Pressure On Governor To Reopen Bucks County Mounts

The effort by elected officials in Bucks County to secure a date when Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration will allow the area to move from the “red” phase to the “yellow” phase stepped up this week, according to numerous officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Business owners, municipal officials, residents, and state lawmakers will be watching with bated breath as Gov. Tom Wolf is expected to announce the next batch of counties moving to yellow on Friday afternoon.

As pressure from the public and business owners mount, lawmakers and local officials said they’re feeling residents’ frustration as the county’s COVID-19 case count drops and other portions of the state and country ease pandemic restrictions on businesses.

As of 12:01 a.m. Friday, a total of 49 Pennsylvania counties will be in the yellow phase.

This week, Democratic and Republican state lawmakers called for curbside retail in the county. Republicans took things a step further Wednesday bills introduced by State Rep. Frank Farry, of Langhorne Borough, and State Sen. Tommy Tomlinson, of Bensalem, proposed the state allow reopening decisions to fall in the laps of county commissioners.

“We drafted this legislation after hearing the countless stories of business owners who are on the verge of losing everything and stories from unemployed workers who haven’t received a dime from unemployment,” Tomlinson said in a statement. “We have been shut down for months and there is no end in sight. Every reasonable request has been denied and every piece of legislation that would reopen businesses, even those with bipartisan support, have been vetoed. I have full faith that business owners across Pennsylvania can operate their business in a safe manner following CDC guidelines and proper social distancing protocols.”

Several sources with knowledge of discussions at the state level said rumors swirled in Harrisburg this week that Bucks County may not move to yellow until mid to late June, but additional word began to circulate Thursday afternoon that Wolf’s administration was considering moving Bucks County to yellow sooner rather than later as pressure mounts.

The governor’s office did not respond to LevittownNow.com‘s request for comment as of Thursday night.

Bucks County Commissioners Chairperson Diane Ellis-Marseglia said during a Thursday afternoon virtual press conference that she is “praying for yellow tomorrow,” but said there was no concrete date given to them by state officials.

Commissioner Bob Harvie said he is “hopeful” the county will be moving to the yellow phase “sometime soon,” while Commissioner Gene DiGirolamo agreed with Harvie and commended the efforts of the residents of Bucks County for their cooperation. DiGirolamo added that he believes the area is ready for the yellow phase.

“Based on our extensive data collection, I believe that Bucks County is ready to move to the yellow phase,” said Bucks County Health Director Dr. David Damsker said in a Wednesday statement. “We hope that Gov. Wolf and Health Secretary Levine also see it the same way very soon.”

The commissioners have said they do not plan to defy Wolf’s stay-at-home order, but sources have said frustration among local officials is growing and is becoming clear as they talk to one another and hear from constituents via email, phone, and social media.

Earlier this month, Wolf said during a press conference that he had “no plans for an arbitrary date,” noting the state will use data and science to determine when a county was ready to reopen.

“I cannot allow residents in a red county to get sick because their local officials can’t see the invisible risk of the virus in their community,” Wolf said at the time. “So, I must, and I will impose consequences if a county locally lifts restrictions when it has not yet been given the go-ahead by the state.”

On a call earlier this week, Bucks County officials made the case to Wolf’s staff that the county is prepared to move to yellow, according to multiple sources.

Harvie said on Thursday that “there needs to be a different look at the metrics” by officials in Harrisburg.

Top Bucks County officials regularly speak with neighboring counties about COVID-19 mitigation efforts and reopening. Recently, the county has begun to have more frequent calls with state officials after not hearing from them as often.

Both Democratic and Republican elected officials said they’ve urged the governor’s office to review Bucks County’s goal to reopen, pointing to decreasing COVID-19 cases and aggressive contact tracing measures.

On social media, businesses owners have posted about potentially reopening in defiance of the governor’s stay-at-home order and some quietly have already.

One area state representative told LevittownNow.com they expect more nonessential businesses to reopen if the governor’s order stretches into next month.

No matter when the state’s business restrictions begin to ease in the county, it is clear that safety measures like wearing face coverings and other virus mitigation efforts will remain in place to keep COVID-19 cases from spiking again.

“We got to not let people get [COVID-19] so we close again,” Ellis-Marseglia said.

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