Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf and Department of Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine announced new protocols for essential businesses to help protect employees and customers during the coronavirus pandemic.

The order, which was signed on Wednesday and will be enforced starting Sun., April 19 at 8 p.m., includes a number of measures, but the most prevalent is that most customers will now be required to wear masks while on the premises of all businesses that serve the public within a building or defined area. Employees will need to, as well.

Entry will be denied to any individual not wearing a mask “unless the business is providing medication, medical supplies, or food, in which case the business must provide alternative methods of pick-up or delivery of goods," according to the order.

Individuals “who cannot wear a mask due to a medical condition (including children the age of 2 years or under) may enter a building without having to provide medical documentation,” the order continues.

“These are common-sense actions like cleaning off carts and hand baskets that most employers have already implemented,” Wolf said. “As I’ve said many times, we all have a role to play during this crisis.”

Further, things like grocery stores and pharmacies must limit occupancy to no greater than 50 percent of the number stated on their certificate of occupancy and are ordered to use every other register if multiple exist.

Other measures related to social distancing and safety that buisnisses must implement according to the order include:

"Provide masks for employees to wear during their time at the business, and make it a mandatory requirement while at the work site, except to the extent an employee is using break time to eat or drink, in accordance with the guidance from the Department of Health and the CDC. Employers may approve masks obtained or made by employees in accordance with this guidance;

"Stagger work start and stop times for employees when practical to prevent gatherings of large groups entering or leaving the premises at the same time;

"Provide sufficient space for employees to have breaks and meals while maintaining a social distance of 6 feet, including limiting the number of employees in common areas and setting up seating to have employees facing forward and not across from each other;

"Conduct meetings and training virtually. If a meeting must be held in person, limit the meeting to the fewest number of employees possible, not to exceed 10 employees at one time and maintain a social distance of 6 feet.

"Ensure that the facility has a sufficient number of employees to perform all measures listed effectively and in a manner that ensures the safety of the public and employees;

"Ensure that the facility has a sufficient number of personnel to control access, maintain order, and enforce social distancing of at least 6 feet;

"Prohibit non-essential visitors from entering the premises of the business; and

“Ensure that all employees who do not speak English as their first language are aware of procedures by communicating the procedures, either orally or in writing, in their native or preferred language.”

Additionally, as soon as it is discovered that there has been an exposure to a person with a probable or confirmed case of COVID-19, all “businesses are also ordered to implement temperature screenings before employees enter the business prior to the start of work and send any employee home who has an elevated temperature of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or higher,” according to Wolf’s office.

While Levine has recently said that Pa.'s coronavirus curve is flattening, the state still announced 1,145 new COVID-19 cases and 63 new deaths as of 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday, bring the totals to 26,490 and 647, respectively.

“We’re trying to do everything we can to make sure that we are keeping Pennsylvanians safe, and that we’re doing that by staying home, and making sure that the businesses that remain open are absolutely essential," Wolf said. The better job we do here, the sooner we’re going to get through this phase and the safer we’re going to keep Pennsylvania.

“I think what we need to do is recognize that the course we’re on right now is, is the least bad choice we have to make, and with all the painful decisions that go along with it, it’s the right course for Pennsylvania.”

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