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WILKES-BARRE &mdash; Gov. Tom Wolf Friday announced the reopening of 24 counties in the northwest and north-central regions of the state, moving them from red to yellow beginning at 12:01 a.m., Friday, May 8.
				&ldquo;Over the past two months, Pennsylvanians in every corner of our commonwealth have acted collectively to stop the spread of COVID-19,&rdquo; Gov. Wolf said. &ldquo;We have seen our new case numbers stabilize statewide and while we still have areas where outbreaks are occurring, we also have many areas that have few or no new cases.&rdquo;
				Counties moving to &lsquo;yellow&rsquo; reopening
				The 24 counties that will move from red to yellow on May 8 are: Bradford, Cameron, Centre, Clarion, Clearfield, Clinton, Crawford, Elk, Erie, Forest, Jefferson, Lawrence, Lycoming, McKean, Mercer, Montour, Northumberland, Potter, Snyder, Sullivan, Tioga, Union, Venango, and Warren.
				These counties were deemed ready to move to a reopening &mdash; or yellow phase &mdash; because of low per-capita case counts, the ability to conduct contact tracing and testing, and appropriate population density to contain community spread.
				At his media briefing Friday, Gov. Wolf said decision on reopening counties hinges on balancing economic benefits and public health risks.
				&ldquo;Over the past two months, Pennsylvanians in every corner of our commonwealth have acted collectively to stop the spread of COVID-19,&rdquo; Gov. Wolf said. &ldquo;We have seen our new case numbers stabilize statewide and while we still have areas where outbreaks are occurring, we also have many areas that have few or no new cases.&rdquo;
				Decision process
				The Wolf Administration partnered with Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) to create a Risk-Based Decision Support Tool that enables decision-makers to strike a balance between maximizing the results of the economy, while minimizing public health risks.
				The CMU tool looked at the impacts of risk factors, such as reported number of COVID cases per population of an area; ICU and medical/surgical bed capacity; population density; population over age 60; re-opening contact risk, such as the number of workers employed in a currently closed industry sector.
				The CMU metrics were considered along with the county&rsquo;s or region&rsquo;s ability &ldquo;to conduct testing and contact-tracing to first and foremost maintain robust public health.&rdquo;
				The factors include: having enough testing available for individuals with symptoms and target populations such as those at high risk, health care personnel, and first responders, and the ability to perform robust case investigation and have in place a contact-tracing infrastructure that can quickly identify a cluster of outbreaks to issue any necessary isolation and quarantine orders.
				All reopening decisions follow the six standards outlined in the governor&rsquo;s plan to reopen Pennsylvania. These include adhering to:
				&#8226; Data-driven and quantifiable criteria to drive a targeted, evidence-based, regional approach to reopening.
				&#8226; Clear guidance and recommendations for employers, individuals, and health care facilities and providers for assured accountability.
				&#8226; Adequate and available personal protective equipment and diagnostic testing.
				&#8226; A monitoring and surveillance program that allows the commonwealth to deploy swift actions for containment or mitigation.
				&#8226; Protections for vulnerable populations such as limitations on visitors to congregate care facilities and prisons.
				&#8226; Limitations on large gatherings unrelated to occupations.
				&ldquo;Our goal since this pandemic was first identified in Pennsylvania has been to save lives while ensuring that the public health system does not become overwhelmed with people suffering from COVID-19,&rdquo; Department of Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine said. &ldquo;Our contact tracing and testing plans will ensure that as we begin to resume our daily activities, we can do so safely and without fear.&rdquo;
				While both Gov. Wolf and Dr. Levine cautioned that they cannot be certain of the path of the virus, all decisions on partial reopening are driven first by prioritizing the health and safety of Pennsylvanians.
				Defining the &lsquo;yellow&rsquo; phase
				As regions or counties move into the yellow phase, some restrictions on work and social interaction will ease while others, such as closures of schools, gyms, and other indoor recreation centers, hair and nail salons, as well as limitations around large gatherings, remain in place.
				On Monday, May 4, the administration will release guidance for businesses permitted to reopen on May 8 in the 24 counties.
				Moving forward
				Gov. Wolf stressed the need for all Pennsylvanians to now, more than ever, take personal responsibility for their actions.
				&ldquo;Every human-to-human contact is a chance for the virus to spread, so more contacts mean a higher likelihood of an outbreak,&rdquo; Wolf said. &ldquo;If we see an outbreak occur in one of the communities that has been moved to yellow, we will need to take swift action, and revert to the red category until the new case count falls again. So, Pennsylvanians living in a county that has been moved to the yellow category should continue to strongly consider the impact of their actions.&rdquo;
				Counties that will remain under the stay-at-home order will be considered for reopening in the next several weeks as the state continues to closely monitor metrics and collaborate with CMU, health experts and counties.
				Nate Wardle, press secretary at the Pennsylvania Department of Health, said the state is taking a careful, measured approach to ensuring that Pennsylvanians can resume work and normal routines safely.
				He said the regions are moving from red to yellow now because of their size and geography of the population; the low rates of infection and our ability to do testing and contact tracing.
				&ldquo;Successfully moving these regions from red to yellow will give us a good indication as to whether or not we can open other regions safely,&rdquo; Wardle said. &ldquo;If there were to be an outbreak in a county in these regions, we are confident that we could control it through our contact tracing and testing plans.&rdquo;

Wolf announces 24 counties will reopen on May 8