Around The Table: Coronavirus Prevention Plans In Pennsylvania With Lt. Gov. John Fetterman
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - With 16 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Pennsylvania, all in the eastern side of the state, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf signed an emergency disaster declaration on Monday to help combat the outbreak.
On Thursday morning, Pennsylvania Lt. Governor John Fetterman joined KDKA's Rick Dayton and Heather Abraham to discuss what the state is doing to prevent the spreading of the outbreak.
"What I would say is that the governor is committed to Pennsylvanians' safety and making sure that you know what he knows," said Fetterman. "I would encourage everyone to follow their social media accounts, they give out updates constantly in terms of the number of cases and other closures."
One of the measures put in place by Governor Wolf was a travel ban for state employees, both internationally and domestically.
"I think the governor has the perfect balance between keeping Pennsylvanians informed without giving over to general chaos and panic, and making sure do live their lives with the understanding the bias is trending toward postponing, and canceling, and closures," he said. "That kind of temporary inconvenience I think will lead to a much greater reduction in any kind of potential spread in Pennsylvania."
WATCH: Lt. Gov. John Fetterman Explains What "Flattening The Curve" Means When It Comes To Prevention
With no confirmed cases in the western part of Pennsylvania, Fetterman said while there isn't exactly panic, he can't quite understand why people are stocking up on toilet paper in eastern Pennsylvania.
"Constituents send me pictures of empty toilet paper racks, I'm not sure why toilet paper is one of those things flying off the shelves," he said.
The emergence of coronavirus, the Lt. Gov says, is a new era for Pennsylvanians.
"The NBA just postponed their season, you have individuals like Tom Hanks coming down with it, and that kind of brings it home," he said.
Fetterman is hoping Pennsylvanians take a page out of Pittsburgh Colfax and take "an abundance of caution."
"I think that's such a great watch phrase, 'an abundance of caution' I would just ask everyone to be more patient because we really are all in this together," Fetterman said. "Since this is really kind of unprecedented, to understand that yelling at the mayor, for example, on Twitter because the St. Patrick's Day Parade closed, it's not helpful. That's the right call to make. The inconvenience you may experience now is going to be very helpful in making sure this doesn't spread.
To watch Lt. Gov Fetterman's full interview from KDKA Morning News, click here.
More information on the Coronavirus pandemic:
