Schmitt appeals for move to yellow
Lawmaker makes his case to governor to change Blair’s status from red lockdown
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State Rep. Lou Schmitt has asked Gov. Tom Wolf in a letter to reopen Blair County on Friday, along with 24 other counties in the northcentral and northwest health districts of the state -- and he's hopeful about the result.
"I put forth some effort," Schmitt, R-Altoona, said Wednesday. "I'm optimistic."
But he couldn't say any more about the attempt to persuade the state's chief executive to revise his reopening day lineup, which was announced on May 1, Schmitt said.
A question submitted to the governor's office for the Department of Health's daily webcast about Schmitt's request wasn't answered, either during the webcast or afterward by email.
Schmitt, state Sen. Judy Ward, R-Blair, and state Rep. Jim Gregory, R-Hollidaysburg, previously wrote letters to the governor protesting Blair County's exclusion from the first round of counties moving from red lockdown to cautionary yellow status, thus allowing some businesses to reopen -- although with social distancing guidelines in place.
Blair deserves a place in that lineup, having obeyed the closure orders and endured the disruptions, including "sleepless nights filled with great concerns and great worries," Schmitt said in his new letter, hand-delivered Monday to the governor's office in Harrisburg.
Blair's per capita case count is lower than many of the counties moving to yellow, including neighboring Centre County, Schmitt argued.
Its only city's population density is also less than that of much-larger Erie, which is in a county going yellow, Schmitt said, referencing one of the factors the state is taking into consideration in relaxing the lockdown.
Blair is at least as well-equipped as any of the counties in the northcentral and northwest to handle testing, contact tracing and potential outbreaks, other favorable factors, because of its three publicly accessible hospitals -- including UPMC Altoona, a major one, Schmitt argued.
Blair is no worse off for its senior population or its "closed" industry sectors either, Schmitt argued.
Moreover, the governor has indicated that he's not committed strictly to reopening strictly in the health district groupings, as he'd initially said, Schmitt pointed out.
"I cannot comprehend any objective basis upon which Blair County should have been excluded from moving to yellow status as of May 8," Schmitt wrote. "We here in Blair County are desperate to move forward."
By the numbers:
New/total COVID-19 county cases: Blair 0/25; Bedford 1/27 (1 death); Cambria 1/35 (1 death); Centre 7/113 (1 death); Clearfield 0/21; Huntingdon 1/60
Area new/total cases: 10/281
New/total cases statewide: 888 (up 2 percent)/51,845
New/total deaths statewide: 94/3,106, 2 percent of positive cases
New/total negative tests in area counties: 207/5,073
New/total tests in area (new positives plus new negatives): 217/5,318, 0.9 percent of population
New/total negative tests statewide: 4,570/204,495
New/total tests statewide: 5,458/256,340; 2 percent of population
Infection rate (percent of population with confirmed positives) region/state: 0.047 percent/0.4 percent