Explaining Pa.’s red, yellow, and green phases | Morning Newsletter
Plus, Gov. Wolf warns counties about violating shutdown.
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The Morning Newsletter
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Officials across Pennsylvania reported steady but not sharp decreases in the number of new coronavirus cases and deaths. And a growing number of county leaders, state Republican legislatorss, and business owners are putting more pressure on the state to lift its stay-at-home order. Even President Donald Trump chimed in on Twitter ahead of a rumored visit to Pennsylvania this week. Gov. Tom Wolf, though, issued a warning to those areas that violate his shutdown orders.
— Josh Rosenblat (@joshrosenblat, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
Pennsylvania is still following Wolf’s color-coded “phases” that partially lift shutdown restrictions in parts of the state that qualify. That decision will be based on the number of new cases and other factors.
The green phase means that all businesses will be allowed to open. No counties are there yet. Some are in the yellow phase, meaning the stay-at-home order is lifted, but gatherings of 25 people or more are not allowed. The red phase — the current state for Philly and nearby suburbs — means that only “life-sustaining” businesses are allowed in-person operations.
Wolf on Monday threatened to pull funding from counties or municipalities that go against his shutdown order, saying that the politicians who push to reopen before the state lifts restrictions are “jeopardizing the lives” of their citizens.
But can he actually withhold coronavirus recovery funds? Experts say that he can, but also that you can expect pushback.
What you need to know today
There are rumors that Trump will visit Pennsylvania this week and tweeted yesterday morning that Pennsylvanians “want their freedom now.”
Wolf issued exemptions to his nonessential employers list. The state released the list last Friday, and it might raise more questions than answers.
Pennsylvania’s top education official said that he expects students to return to in-person learning in the fall.
The closing of schools, playgrounds, sports fields, and summer camps because of the coronavirus could make childhood obesity worse than it already is.
The New York Fed is investigating why Pennsylvania and New Jersey are receiving fewer of the Paycheck Protection Program’s loans.
Civil rights groups are in a legal fight with a conservative activist group over purging voter rolls in the Philadelphia suburbs.
Through your eyes | #OurPhilly
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That’s interesting
🏟️Dr. Anthony Fauci said he could see fans in NFL stadiums this fall — under the right conditions.
💇♂Who’s cutting Mayor Kenney’s hair? A reader asked, and we just had to “mullet" over. My colleague Stephanie Farr has more where that came from.
☀️For the first time, Fairbanks (yes, that Fairbanks) has hit 80 degrees before Philly. But we might be getting close.
👋Are coronavirus “wave parades” for schools, birthdays, and other celebrations violating New Jersey’s stay-at-home order?
🥃Online booze sales spiked in Pennsylvania, rising from under $600,000 in sales to over $10 million in April.
⚾Could we have Major League Baseball back as soon as the Fourth of July?
Opinions
“The work of caring for one another, of feeding, cleaning, clothing, and sustaining daily life, never stops — not even in a global health crisis. If anything, as we’re seeing now, it increases.” — writes Pilar Gonalons-Pons, an assistant sociology professor at Penn, about the coronavirus’ impact on domestic work for women.
The Inquirer Editorial Board writes about another Supreme Court case involving contraception.
Marjorie O. Rendell, a senior judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, writes for The Inquirer a guide to watching the Supreme Court livestreams.
What we’re reading
People are building virtual versions of beloved Philly dive bars on Minecraft and Sims. Billy Penn has the story and the screengrabs.
The coronavirus pandemic has led some people to resort to a sort of food bartering economy, trading things like flour and dried beans with friends and neighbors, Eater reports.
Why are live concerts so meaningful to people? And, when they come back, what will they be like? Let the Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl explain for the Atlantic.
Your Daily Dose of | Today’s flyover
The New Jersey Air National Guard will do a flyover starting this morning. Here’s info on the start time, flight path, and how to watch. They’re going to make it a point to fly over hospitals, including Jefferson Cherry Hill Hospital, as well as sites doing coronavirus testing, state veteran homes, and temporary field hospitals.