Philly Region Moves To Yellow Phase Friday: Here's What Changes

EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA — After being under a stay-at-home order since late March, Philadelphia and its surrounding counties will emerge from the red to the yellow phase of coronavirus mitigation measures on Friday.

Gov. Tom Wolf on Thursday afternoon confirmed that the following counties will move to yellow on Friday: Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lehigh, Northampton, Montgomery, and Philadelphia.

At that time, there will be no counties in the red phase. There will be 34 counties in the green phase and 33 in the yellow phase.

The big change in moving to the yellow phase is that the stay-at-home order — which was implemented in the Philadelphia region on March 23 — will be lifted. Gov. Wolf announced this week that the stay-at-home order will officially expire at 11:59 p.m.

Retail businesses can reopen but curbside pickup is encouraged. Offices can conduct in-person operations if following the guidance issued by the state.

Another significant change is restaurants can reopen their outdoor dining areas starting Friday. Many local restaurants are expanding their outdoor dining areas with tents to allow for more customers to safely dine six feet apart. In Bucks County, the popular Peddler's Village shopping area will be putting up tents in the Main Green to accommodate more outdoor diners.

Pennsylvania elementary and secondary schools in the yellow phase can resume in-person instruction and activities starting July 1, provided they create an approved safety plan. More information on the school reopening guidelines can be found here.

Additionally, municipal playgrounds for the most part are reopening, and all 58 state park beaches will be open to swimming starting Saturday.

Large gatherings of more than 25 people remain prohibited in the yellow phase, and visitation restrictions at congregate care facilities and prisons remain in place.

Under the current rules, barbershops, salons, and gyms remain closed in the yellow phase. Youth sports are also not permitted. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are pushing the governor to reconsider both of those restrictions.

"The purpose of this phase is to begin to power back up the economy while keeping a close eye on the public health data to ensure the spread of disease remains contained to the greatest extent possible," the governor's reopening plan states.

Here's a closer look at what life in the yellow phase will be like:

Work

• Telework should continue where feasible.
• Businesses can resume with in-person operations but need to follow the guidance for business previously issued by the governor's office.
• Child care can reopen following specific safety guidance.
• For offices, the reopening guidance includes specific rules around cleaning shared work spaces, limits meeting sizes, and recommends staggered work start times. Businesses must develop a plan in the event a worker becomes infected with the virus, include mandating temperature checks of all employees and identifying close contacts.

Social restrictions

• The stay-at-home order is lifted.
• Gatherings of more than 25 are prohibited.
• In-person retail is permitted, but curbside and delivery is preferable. Public-facing businesses and retailers will have to follow specific rules, such as limiting capacity in buildings, installing shields at registers, and mandating mask wearing among employees and customers.
• Restaurants and bars can serve outdoors, carry-out, and delivery. Indoor dining rooms will remain closed.
• All businesses must follow guidance for social distancing and cleaning.
• Indoor recreation, health and wellness facilities and personal care services, including gyms, spas, hair salons, nail salons and massage therapy, will remain closed.
• All entertainment venues, such as casinos and theaters, will remain closed.

Once a county transitions to the yellow phase, the rates of infection will be monitored for significant outbreaks. Some counties could move to the green phase — in which salons, gyms, and restaurants reopen in a limited capacity — within two weeks if the infection rates continue to decrease. If infection rates are not decreasing, the counties will be held at yellow, she said.

While officials have called the green phase a return to a “new normal,” state health officials say they'll continue to monitor public health indicators and adjust orders and restrictions as necessary once counties reach that third phase.

Across the state, 73,942 cases of COVID-19 have been reported as of Thursday. A total of 5,817 Pennsylvanians have died from the virus.

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