Coronavirus Latest: Philadelphia Area 'Will Be Among Last Places To Reopen' As Officials Say City Still 'Weeks Away'
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf says the process of reopening the commonwealth will be slow and methodical. Wolf has laid out a plan that would begin the stages of gradually reopening the commonwealth.
The May 8 goal to start phasing in the plan would begin in the northcentral and northwest regions of the state.
City and health officials say densely-populated Philadelphia and its more than 11,000 positive coronavirus cases is nowhere near this timeframe.
"You can open a county in Tioga, which has very few people, but you can't apply the same standards to the southeast region in Philly. It's like apples to cantaloupes," Mayor Jim Kenney said.
Under the governor's plan, the reopening will take place in three phases.
The state is currently in the red phase, with only essential businesses operating. Stay-at-home orders are in place, schools are shut down and travel is discouraged.
The yellow phase moves into a less restrictive mode where telework will continue, day cares will open but restaurants would still be delivery or carryout only.
The final green phase would lift aggressive mitigation orders that are now in place.
"We definitely are not at or near that yellow phase right now -- that certainly will be weeks away. How many weeks I can't say, the virus really determines its own schedule," Philadelphia Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley said.
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City officials say they're in daily contact with the governor's office to specify more detailed plans on how a reopening in Philadelphia would work.
During a conference call Thursday afternoon, CBS3 asked Gov. Wolf about the challenges facing reopening a city with the state's largest number of cases as the coronavirus rages on.
"Just because we're starting the phase reopening on May 8 does not mean we're gonna look at a place like Philadelphia and say, 'yeah, you're ready.' The southeastern part of the state will be among the last places to reopen," Wolf said.