Coronavirus Pennsylvania: Deadline Time For Nonessential Businesses Looking To Stay Open During Shutdown
UPPER DARBY, Pa. (CBS) -- It's deadline time for nonessential businesses looking for a lifeline during Pennsylvania's coronavirus shutdown. Waiver applications are due by 5 p.m. Friday.
On March 19, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf ordered all non-life-sustaining businesses to shut down their brick-and-mortar operations.
Since then, over 34,000 businesses across the commonwealth have requested a waiver to continue to operate.
"We are bringing a little life and happiness to people's lives," Chris Polite said.
Polites Florist in Upper Darby has been in business for over 110 years.
"We have big signs on the door. We are not going to let anybody in, no matter what," Polite said.
Their doors may be closed but Polite can still operate his family business, thanks to receiving a waiver from the state and shifting to delivery only.
"There's like gray areas. This whole thing is so chaotic," Polite said.
Polite says when it came to the actual waiver, the trade organization he belongs to, The Society of American Florists, handled most of the online application process.
"To the extent that businesses are not providing an essential service, they need to be closed," Wolf said.
As of Tuesday, 123 warnings were given out by state police to businesses who violated the shutdown order. No citations have been issued as of yet.
In order to file an exemption to the shutdown order, you must submit the application by 5 p.m. Friday.