Republicans Say They Can Safely Reopen Parts of the Economy, While Democrats Say the Effort is Premature.

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Published April 16, 2020 1:59 am
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HARRISBURG, Pa. — Gov. Tom Wolf will veto a bill that would have allowed a significant number of businesses across the state to reopen, which Republicans passed despite the state’s top health official warning the move would put “more lives at risk.”

(By Gillian McGoldrick of LNP | LancasterOnline and Cynthia Fernandez of Spotlight PA. Photo: Dan Gleiter / The Patriot-News.)
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GOP lawmakers do not have enough votes to override his veto.

“As the administration has stated many times, irresponsibly going against the direction of the secretary of health and reopening businesses too early will only extend the length of the economic hardships created by the pandemic,” Wolf spokesperson Lyndsay Kensinger said in an email.

The legislation, which garnered final approval from the Senate along party lines, would redefine essential businesses and provide a road map for employers to reopen as long as they take certain safety precautions as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Those changes would allow most construction projects to proceed, and companies that did not receive a waiver but fall under federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency guidelines, to reopen.

Democrats decried the legislation as premature and unsafe, since the state lacks adequate testing and personal protective equipment for front-line workers. The bill also runs counter to state and federal health experts who say a number of safety measures — including greatly increased testing and contact tracing — must be in place before a reopening.

There is not a robust system for either of those things in Pennsylvania.

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