Governor Amends Limits For Indoor, Outdoor Events

October 6, 2020

Three surgical masks.
Credit: Mika Baumeister

Gov. Tom Wolf announced Tuesday new guidelines on occupancy limits for both indoor and outdoor events.

The previous guidance from Wolf and his administration allowed for a maximum or 25 people for indoor events and 250 people for outdoor events. The new occupancy limits are scaled based on the venue’s maximum occupancy.

The guidance for indoor events:

Maximum Occupancy	Allowable Indoor Rate
0-2,000 people	20% of Maximum Occupancy
2,001 – 10,000 people	15% of Maximum Occupancy
Over 10,000 people	10% of Maximum Occupancy up to 3,750 people

The guidance for outdoor events:

Maximum Occupancy	Allowable Outdoor Rate
0-2,000 people	25% of Maximum Occupancy
2,001 – 10,000 people	20% of Maximum Occupancy
Over 10,000 people	15% of Maximum Occupancy up to 7,500 people

The new guidelines go into effect on Friday.

“An event or gathering is defined as a temporary grouping of individuals for defined purposes that takes place over a limited timeframe, such as hours or days, including fairs, festivals, concerts, or shows and groupings that occur within larger, more permanent businesses, such as shows or performances within amusement parks, individual showings of movies, business meetings or conferences, or each party or reception within a multi-room venue,” the governor’s office said.

The office added in their statement that that “groups of people who share a space within a building in the ordinary course of operations, such as in an office building, classroom, production floor or similar regularly occurring operation of a business or organization, are not events or gatherings.”

State officials said venues will have to comply with physical distancing requirements, face mask order, and put in place best practices such as timed entry, multiple entry and exit points, multiple restrooms and hygiene stations.

“Regardless of the size of an event or gathering, those things are still imperative to stopping the spread of COVID,” Wolf said in a statement. “We know everyone has sacrificed in many ways and today’s announcement reflects a gradual adjustment to our lives as we learn how we can do things safely until we have a cure, or an effective vaccine is widely available.”

Some of the governor’s restrictions due to COVID-19 were struck down last month by U.S. District Judge William Stickman as “unconstitutional.” However, a federal appeals court last Thursday placed a stay on Stickman’s order pending an appeal.