Pennsylvania State Police issue 17 new warnings Tuesday to businesses that failed to close

Pennsylvania State Police issued 17 more warnings Tuesday to businesses deemed “non-life-sustaining” that were still operating, bringing the two-day total to 44.

Gov. Tom Wolf on Thursday ordered any Pennsylvania business that does not serve a life-sustaining purpose to close in an effort to slow the spread of covid-19.

“As expected, we found the overwhelming majority of people and businesses across the commonwealth are voluntarily complying with the order and doing their part to stop the spread of covid-19,” Col. Robert Evanchick, commissioner of the Pennsylvania State Police, said in a prepared statement.

Police are issuing warnings in an effort to gain voluntary compliance but will follow up with citations if necessary, Evanchick said. No citations had been filed as of Wednesday.

There were five warnings issued in Troop A on Tuesday, which includes Westmoreland, Cambria, Indiana and Somerset counties, bringing the two-day total to 9.

Troop B, which includes Allegheny, Fayette, Greene and Washington counties, issued two warnings Monday, but none Tuesday.

One warning was issued Monday by officers in Troop D, which includes Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Lawrence and Mercer counties.

The names of businesses that received warnings aren’t being released, said Trooper Brent Miller, a public information officer with state police in Harrisburg.

Grocery stores, gas stations, pharmacies, beer distributors, bakeries and auto parts stores are among those businesses permitted to stay open. Restaurants may serve food for takeout and delivery.

A list of all businesses that may or may not operate with a physical location was provided by Wolf’s office and can be found online.

The Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) is evaluating applications for waivers that would allow businesses that are not on the list to remain open.

By the end of the day Monday, 15,092 requests for exemptions from businesses in Pennsylvania had been submitted, according to figures provided by DCED.

Of that total, 2,486 were approved, and 2,135 were denied. Another 1,279 requests were not required.

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The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, along with the state’s departments of health and agriculture, also have been directed by the governor’s order to enforce closures.

Allegheny County Police have not issued any warnings or citations to businesses, Superintendent Coleman McDonough said. The department has received a number of telephone complaints about noncompliant businesses outside the department’s primary jurisdiction, McDonough said. The callers were directed to appropriate authorities.

The department is not tracking the number of those referred calls, McDonough said.

Pittsburgh police on Sunday announced that city officers will respond to 911 calls and other complaints about nonexempt businesses that ignore orders to shut down, but they have not released details about any warnings or citations they may have issued.