Governor Tom Wolf has approved eight additional counties including Dauphin to move to the yellow phase of reopening on May 29th.

According to the Wolf Administration, all Pennsylvania counties remaining in the red phase after the 29th will move to yellow by June 5th. While Dauphin is a part of those moving from red to yellow at the end of the month, 27 counties are moving from yellow to green.

In his press release on May 22nd, Governor Wolf stated that “My stay-at-home order did exactly what it was intended to do: It saved lives and it bought us valuable time.” 

During the press release, the Governor included data from Drexel University stating that in Philadelphia alone, 60 days of remaining at home resulted in over 7,000 lives saved and kept approximately 68,000 people from needing to be hospitalized.

Over the past two weeks, Pennsylvania has seen new-case rates decline, making it one of only 19 states that has seen a decrease in the number of COVID-19 cases. 

While counties move to yellow phase in the coming weeks, the Wolf Administration has outlined what this phase will look like for citizens.

In the yellow phase, the stay-at-home order will be lifted, but groups larger than 25 are prohibited for the time being. In-person retail will be allowed, but curbside pickup and delivery is still the preferred method for shopping. Restaurants and bars will still remain limited to carry-out and delivery.

If the overall risk remains mitigated for 14 days, Governor Wolf will allow counties to move to the green phase.

Governor Wolf has thanked Pennsylvanian’s for making the necessary sacrifices during this time to ensure public safety and states that outbreaks and risks will be closely monitored during this time.