Re-Opening PA (Pittsburgh, Erie, Wilkes-Barre: appointed, unemployment, living in)

[Marie Joseph]

My county (Erie) is in one of the first group to move into the 'yellow' phase of re-opening Pennsylvania which will allow for all businesses to reopen with some restrictions and gatherings of up to 25 with social distancing & masking still in place.

I am curious as to if anyone else is in a county that is re-opening on the 8th and what your thoughts are on it? Specifically if you think it is too soon or if it should have been sooner?

Also, have you noticed people being a bit more careless about social distancing and precautions since they have been wearing masks?

The people in my area for the most part are pretty good about social distancing. I've only had to to tell a couple of them to get back (politely).

For those of you in areas that are not moving into the yellow phase, feel free to chime in as well.

[PAhippo]

I'm also in a yellow county (Tioga).



I know some businesses will reopen with restrictions but haven't seen what specifically those restrictions are.




My concern is an influx of people ignoring the danger. It's still there.



Time will tell.

[maf763]

I think the state plan has tried to conservatively calculate the risks, but ultimately, it will be left to citizens to see how well it all works. The people who think this is going to mean everything is back to normal and the economy will rebound are going to be disappointed though. Consumer spending is going to continue to be down because many will remain cautious about their public exposure, especially as they see other people being more careless as the nicer weather moves in.

In other states, the 'reopening' is a reason to deny unemployment - I'm not sure how that will work in PA. For example, if a business like a restaurant decides they can't operate at half-capacity, does that impact the benefits for employees if they remain closed? That might be what causes some businesses to close altogether rather than try to wait until a more favorable situation.

[SteelCityRising]

I'm in a red county (Allegheny) that will be staying red.

With that being said we had vacation plans in mid-June to visit a county that will be heading into yellow territory (McKean).

We're wondering if we could and should still visit? Dr. Levine DID say that inter-county travel is permissible when she was asked a question if someone who lived in a red county but worked in a yellow county could still cross the county line to go to work. I'm under the assumption that if you live in a red county then only ESSENTIAL travel is permissible, but if you're going from a red county to a county that is yellow or green, then does that still apply?

More specifically we like heading up to Kane, Mt. Jewett, Bradford, and Warren. We do a lot of hiking and enjoy the local shops and restaurants. We'd be pumping hundreds of dollars into the local economy up there, but we're wondering if we'd face hostility a month from now for coming from a "red" county to a "yellow" (or maybe even "green" by that point) county?

[PAhippo]

hiking trails have remained open as far as I know.




If you'd be going for restaurants and local shops, might want to check 1st to see if they're even open.





I don't know about the hostility of course but if/when you do go, take your masks and keep your distance. Even if locals go bare faced and get close, they're living in a yellow county. Being from a red county, caution would be respectful.

[jtab4994]

Monroe County is red and will stay red for the foreseeable future.

On the bright side our local Thai restaurant re-opened last Tuesday (takeout only). So there's some hope.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by PAhippo

hiking trails have remained open as far as I know.

Yes. Thank you. We mostly like Rimrock (near Warren) and Kinzua Bridge State Park (in Mt. Jewett). We'd love to hike both again when we come back up!

Originally Posted by PAhippo

If you'd be going for restaurants and local shops, might want to check 1st to see if they're even open.

Thanks. We follow Table 105 in Kane, which is our favorite restaurant in that general area, on Facebook, and not only are they open for take-out and delivery but they also just completed a huge new outdoor patio area with socially-distanced seating. Last time we visited the area we stayed at an AirBNB in Kane, walked over to the restaurant, and dined in. We could possibly stay at the same AirBNB, walk over to the restaurant, and grab the food to bring back to the AirBNB OR enjoy the patio if it's not too crowded.

Originally Posted by PAhippo

I don't know about the hostility of course but if/when you do go, take your masks and keep your distance. Even if locals go bare faced and get close, they're living in a yellow county. Being from a red county, caution would be respectful.

Yes. Certainly. I grew up in Luzerne County (Pittston/Wilkes-Barre Area). There has been a TON of animosity on Facebook from people living in that county mad at "outsiders" for invading and infecting them. As far as I know me and my fiance are both COVID-19-negative; however, we could just be asymptomatic and not even know it and then spread it to the fine people of the Northern Tier.

This is why I'm so nervous. As a Northern PA resident would you want we "outsiders" coming in, wearing masks, and spreading money around to your area to stimulate the economy, or would you want we outsiders to stay the hell out in case we have COVID-19?

I mean we don't have the Pittsburgh accent, but people in a small town like Mt. Jewett or Kane would easily be able to pick out a gay couple with a bright blue hatchback as "not being from 'round these parts."

[trackstar13]

I went to Presque Isle yesterday and I was literally shocked at how busy it was and how many people obviously from Pittsburgh were at the park. Several parking lots were full and in some spots there was no parking. It is good for people to enjoy the outdoors and stay healthy mentally and physically during this tough time. However, it seems that people are starved for socialization and recreation and as the weather gets nicer I could see several outbreaks happening. Also, I was even more surprised by how only a small percentage of people had masks and there were many large groups of people traveling together. Driving by Frontier Park earlier I saw a huge group of about 20-30 playing football. While at Presque Isle, I noticed multiple large groups of people fishing, cycling, rollerblading, and walking together.

[PAhippo]

but you'd also have the advantage of being 'regulars'. That counts for something.


Never been to any of the places you've mentioned (they're in my someday category). Best advice I guess is to go and if you get bad vibes, leave.

[trackstar13]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

I'm in a red county (Allegheny) that will be staying red.

With that being said we had vacation plans in mid-June to visit a county that will be heading into yellow territory (McKean).

We're wondering if we could and should still visit? Dr. Levine DID say that inter-county travel is permissible when she was asked a question if someone who lived in a red county but worked in a yellow county could still cross the county line to go to work. I'm under the assumption that if you live in a red county then only ESSENTIAL travel is permissible, but if you're going from a red county to a county that is yellow or green, then does that still apply?

More specifically we like heading up to Kane, Mt. Jewett, Bradford, and Warren. We do a lot of hiking and enjoy the local shops and restaurants. We'd be pumping hundreds of dollars into the local economy up there, but we're wondering if we'd face hostility a month from now for coming from a "red" county to a "yellow" (or maybe even "green" by that point) county?

This is an interesting thought and I hadn't really thought about the hostility toward those traveling from red to yellow or green counties. With that being said, I could definitely see it happening on a certain level as I think people are already starting to return to a business as usual mentality in some of the yellow counties even though we aren't technically open until Friday. I think the big fear would be that the "outsiders" will cause new infections and get us shut down again. I haven't really traveled recently so I am not sure what is happening in Warren and the other areas you mentioned, but I know there is definitely frustration in Erie. I don't think the frustration is necessarily directed toward "outsiders," but a good number of people want things open again and I think they could view people visiting the area as a threat to getting it shut down again.