effect Saturday and will remain in place through Jan. 4, the governor said.

The key points:

• School extracurricular activities, including sports, will be prohibited. This includes includes K-12 public schools, nonpublic schools, private schools and sports at the club, travel, recreational and intramural levels.

• Professional and collegiate sports may continue without spectators.

• Indoor dining will be prohibited.

• Gyms, theaters, museums and casinos must close.

• Indoor gatherings will be limited to 10 people. Outdoor gatherings will be limited to 50 people.

• All businesses that remain open will be limited to 50% occupancy.

• Churches, synagogues, mosques, temples and other houses of worship were excluded from the indoor gathering limits, but state officials “strongly encouraged” them to avoid congregating inside.

Thursday’s press conference was the first the governor, 72, gave since testing positive for the coronavirus himself. Wolf said that his positive test should remind Pennsylvanians that even those who follow all precautions, as he says he did, are still at risk.

“It’s a reminder that we all need to be working together,” Wolf said. “This is something we gotta work through.”

Pennsylvania reported 248 new deaths Thursday as the statewide toll passed 12,000. There were 291 new cases of COVID-19 in Luzerne County, where the death count is now at 343.

Wolf and Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine suggested that there was reason to be hopeful, though, with Levine saying she expects the FDA to approve Pfizer’s experimental vaccine on Thursday, hoping for CDC approval to follow. Levine says that, if this goes well, vaccine administration could start as early as next week.

Wolf’s spouse, Frances Wolf, tested negative but will continue to quarantine with him at their home in Mount Wolf, near York, the governor’s office said.

Geisinger CEO ‘very concerned’

Some hospitals are running out of intensive-care unit beds, and more than a third of hospitals in a broad swath of southern Pennsylvania anticipate staffing shortages over the next week, according to the state Department of Health.

The press conference included contributions from numerous healthcare providers from around the state, including Dr. Jaewon Ryu, president and CEO of Geisinger, who said that Geisinger facilities are getting dangerously close to 100% capacity.

“The trajectory and the rate of climb of the virus are things that have us very concerned,” Ryu said.

According to Ryu, the rate of COVID-19 positive patients hospitalized has tripled over the past few weeks, and sextupled since the time around Labor Day. Ryu said that nearly a third of those patients are younger than 65, and half of those are younger than 55, showing that it is not only elderly patients who are at risk.

The situation is similar across the state.

“As soon as a bed opens, it’s filled again,” Mitchell Davis, a Pittsburgh nurse, said in a statement distributed by the state’s largest union of health care workers. “We need support from the community, support from the government, and support from our employers to be able to fight this and win.”

Business, GOP response

As the AP also reported, Republican lawmakers have staunchly opposed most of Wolf’s restrictions since mid-April and have accused him of abusing his powers. Anticipating that Wolf would announce a new round of restrictions, House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff, R-Centre County, warned him against it Thursday.

“Do not use your executive order pen to devastate lives and livelihoods,” Benninghoff said in a statement.

Facing criticism from some reporters who asked questions during the press conference, Wolf said that he wants to place pressure on Congress to pass the RESTAURANTS Act, a bill introduced in the U.S. House by Representative Earl Blumenauer, D-Oregon, which aims to provide substantial funding for restaurants affected by the economic fallout of the virus around the country by earmarking $120 billion. As of Thursday, neither the House nor the Senate have taken a vote on the bill.

Business groups also panned the restrictions, with Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry President Gene Barr predicting they’ll result in “economic devastation” and a longer road to recovery for businesses already reeling from the pandemic.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.