Gov. Wolf has pulled coronavirus funding from rebellious Lebanon County

HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Wolf followed through on his threat to yank COVID-19 funding from a county that defied his shutdown orders, while his administration targeted bars, restaurants and large gatherings statewide Thursday in an effort to prevent a wider resurgence of the virus that officials say could jeopardize students’ return to school.

The state's largest teachers union, meanwhile, asked Wolf to order schools to plan for online-only instruction, citing mounting concern among educators and parents about the “significant health risks” posed by sending kids back to the classroom.

“It is extremely important for Pennsylvania’s public schools to plan for the distinct possibility that further increases in COVID-19 cases will make it impossible to safely reopen Pennsylvania’s schools for in-person instruction,” wrote Rich Askey, president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association.

Wolf withheld nearly $13 million in funding from Lebanon County, where local Republican leaders voted in mid-May to lift pandemic restrictions in defiance of the Democratic governor. Wolf's decision left Lebanon as the only Pennsylvania county to have been cut off from a $625 million pot of federal coronavirus relief money distributed by the state.

Asked about it at a news conference Thursday, Wolf blamed the county's GOP-controlled Board of Commissioners and suggested that Lebanon residents should kick them out of office.

“Don't come and say you want something from the state when you haven't followed the rules. There are consequences. These are the consequences,” he said.

The region's congressman, GOP Rep. Dan Meuser, said Wolf lacked the legal authority to withhold the money and implored him to release it, writing to the governor: “Lives and livelihoods are at stake.” The local chamber of commerce called it an “unacceptable exclusion of just one county” and said Wolf's decision unfairly punishes small businesses, nonprofits and others.

Lebanon County Commissioner Robert Phillips, the board's chairperson, declined to respond directly to Wolf's comments, saying he didn't want to “add fuel to the fire ... and put that money at further risk.”

House Appropriations Chairman Stan Saylor (R., York) said in a statement Friday that “I am calling on Gov. Wolf to reverse this shameful act and release the $12.8 million that is legally owed to the citizens of Lebanon County. This funding was appropriated by the Legislature in two pieces of legislation that the governor signed into law.”

Amid the partisan fight over funding, Pennsylvania reimposed statewide restrictions Thursday on bars, restaurants, and larger indoor gatherings — now limited to 25 people, down from 250 — in response to what Wolf has called an “unsettling climb” in virus infections.

Under Wolf's order, nightclubs are shut down, bars are closed unless they also offer dine-in meals, and bars and restaurants are limited to 25% capacity.

Critics questioned the need for statewide restrictions when only a few areas of the state have been seeing rising case numbers, and confusion reigned among some bar and restaurant owners over what exactly constitutes a "meal" — do french fries count?

Businesses impacted by the order said they're barely hanging on.

“I don’t know what to do. Do you close your doors? Do you keep them open? It can’t keep going on like this," said Suzie Domasky, an owner of Ferrante’s Lakeview in Westmoreland County.

Ferrante's, which hosts weddings and other big events and was shuttered for three months in the spring because of pandemic restrictions, immediately lost another big booking — a Christmas party — in the wake of Wolf's latest business shutdown.

“Every time the governor announces something, I lose more money by the day,” Domasky said.

Wolf has warned of increased viral spread and said the new restrictions are needed to help keep Pennsylvania’s numbers manageable, especially with schools planning to reopen for the fall. Disease modeling from PolicyLab at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia shows infections rising sharply in Philadelphia and the suburbs in coming weeks.

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Inquirer staff writer Justine McDaniel contributed to this report.