If Pennsylvania is vying to become the nation’s most authoritarian state, it is well on its way with the latest round of coronavirus restrictions.

Additional measures announced by Democrat leaders ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, including a seeming return to Prohibition, are limiting even more of the freedoms of Pennsylvania residents. Gov. Tom Wolf urged people to stay at home and not gather with those outside of their household, and Pennsylvania Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine announced a one-night ban on the sale of alcohol in the state.

Acknowledging that the day before Thanksgiving is considered the “biggest day for drinking,” Wolf knocked the legs out from under struggling business owners who were ordered to suspend the sale of alcohol on-site beginning at 5:00 p.m. Wednesday and ending the following day at 8:00 a.m.

“The thing that we can’t do is ignore reality and say ‘yeah you folks, for no fault of your own, have been hit hardest by this virus.’ But the virus is what’s doing this. It’s not me. It’s not the administration. It’s not the government,” the Democrat governor said.

(Source: KDKA)

“Today I’m announcing efforts to slow the spread of #COVID19 as cases reach critical levels,” Wolf announced Monday.

“They include a recommitment to school safety, protections for businesses and employees, reduced gatherings, enforcement for mask wearing, and an advisory encouraging PA’ians to stay home,” he said, citing projections of more than 22,000 new COVID-19 cases per day in the state for December.

Today I’m announcing efforts to slow the spread of #COVID19 as cases reach critical levels.

They include a recommitment to school safety, protections for businesses and employees, reduced gatherings, enforcement for mask wearing, and an advisory encouraging PA’ians to stay home. pic.twitter.com/NbV8w9Xqq2

— Governor Tom Wolf (@GovernorTomWolf) November 23, 2020

“Household gatherings are also advised against when attendees include non-household members as noted through the Secretary of Health’s Stay at Home Advisory,” according to a press release issued on Monday.

“Orders already in place and those announced today will be enforced, and law enforcement and state agencies will be stepping up enforcement efforts, issuing citations and fines and possible regulatory actions for repeat offenders,” Levine said.

Pre-K to 12 public schools in counties with substantial transmission levels for two weeks must adhere to strict updated protocols

Schools that do not comply will be required to provide fully remote learning and suspend school sports and extracurricular activities.

— Governor Tom Wolf (@GovernorTomWolf) November 23, 2020

More of the details were outlined in tweets by the governor just one week after the state’s transgender Health Secretary announced “mitigation efforts” that included the mandating of mask-wearing inside private homes “anytime you’re with people outside of your household, even if you’re socially distant.”

Law enforcement will be stepping up efforts to enforce this #COVID19 safety plan.

They will issue citations and fines, and possibly undertake regulatory actions for repeat offenders.

— Governor Tom Wolf (@GovernorTomWolf) November 23, 2020

“As Pennsylvanians, we have a responsibility to one another, to do what we can to protect each other and preserve the life we all love in this commonwealth,” Wolf said in a statement.

“For those who refuse to do their part to protect their neighbors and communities and refuse to accept that their actions have consequences that cause pain and suffering for others, we will be stepping up enforcement of all of the public health orders Dr. Levine and I have put in place,” he added.

Bar owners already under gathering limits are reportedly reeling from the latest repressive measures in the state.

“You wake up Monday morning, you got something to look forward to finally as a bar and restaurant owner and the carpet gets pulled out right from underneath you,” Richard Rattner, the owner of William Penn Tavern in Pittsburgh, told KDKA on Monday.

“It’s going to be a big private party night. And I don’t think people are going to stay home. Like they feel because of this order, I think they’re just going to push them into unsafe predicaments,” he said, also asking why liquor stores are allowed to remain open.

DON’T FORGET: The #Thanksgiving eve BAN on alcohol sales in PA applies ONLY to bars and restaurants, not state stores or to-go beer sales from local breweries @KDKA

Again, it runs from 5PM on Wednesday until 8 AM on Thanksgiving. https://t.co/XpYxwANdnI

— MEGHAN SCHILLER (@MeghanKDKA) November 23, 2020

“If we’re allowed to just do our distancing and no bar sales anyway, what is the difference between people sitting at a table with food in front of them as we are instructed to do right now?” Bob McCafferty, owner of North Country Brewing, asked.

“And then we get mandate after mandate and you know we really don’t see any reason for being attacked like this,” he said.

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Frieda Powers

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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida where she has been writing for the BizPacReview team since 2015.

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