This morning at the Centre County Commissioner's meeting, they unanimously requested that Governor Tom Wolf move Centre County into the green phase on Friday, May 29, 2020.
"The businesses, employees, and residents of Centre County have worked diligently for many weeks to curb the spread of COVID-19," noted Vern Squier, CBICC President & CEO. "Our business community has endured a high economic price and is looking forward to safely reopening and beginning the long road of recovery."
Under the green phase guidelines, all businesses are now allowed to reopen. This includes restaurants, gyms, salons, theaters, and others that have the highest personal contact time; they will be reopening at 50% capacity. Businesses that were already reopening under the yellow phase 50% capacity restrictions - such as retail - can now increase to 75% capacity. Social distancing, wearing masks around others, and frequent hand washing is still recommended. Large social gatherings are still restricted. While visits to hospitals and prisons may resume, nursing home visits are still restricted.
"The CBICC board, staff, members, and business community appreciate the gravity of this decision," noted Squier. "Together, we are ready to move forward with utmost vigilance to continue to slow the spread of COVID-19 in our community while simultaneously reopening Centre County's economy together."
Through additional research, contemplation of data, and input from state officials, Chairman Michael Pipe and Commissioners Mark Higgins and Steve Dershem worked together to chart a new path forward - recommending that Gov. Wolf move Centre County into the green phase of reopening on May 29.
"On behalf of the CBICC and our nearly 1,000 members that span the business, educational, non-profit, and governmental sectors, we would like to recognize and appreciate the actions of the Centre County Commissioners," said Squier. "Ultimately, their deliberations on the yellow-to-green timeline allowed for community input and mutual trust in reopening together. We appreciate the leadership demonstrated by Commissioners Pipe, Higgins, and Dershem."
