Lancaster Today

Lancaster County has joined the growing list of counties resisting the coronavirus restrictions put in place by Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf.

In a letter to the governor dated Saturday and signed by numerous Lancaster County lawmakers and commissioners, they asked Wolf to formally move Lancaster County out of the red designation and into yellow under the plan to reopen the state.

They note the county is prepared to do so on Friday, adding, “We prefer to act with your cooperation, but we intend to move forward with a plan to restore Lancaster County".

The letter points out that as of May 9, Lancaster General Hospital had 43 coronavirus patients with six of them requiring ventilators, and Ephrata Hospital had two coronavirus patients. All hospital systems are reporting ample supplies of beds and ventilators and are resuming normal operations, according to the letter.

The letter states Lancaster County and many others have been patient and followed the governor’s orders and guidelines “despite a lack of clear benchmarks or consistent application of your own actions".

The letter goes on to say that due to a lack of answers and transparency, it is time for the county to transition to yellow, following a set of guidelines outlined in the letter.

Additionally, the Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office put out a notice Sunday that it will not prosecute citations for violations of the stay-at-home orders or closure orders for non-essential businesses.
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What are your thoughts? Are you in favor of Lancaster County shifting from the "red designation" to the "yellow designation" on May 15? Let us know in the comments.
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Due to COVID-19 and the closing of all non-life-sustaining businesses over the last couple of weeks, local business here in Lancaster need our support more than ever! Since the mandated closure of these types of businesses in Pennsylvania, more than half of the 139 local small businesses in Lancaster County that were surveyed, reported having seen a DECREASE in sales and income; 56% of these reported having to cease operations entirely. In fact, 81.3% reported that their cash reserves will be gone within three months; more than 50% of these reported this will occur within the very next month.

Out of a need to help these businesses survive during these difficult and stressful times, EnCourage Lancaster was created. In partnership with local resource providers, EnCourage Lancaster have started a Lancaster Small Business Emergency Fund. This crowdfunding campaign is asking locals and businesses to financially support the success of Lancaster's small business community. All money raised through the Encourage Lancaster crowdfunding campaign will be disbursed as cash grants through the Lancaster City Emergency Relief Fund.

To find out more about EnCourage Lancaster and to make a donation to the fund check out their website https://encouragelancaster.com/ and follow on Instagram to stay informed on all the latest happenings with the campaign!