Gov. Wolf asks Pennsylvania residents to wear a mask when leaving home Share Shares Copy Link Copy

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all of you for joining me today. You know, it's been four weeks since we identified the first case of Cove in 19 in Pennsylvania, and we're beginning to see our first glimpses of the full force of this pandemic. Pennsylvania is continuing to climb to the peak cases. We're adding more than 1000 day to our tallies, and we know we have community spread occurring in many different areas. The only way we can cut the growth of this virus is to act as if we all have it. Two days ago, I amplified our social distancing efforts by instituting a statewide stay at home order building on the county, stay at home orders, the business closure order, the school closure order and other efforts over the past month. Today, I'm asking all Pennsylvanians toe wear a mask anytime you leave your house. Masks help prevent people from sharing illnesses. They don't do a great job at keeping people from getting sick, and they're not foolproof. So it's critical that our first act is Secretary, Levin said, is to ask ourselves if we really need to leave our house if we don't really, truly need to leave then we shouldn't some trips air unavoidable. We might need to go to the grocery store to get food. We might need to go to the pharmacy to pick up medication. Who might need to get supplies to care for our pets. Wearing a mask will help us cut down the possibility that we might be infecting an innocent bystander like that grocery store cashier, the pharmacist or someone's stocking shelves. These folks are keeping us alive by getting us the supplies we need. We owe it to them to do everything we can to keep them safe. Right now, that means wearing a mask. We also need to do our part to keep health care workers safe. And so I am asking everyone to please reserve and 95 paper masks for these vital workers. Instead, use a cloth or a homemade mask. We have directions for making your own mascot health dot p a dot gov And there are many other options across the Internet on how to make your own mask or how to acquire one from a community member who is making them. Universal Masking is expected to be recommended by the CDC shortly and in Pennsylvania. We want to be ahead of the nation and showing slowing the spread of Kobe 19. We don't want to be behind it, and so far I think we have been ahead of this curve, and that's in part due to the willingness of most Pennsylvanians to do the right thing. But we know we still have a way to go until we're through this crisis. And if we want to come out of it with the most Pennsylvanians alive and the best economic prospects, we all need to continue to do our parts. So please stay home unless you absolutely cannot. And when you absolutely must leave home where a cloth mask they know we're nearing several holidays, and that includes major religious holidays like Easter and Passover. I'm encouraging religious leaders hosting a holiday celebration to consider an alternative that does not bring people together in person. Many religious leaders have already found alternatives such as streaming their service is online so congregants can watch from home. I've even seen some churches tryout Hosting service is in parking lots, with congregants remaining inside their vehicles. Any type of gathering conserve is a Petri dish for covert 19. In one case in Georgia, just one case, the funeral became the epicenter of a mass outbreak of this deadly virus. As a person of faith, I understand how important it is to worship and that congregating, whether for a service or Seder dinner, could be at the very core of our faith. But he also understand how important it is to help neighbors. And the best way to help our neighbors right now is by not congregating. It's by staying home wearing a mask, washing your hands, avoiding touching others. Those are great steps, but the most important one is to isolate yourself. Stay home. Congregants should be aware that even the most stringent prevention methods leave risk for spreading cove in 19 and religious leaders should avoid endangering their congregants. Please stay home, prey home, Pray at home. Finally, I want to make one thing clear. Pennsylvania is a common well founded on tolerance. I'm disappointed and ashamed as a Pennsylvania to hear that individuals have directed hate toward fellow Pennsylvanians of Asian background. No matter how stressful, frightening or chaotic this pandemic becomes, we cannot let Cove in 19 take tolerance away from us. I fully back the Pennsylvania State Police in pursuing charges against anyone engaging in a hate crime. But more importantly, I am advocating for all Pennsylvanians to take a stand against anti Asian sentiments. If you see anti Asian discrimination, please report it. Hate is just one more symptom of this terrible disease. If we wanna win our war against Kobe 19 then we all need to work together each and every one of us. I will keep fighting to save Pennsylvanians their lives. They're lively hoods and their way of life. I'm asking you to all step up to do your part in this fight. Thank you.

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