By Alex Kahan
Essential Worker: PAHO/WHO: a state, county, municipality worker like the local Executive Governance (I.E. Mayor or Governor), healthcare workers, emergency responders, sanitation, maintenance of Utilities, maintenance of infrastructure, distribution of essential goods, Banking, Payroll Department, Tax Collection.
Essential Goods: things like Food, Gasoline, equipment for maintenance of Essential Services.
Non-Essential Worker: an individual who does not work for an essential service
Utility: Power stations, Waste Treatment, Telecommunications, Fuel, Water Pumping, and Garbage Disposal
PA lift of stay at home order (County by County) date: 28 of the 67 counties in the Commonwealth are opening on the eighth of March most likely in the center and western parts of the state; however, the remaining counties opening dates remain unknown. The current state total is 68,126 with 4,770 deaths according to Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Map. Chester county’s date is unknown.
Phasing: Red: Lockdown, harshest restrictions due to greater than 50 infections per day. Yellow: Advisory, some restrictions due to infections occurring can change at any time. Green: Clear, very few if any restrictions due to few if any new cases a day.
Chester County stats: 1,955 confirmed with 197 Deaths According to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Map.
Currently, many states remain shut down with a Shelter in Place Order in place or with restrictions varying from county to county. In states and counties where restrictions remain tight, the only people allowed to go to work are essential workers and people can only go out to do things like shop for essential goods like food. In Chester County, a county that is in red, (More than 50 infections per day) the only jobs that employees can go to a work site are essential workers and open-air construction. Most stores like 7-11, Wegman’s, and CVS all require employees and shoppers to wear a mask or something else covering the mouth and nose. The county is expected to move to Yellow (Infections occurring but less than 50 per day) on June fourth however this may not occur with the current situation as of the 21st of May the county had 2,217 infections with 235 deaths. With the current plan being to move the county to Yellow on June fourth it might become necessary to move the county back into the Red due to an uptake in cases. It may also be the case that after June fourth that the county will leave actions up to the local Municipalities like West Chester, Phoenixville, Malvern, etc. In that case towns like Phoenixville, East Goshen, East Vicent, etc. will have to remain in a state of being locked down for even longer than the rest of the county.
Some Municipalities that would remain shut down are locations of things like Power Stations and Water Treatment Facilities this means that the locations will still have Employees working there, but at maximum, there will be a Skeleton crew working there, and at worst no one is working there but if no one is working there the systems will still be running thanks to the automation of things like the exchanging of fuel rods or the pumping of water.
Overall if the County remains in the Red after the Fourth of June or the Municipality remains locked down after the Fourth of June then, if government advice is followed, the County or Municipality will reopen slowly but surely. Only after an effort that has been long and hard by everyone for at least a year more will life get back to a semi-normal state.