Today, March 23, Gov. Tom Wolf and Secretary of Health Rachel Levine announced a Stay at Home order for the following counties that have seen the most confirmed cases of COVID-19: Allegheny, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Monroe, and Montgomery Counties.
Philadelphia declared its own stay-at-home order on Sunday. Residents in these counties are asked to stay at home except to perform life-sustaining functions, such as shopping for groceries and medicines. The orders take effect at 8 pm tonight. The Commonwealth has prepared guidance for allowable activities under this new order. Click here for the new guidance.
In addition, Wolf noted that the previous order closing non-life-sustaining businesses is being extended for another two weeks. The closure of schools in Pennsylvania is also extended until April 6.
Consistent with previous advice from the Commonwealth, municipalities in all counties continue to retain the authority to make decisions as to which of their operations are essential/non-essential. Municipal decisions should “appropriately balance public safety while ensuring the continued delivery of critical infrastructure services and functions.” Click here for the Commonwealth’s guidance and review the answers to questions 11 and 12.
With that said, townships in counties affected by the stay-at-home order should perform only critical, life-sustaining functions, such as emergency road maintenance and other critical infrastructure. Wolf noted in this address that roads will remain open so that our supply chains can continue to operate. Wolf noted that shopping for food and medicine was a life-sustaining function.
As a reminder, utility crews are allowed to perform work on critical infrastructure under the orders.
The Office of Open Records updated its advisory today on the Right-to-Know Law during the COVID-19 emergency. The Office is asking requesters not to file new requests at this time unless it is of an urgent nature and warning that inspecting records may not be possible during the emergency. Agencies are reminded that transparency builds trust, especially in times of crisis.
The Office is advising that if your township implements a Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) or takes similar steps to declare an official emergency, that how RTKL requests will continue to be handled should be part of that plan, along with how this will be communicated to the public.
PSATS will post the current guidance to psats.org as soon as it is available, in the COVID-19 Information page. Please check back frequently.
As the governor and secretary continue to say, stay calm, stay home, and stay safe.
David M. Sanko
Executive Director
Pa State Association of Township Supervisors
4855 Woodland Drive
Enola, PA 17025
717.763.0930 ext 187
717.756.5751 cell