(Lititz, PA-LititzDailyNews.com)- Gov. Tom Wolf announced this evening that he is delaying enforcement of his order that non-life-sustaining businesses must close, an order which required businesses deemed “non-essential” to close physical locations on March 19 at 8 pm. Enforcement of the governor’s order was scheduled to begin tomorrow, Saturday, March 21, 2020.
GOVERNOR ANNOUNCES WAIVER PROCESS FOR NON-ESSENTIAL BUSINESSES
Today during a virtual press conference, the governor announced a waiver process that would enable businesses which fell under the order to request exceptions through the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED). Shortly after the announcement, the site received so much traffic that some, like Sarah Shanely, whose family owns a boat business in Akron, were unable to access the form.
WARWICK: “SHOW WILL GO ON,” DESPITE GOVERNOR’S WISHES
The demand for waivers was so great that it drove the decision to delay enforcement.
“Due to the high volume of waiver requests, we are delaying enforcement of our order that non-lifei-sustaining businesses in Pensylvania must close their physical locations to slow the spread of COVID-19, “Gov. Wolf posted to his Twitter account around 9:15 p.m.
The governor stressed that he has not revoked the order, merely postponed its enforcement.
“This order stands, only the enforcement timing will change and become effective on Monday, March 23, at 8 a.m.,” the governor posted in a second tweet. [STORY CONTINUES BELOW TWEET]
Due to the high volume of waiver requests, we are delaying enforcement of our order that non-life-sustaining businesses in Pennsylvania must close their physical locations to slow the spread of COVID-19. https://t.co/XskATGNowx
— Governor Tom Wolf (@GovernorTomWolf) March 21, 2020
For Shanely, the brief delay may provide relief.
“We are just wondering if we can still do office work and service work as long as we have no customers come in,” she said. “Everything has been kind of confusing.”
GOV WOLF CLOSES ALL NON-ESSENTIAL STORES, BARS, RESTAURANTS
Confusion arose this week regarding which businesses would be able to remain open. The classification “non-essential” business seemed unclear to many. The administration has since used the term “non-life-sustaining,” which appeared in the governor’s March 19 order.
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Lynn Rebuck is the editor and publisher of award-winning LititzDailyNews.com, the only independent digital news source in Lititz. Lynn is an award-winning journalist who was invited to the White House and has received top recognition from the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, Pennsylvania Women’s Press Association, National Society of Newspaper Columnists, and has been profiled in Editor & Publisher magazine for her unparalleled dedication to publishing LititzDailyNews.com to benefit the community.
