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Coronavirus In Pennsylvania: What Are The 'Non-Life-Sustaining' Businesses Ordered To Shut Down?

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf has ordered all non-life-sustaining businesses to close amid the coronavirus pandemic. But what counts as "non-life-sustaining?"

Earlier, the government ordered all nonessential businesses to close. There was reportedly some confusion over what counted as "nonessential," but now the governor's office has released a list of what exactly counts as "non-life-sustaining" and "life-sustaining."

The governor said these non-life-sustaining businesses' locations must close by 8 p.m. on Thursday night. Enforcement of the order begins at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday.

Updated List Detailing Which Businesses Must Close

The list is broken down into industries, sectors, sub-sectors and industry groups.

Grocery stores -- along with beer, wine and liquor stores -- are not ordered to close. Grocery stores are allowed to continue physical operations.

The Port Authority says it is also considered life-sustaining, and will not be shutting down.

According to the list, the construction industry is completely shut down. All forms of construction -- constructing buildings, heavy and civil engineering and specialty trade contractors -- have to cease operations.

The sales departments at car dealerships are closed, but service and parts centers remain open. Some will even pick up your vehicle, and drop it back off to you, even sanitizing it.

An updated list says oil and gas extraction and all mining activities can continue. For agriculture, all crop and animal production can continue.

All performing arts, spectator sports, museums and historical sites are closed. So are personal care services like barbershops, nail salons, beauty salons and gyms.

And that's just part of the list. Again, for the full list, click here.

"To protect the health and safety of all Pennsylvanians, we need to take more aggressive mitigation actions," said Gov. Wolf in a release. "This virus is an invisible danger that could be present everywhere. We need to act with the strength we use against any other severe threat. And, we need to act now before the illness spreads more widely."

The governor says failure to close can result in citations, fines, or license suspensions.

"In extenuating circumstances, special exemptions will be granted to businesses that are supplying or servicing health care providers," the governor's release said.

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