Hempfield to lift emergency declaration next month

After more than a year under an emergency declaration put in place in response to the covid-19 pandemic, Hempfield supervisors voted to lift the order starting next month.

The declaration first went into effect March 16, 2020, as some of the first coronavirus cases were being reported in the state. According to township Manager Jason Winters, the declaration opened the doors to funding opportunities, as well as making it easier for the township to receive county, state and federal resources.

Supervisors unanimously voted to lift the order June 1.

“I feel that the community has moved past the fears of covid,” said Supervisor Tom Logan. “The vaccination rate is pretty high, the sickness rate is pretty low. I don’t want the perception of an emergency declaration to be lost in the meaning of a true emergency, and it was at one point in time, but I think we’re past that now and so do my colleagues.”

According to data from the Pennsylvania Department of Health, more than 290,650 vaccines have been administered in Westmoreland County. Of that, about 158,300 are first doses while 132,350 people are fully vaccinated.

Still, covid-19 cases across the county did see a slight uptick Monday, with 55 new cases reported over the past two days. The county’s seven-day average, however, is at 45 cases. Across the state, the number of new covid cases are dropping, with 1,549 reported Monday, the lowest it’s been since September 22 when 1,068 new cases were reported, according to state data.

The move to end the emergency declaration comes days before the state plans to lift all covid-related mitigation orders aside from the mask mandate, including lifting capacity limits on several businesses and indoor events, which are at 50% capacity, and outdoor events, which are at 75% capacity. Those changes go into effect on Memorial Day.

The state’s mask mandate remains in effect until 70% of people are fully vaccinated; however, guidance was updated earlier this month to match recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that states fully vaccinated people do not need to wear a face covering unless otherwise required.

Winters noted that funds expected to funnel through the township from the American Rescue Plan will not be impacted by removing the emergency declaration.

“It allowed us to bypass certain restrictions with how we do business within the township and we don’t need to do that anymore,” Logan said. “We have no control over public health, that kind of stuff, so it really wasn’t needed from our side.”