PA Orders Coronavirus Safety Measures At Essential Businesses

HARRISBURG, PA — Governor Tom Wolf on Wednesday announced an order that establishes mandatory safety protections and protocols at businesses currently permitted to be open during the coronavirus crisis.

The order is the latest in a series of steps aimed to stop the spread of COVID-19 in Pennsylvania, where there have been 26,490 coronavirus cases and 647 deaths.

The measures, which include mandatory mask wearing by employees and temperature checks if COVID-19 exposure has occurred, will be enforced. Violations include citations, fines, or license suspensions. Compliance with the order will be enforced beginning Sunday, April 19 at 8 p.m., the governor’s office said.

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Businesses authorized to stay open, including grocery stores and pharmacies, must now mandate employees wear masks, and must provide those masks for their workers if necessary. Businesses should require all customers wear masks, the order says.

It is a “mandatory requirement” employees wear masks while at the work site, unless an employee is using break time to eat or drink, the order states. Employers may approve masks obtained or made by employees.

Workers must be provided ample break spaces to eat meals while maintaining a social distance of six feet, including limiting the number of employees in common areas.

All meetings and trainings should be done virtually. “If a meeting must be held in person, limit the meeting to the fewest number of employees possible, not to exceed 10 employees at one time and maintain a social distance of six feet,” the order said.

If a business discovers there has been an exposure to a person who has COVID-19, temperature screenings are required before employees can enter the business prior to the start of work. Any employee who has an elevated temperature of 100.4 degrees must be sent home and cannot return until the CDC criteria to discontinue home isolation are met, in consultation with the health care providers and state and local health departments.

When there has been exposure at a business, the area visited by the infected person must be closed off and ventilated. After a minimum of 24 hours, the area as well as all common rooms and shared electronics must be cleaned and disinfected.

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Businesses must identify and notify employees who were in close contact — defined in the order as within about six feet for about 10 minutes — with the infected person.

The order includes other measures, including ensuring that all employees who do not speak English as their first language are aware of procedures through communications in their native language. The full order can be viewed here.

“This order provides critical protections for the workers needed to run and operate these life-sustaining establishments,” Gov. Wolf said during a Wednesday news conference. “Businesses across the state have already begun to implement many of these protocols on their own, and we applaud their efforts to protect employees and customers.”

He reminded residents that while the state has seen a flattening of its curve, residents must continue to stay home.

“We’ll soon be moving into a reopening phase but for now, we need to continue staying home as much as possible. That’s what’s best for everyone, including ourselves,” he said.

In addition to the social distancing, mitigation and cleaning protocols, businesses that serve the public within a building or defined area are ordered to implement the following measures, the order states:

The latest order follows a series of closures that began a month ago. All Pennsylvania schools have been closed since at least March 17, and all of the state’s non-essential services were ordered closed March 23. A statewide stay-at-home order was instituted on April 1.

>>>Full coverage of coronavirus in Pennsylvania