COVID Restrictions Will Be Lifted in PA, NJ and DE
Pennsylvania – Mitigation Orders, Except Masking, Will Be Lifted on Memorial Day
On May 4, 2021, the Wolf administration announced that mitigation orders for Pennsylvania will be lifted on Memorial Day, Monday, May 31, 2021, but masks will still be required. The current order requiring Pennsylvanians to wear masks will be lifted when 70% of Pennsylvanians age 18 and older are fully vaccinated. Until then, face coverings are required to be worn indoors and outdoors if you are away from your home. Testing and reporting new cases will remain in place for hospitals and long-term care facilities. This will allow Pennsylvanians to continue to closely monitor COVID-19 spread while lifting other restrictions. Importantly these updates will not prevent municipalities and school districts from continuing and implementing stricter mitigation efforts.
New Jersey – COVID Capacity Restrictions for Restaurants, Stores and More to End
On May 19, 2021, capacity restrictions for New Jersey restaurants, stores and other sites will be lifted. All limits on outdoor gatherings will also be lifted on May 19. Restaurants had been at 50% indoor capacity, but will soon be allowed to operate at full capacity. However, people will still be required to stay six feet apart unless there is a partition between tables. Additionally, there will still be capacity limits at major sporting events, meaning MetLife Stadium and CitiField will be expanded to 33%. Governor Murphy’s decision comes after hospitalizations dropped 40% to 1,424 from a recent high of 2,378 and the rate of transmission fell to 0.62. Governor Murphy’s goal is to get 4.7 million people — 70 % of the adult population — vaccinated by June 30 to further mitigate COVID transmission capacities.
Delaware – COVID Capacity Restrictions to End for Businesses
On May 21, 2021, capacity restrictions in Delaware restaurants, stores, places of worship and other businesses will be lifted. This will allow businesses to host as many people as they can fit under the state’s social distancing requirement. Delaware is also moving its social distancing requirement from six feet to three feet. Governor John Carney’s reasons for lifting restrictions are Delaware’s dropping case rates and hospitalization totals and the state’s increasing vaccination numbers. To date, 43% of Delawareans have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 32% are fully vaccinated, according to the state’s vaccine tracker. Masks will still be required indoors out of concern of unknown variables, including how long immunity lasts in people who previously contracted COVID-19, how persistent the vaccines are, and the effect of the COVID-19 variants.
For more information, please contact Lisa Scidurlo at lmsc@stevenslee.com, Joseph Hofmann at jph@stevenslee.com, Theresa Zechman at tmz@stevenslee.com, Daniel Sobol at djso@stevenslee.com or reach out to the Stevens & Lee attorney with whom you regularly work.
Pennsylvania – Mitigation Orders, Except Masking, Will Be Lifted on Memorial Day
On May 4, 2021, the Wolf administration announced that mitigation orders for Pennsylvania will be lifted on Memorial Day, Monday, May 31, 2021, but masks will still be required. The current order requiring Pennsylvanians to wear masks will be lifted when 70% of Pennsylvanians age 18 and older are fully vaccinated. Until then, face coverings are required to be worn indoors and outdoors if you are away from your home. Testing and reporting new cases will remain in place for hospitals and long-term care facilities. This will allow Pennsylvanians to continue to closely monitor COVID-19 spread while lifting other restrictions. Importantly these updates will not prevent municipalities and school districts from continuing and implementing stricter mitigation efforts.
New Jersey – COVID Capacity Restrictions for Restaurants, Stores and More to End
On May 19, 2021, capacity restrictions for New Jersey restaurants, stores and other sites will be lifted. All limits on outdoor gatherings will also be lifted on May 19. Restaurants had been at 50% indoor capacity, but will soon be allowed to operate at full capacity. However, people will still be required to stay six feet apart unless there is a partition between tables. Additionally, there will still be capacity limits at major sporting events, meaning MetLife Stadium and CitiField will be expanded to 33%. Governor Murphy’s decision comes after hospitalizations dropped 40% to 1,424 from a recent high of 2,378 and the rate of transmission fell to 0.62. Governor Murphy’s goal is to get 4.7 million people — 70 % of the adult population — vaccinated by June 30 to further mitigate COVID transmission capacities.
Delaware – COVID Capacity Restrictions to End for Businesses
On May 21, 2021, capacity restrictions in Delaware restaurants, stores, places of worship and other businesses will be lifted. This will allow businesses to host as many people as they can fit under the state’s social distancing requirement. Delaware is also moving its social distancing requirement from six feet to three feet. Governor John Carney’s reasons for lifting restrictions are Delaware’s dropping case rates and hospitalization totals and the state’s increasing vaccination numbers. To date, 43% of Delawareans have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 32% are fully vaccinated, according to the state’s vaccine tracker. Masks will still be required indoors out of concern of unknown variables, including how long immunity lasts in people who previously contracted COVID-19, how persistent the vaccines are, and the effect of the COVID-19 variants.
For more information, please contact Lisa Scidurlo at lmsc@stevenslee.com, Joseph Hofmann at jph@stevenslee.com, Theresa Zechman at tmz@stevenslee.com, Daniel Sobol at djso@stevenslee.com or reach out to the Stevens & Lee attorney with whom you regularly work.