PHILADELPHIA, PA – Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf has announced that businesses in Philadelphia may begin entering his “Yellow” phase of reopening. That is, whatever businesses haven’t been destroyed or looted by Friday. Under the yellow phase businesses may reopen and telecommunicating should be encouraged whenever possible. Business occupancy is capped at 25% of maximum capacity during this phase.
Until then, Wolf reminded residents the city is still in the red phase and only life-sustaining businesses can open until then. A stay-at-home order is still in effect in the city and large gatherings are prohibited. Large gatherings are also prohibited. That is unless your large gathering is a full-fledged riot and your in those bars and restaurants simply to loot them, of course.
Since his announcement Friday, the world has changed. This weekend, Wolf declared a state of emergency after rioting in Harrisburgh, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
“People have every right to speak out and demonstrate , but it’s unacceptable to take advantage of protests to incite violence, harm others and destroy property,” Gov. Wolf said. “This declaration authorizes the commonwealth and its agencies to assist municipalities in their response to de-escalate violence and keep our communities safe.”
As the situation devolved, Wolf pleaded for Pennsylvanians to speak out against the protests he supported just a few days earlier.
“Every Pennsylvanian should speak out against violence and oppression, and the recent murder of George Floyd in Minnesota has rightfully outraged many of us. Pennsylvanians are joining together to speak out against this injustice, and make their voices heard, peacefully,” Governor Wolf said. “But yesterday was a challenging day for many cities in our commonwealth as these peaceful protests were co-opted by violence and looting. This is unacceptable.”
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