(WTAJ) – Earlier on Thursday, Governor Wolf ordered all non-life-sustaining businesses to close at 8 p.m. Thursday to help slow the spread of COVID-19.
In the press release, Wolf said enforcement actions will begin at 12:01 a.m. Saturday for businesses that do not close physical locations.
The Governor’s Office also issued a breakdown of what industries are and are not considered life-sustaining businesses.
We have put together a quick breakdown of some of the main industries viewers may be wondering about.
- Construction: All subsectors that fall under construction are required to stop operations.
- Retail Trade: Gas Stations and Grocery Stores will remain open but, Clothing & Clothing Accessories Stores, Sporting Goods, Hobby, Book, & Music Stores will close
- Hospitality: Full-Service Restaurants and Limited-Service Eating Places can continue to operate as takeout only
- Manufacturing: Industry groups that will continue to operate include Food/beverage Manufacturing and paper manufacturing. Textile, clothing and tobacco manufacturing will stop operations.
- Transportation and Warehousing: General & Specialized Freight Trucking, Postal Service, will continue operating.
- Motor Vehicle & Parts Dealers: Automobile Dealers and Other Motor Vehicle Dealers will close. Automotive Parts, Accessories, and Tire Stores will remain open.
- Education and Health Services: Subsectors that will continue operation include Ambulatory Health Care Services, Hospitals, Nursing & Residential Care Facilities and Social Assistance. Day Care Services are considered Social Assistance but, will remain closed.
- Natural Resources and Mining: Industry groups that will stop operations include Forestry and Logging and Mining
- Natural Resources and Mining: Industry groups that will continue operating include Fishing, Hunting, and Trapping, crop and animal production
- Leisure and Hospitality: RV (Recreational Vehicle) Parks and Recreational Camps, Rooming and Boarding Houses will operate as residential only.
UPDATE —
STATE COLLEGE, CENTRE COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ) – With all those business closed, many small business owners and workers will be without work.
After hearing Governor Wolf’s announcement Thursday, Penn State Student, Michael Welsh decided to play the piano at Three Dots Downtown in State College, as a stress reliever.
“This is the only public piano that’s like, you know, here downtown,” Welsh, said. “Just coming to it, juts unwinding, playing, it’s great.”
He says he was at a gym when he heard what the Governor had ordered, and was shocked.
“Now they have to officially shutdown, which is kinds sad,” Welsh, said. “I said goodbye to my one friend who’s graduating, won’t see him again.”
For Michael’s job, he can work from home, but, other’s aren’t so fortunate.
“It’s just crazy to think about,” Welsh, said. “I don’t know how some businesses are going to make it. I don’t know how some people are going to afford rent when they’re living paycheck to paycheck.”
Others say although it’s a scary time for businesses that have to to shutdown, they believe it’s necessary for all our safety.
“I think it’s good that people say, “Hey for your safety, I’m going to put a barrier, for you, and I think that’s exactly what people of authority in power should do,” Guerrero, Vice President for Rusan LLC, said.
Michael says he feels bad for businesses, that they didn’t have more time to prepare for the shutdown.
“I think it was kinda’ in haste,” Welsh, said. “He gave businesses like a 2 or 3 hour notice to shutdown operations.”
There’s no word on how the non-life sustaining business shutdown will last.