Most Of Southwestern Pennsylvania Moves Into 'Yellow Phase' Of Re-Opening
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Most of southwestern Pennsylvania is officially in the yellow phase of reopening today.
It's the first step in Gov. Tom Wolf's plan to get the state fully reopened.
Allegheny, Butler, Westmoreland, and 10 other counties have met the requirements needed and have received the okay to move forward, joining counties in the northwest and north-central regions.
The yellow phase means some restrictions put in place due to the coronavirus pandemic have been loosened. Meaning the stay-at-home order is lifted and some businesses are allowed to reopen. Those businesses include retail stores with outside entrances, offices and childcare.
However, that's only if social distancing guidelines can be maintained.
What will not change today is that restaurants will still be limited to take-out, schools are still closed, and hair salons, gyms and theaters are staying closed as well. Large gatherings are still prohibited.
With the move to the yellow phase, many businesses were preparing to welcome back customers.
This includes places like Henne Jewelers, whose owner spoke with KDKA's Lisa Washington.
"We've had to put a lot of thought into opening safely," John Henne said. "We've put in plastic sneeze guards, we have face masks, we have hand sanitizer, we had it disinfected, we've really done a lot to make sure that our team is safe and our customers are safe. We have ways that we can clean the jewelry before and after anyone tries it on."
Henne Jewelers says they are encouraging customers to schedule appointments in order to avoid lines and having a lot of people in the store, considering they still have to follow CDC guidelines.
Another business preparing for customers is Feathers, a bed and bath linen store in Pittsburgh. The store manager says there has been a lot of effort put into being able to reopen.
"We are going to be limiting to two customers at a time and we'll have two staff members here at a time as well," said Melissa Swenda. "It'll be a relief to have that door unlocked but also we're a little bit anxious about how the process is going to work with customers. Are we going to be busy?"
Along with other retail businesses, PennDOT said that several of their licensing centers will reopen with limited services starting on Friday and so will Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores across the counties in the yellow phase.
