HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP/KDKA) — Gov. Tom Wolf has extended a shutdown order to the entire state of Pennsylvania in an effort to halt the spread of the
Coronavirus.
Gov. Wolf has
already called for nonessential government offices to close and nonessential business activity to end in four heavily-populated southeastern Pennsylvania counties. His office said Monday he will extend that order to the rest of the state.
“I would like people to stay home 24 hours a day,” Gov. Wolf said. “We need to eliminate as many physical contacts as we can to further prevent this strain of COVID-19, and we each need to work together to do this.”
In Philadelphia, Mayor Jim Kenney ordered a halt to all nonessential business activity and city government operations for two weeks in the city of 1.6 million people.
“This isn’t a decision that I take lightly at all,” Gov. Wolf said during a news conference Monday afternoon of the statewide shutdown. “It’s one that I’m making because medical experts believe it’s the only way to prevent our hospitals from being overwhelmed by patients.”
The state Health Department say 670 have tested negative for the virus.
“If you’re feeling ill and you know someone who has been exposed to COVID-19 or believe you have a medical emergency, call 911 and let the operator know you’ve possibly been exposed to Novel Coronavirus,” state Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said.
Dr. Levine says she also fully expects to see “sustained community spread” throughout the state.