Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf (D-PA) issued a lockdown for the Commonwealth, ordering all "non-life sustaining" businesses to shut down.
I've ordered all non-life-sustaining businesses to close by 8 p.m.
— Governor Tom Wolf (@GovernorTomWolf) March 19, 2020
Enforcement actions against businesses that don’t close will begin Saturday.
My order: https://t.co/0BpCMCFfYm
List of non-life-sustaining vs. life-sustaining businesses: https://t.co/bZ5xXpPVLD pic.twitter.com/6w4kiMvCVr
Republicans in the Pennsylvania Senate criticized Gov. Wolf’s order, pointing to the arbitrary list of “life-sustaining” businesses compiled by the governor.
“We understand the dire health crisis COVID-19 presents in the Commonwealth. We understand that we are in uncharted territory as we try to prevent the spread of this deadly disease. At the same time, we know that every business is life-sustaining to someone – whether employers or employees. The economic devastation that is being caused will last long into the future, especially for small-business owners. Because of the manner in which the Governor released this information, we have more questions about his unilateral decision than there are answers,” the caucus said in a release.
Rep. Fred Keller (R,PA-12) joined, penning a letter demanding that Gov. Wolf’s order be rescinded, and restructured to prioritize the needs of Pennsylvania workers:
I am calling on @GovernorTomWolf to immediately rescind his order closing Pennsylvania businesses. The order came with no notice, limited details, and insufficient explanation. It has only injected chaos and uncertainty into an already trying time.https://t.co/yca2ci1Ygt
— Congressman Fred Keller (@RepFredKeller) March 20, 2020
Governor Wolf’s order will begin to be enforced on Saturday.