125268557_web1_TTL080916ttl080916fair3-cmyk

Wilkes to hold virtual ‘Discover Pharmacy’ camp for high school students

125268541_web1_TTL052219voters1

Luzerne County elections officials turn focus to November

Gov. Tom Wolf on Wednesday <a href="https://www.governor.pa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/20200701-SOH-Universal-Face-Coverings-Order.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">announced a new order</a> making it mandatory for people to wear masks whenever they leave the home if they are unable to keep a distance of six feet from other people.
				&ldquo;This mask-wearing order is essential to stopping the recent increase in COVID-19 cases we have seen in Pennsylvania,&rdquo; Gov. Wolf said. &ldquo;Those hot spots can be traced to situations where Pennsylvanians were not wearing masks or practicing social distancing &#8211; two practices that must be adhered to if we want to maintain the freedoms we have in place under our reopening.&rdquo;
				The order expands on the business safety order announced by Wolf and signed by Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Rachel Levine in April, which required masks to be worn inside businesses.
				This new mandate reinforces the earlier order, while also making it a requirement to wear a mask on or while waiting for public transportation, and while working in a public setting.
				This new order comes with limited exceptions to the mandate, including for anyone with a medical condition and anyone under two years of age. The order will be sent to state and local officials and law enforcement, and takes effect immediately.
				&ldquo;It is essential that Pennsylvanians wear masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19,&rdquo; Levine said. &ldquo;My mask protects you, and your mask protects me.&rdquo;
				Every county in Pennsylvania has now entered the green phase of the COVID-19 recovery plan, and with the gradual reopening of the state, COVID cases have increased slightly.
				&ldquo;While cases increase in some areas, we cannot become complacent,&rdquo; Levine said.
				WB reactions
				Around Wilkes-Barre, Wolf&rsquo;s new mandate was met with mixed reviews.
				&ldquo;We have the masks but we have to use a little bit of wisdom here, too,&rdquo; said one man on Public Square who didn&rsquo;t give his name.
				Two gentlemen at the Anthracite Newsstand on Public Square, who identified themselves only as &ldquo;Al&rdquo; and &ldquo;Rog,&rdquo; were pleased to hear that the state government was expanding on their mask-wearing mandate.
				&ldquo;I wear my mask everyday, we all do here, and no one has a problem&rdquo; Rog said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t understand why some people just refuse to wear them.&rdquo;
				&ldquo;This protects me, and it protects everybody,&rdquo; Al said, motioning to the mask on his own face. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got to take care of each other, we&rsquo;re all the same and we&rsquo;re all people of this earth.&rdquo;
				Local emphasis?
				As the Associated Press reported:
				The administration has had a standing order since April that businesses must require employees and customers to wear masks.
				But Wednesday&rsquo;s order is similar to a days-old order in Philadelphia, extending it to crowded public places where it is consistently impossible to remain six feet away from other people, as well as on public transportation and any indoor location where the public is generally permitted.
				&ldquo;The sooner we can all get to the point where all 13 million Pennsylvanians recognize &#8230; that when we say, &lsquo;we wear masks,&rsquo; that&rsquo;s one way we&rsquo;re going to reduce the risk of infecting other people,&rdquo; Wolf said at a news conference Wednesday just before his administration announced it was expanding the mask order.
				Statewide, Pennsylvania has seen an uptick in the percentage of new positive cases since mid-June, as Wolf lifted many of the restrictions he had imposed statewide to contain a pandemic that, according to his administration, has infected at least 87,000 Pennsylvanians and killed about 6,700.
				Separately, Wolf said that he does not envision another broad shutdown order to contain the coronavirus in Pennsylvania and, rather, hopes to leave those more &ldquo;surgically precise ways of dealing with problems&rdquo; to local governments.
				As examples, he cited moves by Allegheny County to halt to drinking alcohol in bars and restaurants or by Philadelphia to halt plans to allow indoor dining, bars, gyms and fitness centers to reopen.
				&ldquo;I want the local folks to feel confident that they have the ability to take control of the things that they have to control in their area,&rdquo; Wolf said.

Mask mandate: Pa. order comes amid uptick in cases