Wolf: More ‘robust’ reopening for less impacted

HARRISBURG » Regions of Pennsylvania that have seen a relatively low number of confirmed cases of the new coronavirus might be able to reopen “in a fairly robust” way on May 8, Gov. Tom Wolf said Tuesday.

Wolf, in a conference call with reporters, said he intends to loosen restrictions on people and businesses in much the same way they were imposed: Gradually, and county by county.

“There is not one size that fits all. We can start to reopen the state in, I think, some areas (in) a fairly robust way, in other areas less so,” Wolf said. “If I were in Philadelphia, I probably would not want my government to be saying, ‘OK, everything seems to be just perfect right now.’”

More than half of all people who have tested positive for the virus statewide live in Philadelphia and its four suburban counties. Many rural counties, by contrast, have been minimally impacted. Five counties have reported just one or two cases.

Wolf has said the state has made sufficient progress in its fight against the virus to begin gradually reopening some businesses in early May, depending on the availability of widespread diagnostic testing and the capacity of the health care system. Republicans are pushing a more aggressive timetable.

His health secretary, Dr. Rachel Levine, said Tuesday that contact tracing — identifying people who have been exposed to an infected person so they can be quarantined — will be “very important” as Pennsylvania emerges from a pandemic that has killed more than 1,500 statewide.

Wolf said there’s no budget for contact tracing, but Levine, in a separate briefing, gave assurances that Pennsylvania will have a “very robust” tracing program that will be funded with federal dollars.