On Friday, Governor Tom Wolf signed off on a renewal of the state’s Covid-19 disaster proclamation.
This marks the fourth renewal of Wolf’s order first signed last March 6th, and this renewal will last another 90 days. Wolf said in a statement that the emergency declaration will allow state agencies to respond to the pandemic more quickly and provide for recovery for the state during reopening.
Wolf did acknowledge that vaccinations have begun but they are still in the early phases of vaccine distribution. He does expect vaccinations to increase as the federal government makes more vaccines available to the states.
This renewal comes as Pennsylvanians will vote on whether the Governor’s disaster declaration powers should be reduced. On the ballot of the Primary will be a referendum question asking voters if they want to amend the state’s constitution to limit the length of time for a disaster declaration from 90 days to 21 days, and any extensions to the declarations would need to be approved by the PA House and Senate. Right now, the Governor has the right to extend a disaster declaration indefinitely.
The renewal is set to expire May 19th, one day after the state’s primary election.
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